Found Deceased IA - Abdullahi "Abdi" Sharif, 18, Des Moines, 17 Jan 2020

[SharonNeedles]

How is that against the current? If he were to say jump off the bridge in your photo...the current would've carried him down to Prospect Park. From what I recall, that's the direction it flows.

There is no bridge at prospect park. There’s a bridge upstream, but I’ve seen no suggestion that Abdi was ever anywhere near that bridge.

What I’m saying is go down there and cast a line with a bobber from the south bank. That bobber will never drift towards the north bank.

 

[Tiger Stripes]

Per one of the central Iowa news websites, Abdi's family will be holding a news conference today -- just not sure what time it will be. (Just saw this item on the website.)

WATCH: Family of Abdullahi 'Abdi' Sharif holds news conference

--
ETA: It's "live", right *now*.

 

[Cj707]

RIP

 

[Dawookie]

Though they say there are no signs of injury indicating something violent happened, I’m not ready to say this was an accident or suicide yet. I believe we know from the Target camera footage he left “around 5;30” and, from what I remember (someone correct me if I’m wrong), the PI told searchers that the phone pinged near Prospect Park between 5:33 - 5:47.

I think, at the very least, someone had to have taken him there. We talked about the possibility of him taking the bus but that didn’t seem feasible. For one, the bus route timing and the fact that there was a snowstorm makes it almost impossible for him to have enough time to make it to the park on a bus. Two, I believe we found out that all the buses have cameras installed...unless the bus’s camera wasn’t working, I can’t imagine them saying there was no more footage after Target if they had him on a bus camera video.

So, who possibly took him there? And why?

This statement by the police makes me wonder what condition the body was in which leads to a few more questions.

Was the body in good enough condition that they were able to make that determination? Looking at the temperature record for the river at 2nd Ave on the date he disappeared the temp of the water was near freezing but since the end of February has steadily risen to about 60° as of today. I know that in cold water it takes years for a body to decompose but with the rising water temperature, how accelerated would that process become? Has the body been in the water the entire time?

The next question is, was there water found in the lungs? Did he drown or was his body placed in the water after he was already dead?

This reminds of a number of cases in the Midwest where a young man has been missing only to be found in water some time later and the condition of the body doesn't jive with how long they've been missing and they couldn't determine the cause of death

 

[katladi69]

Well, I suppose all parents are different but 1) he wasn't at Target when his mother went to pick him up, 2) he wasn't answering her phone calls, 3) there was severe weather and he was possibly on foot, and 4) he didn't make it home that night.

Please don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to insinuate that his family is involved, but it just seems odd to me that they didn't notify police that night OR the next morning, yet his employer was apparently concerned enough to call.

I'm just wondering if we're missing a part of the story here, ykwim? For example, could there have been a family squabble and they assumed he was at a friend's house cooling off or something? MOO

When I first read about the disappearance,the first thing that hit me is possible family involvement. Now after reading your comment I really wonder if something within the family is not being disclosed to the police. Also in one of the news articles the sister said she was close to her brother but that she "didn't know all of his secrets" A very odd thing to say! Also I didnt know that the police were not involved until Saturday! huge red flag!

 

[katladi69]

This statement by the police makes me wonder what condition the body was in which leads to a few more questions.

Was the body in good enough condition that they were able to make that determination? Looking at the temperature record for the river at 2nd Ave on the date he disappeared the temp of the water was near freezing but since the end of February has steadily risen to about 60° as of today. I know that in cold water it takes years for a body to decompose but with the rising water temperature, how accelerated would that process become? Has the body been in the water the entire time?

The next question is, was there water found in the lungs? Did he drown or was his body placed in the water after he was already dead?

This reminds of a number of cases in the Midwest where a young man has been missing only to be found in water some time later and the condition of the body doesn't jive with how long they've been missing and they couldn't determine the cause of death

there are alot of details being withheld possibly because they are suspicous of someone and they dont want them to know or just sloppy detective work. Im curiuos about where he was when he posted the bad news video.

 

[Wowno17]

When I first read about the disappearance,the first thing that hit me is possible family involvement. Now after reading your comment I really wonder if something within the family is not being disclosed to the police. Also in one of the news articles the sister said she was close to her brother but that she "didn't know all of his secrets" A very odd thing to say! Also I didnt know that the police were not involved until Saturday! huge red flag!

I don't see anything that makes me feel like it's anything to do with the family.

Interesting how we all see things differently.

MOO

 

[katladi69]

I don't see anything that makes me feel like it's anything to do with the family.

Interesting how we all see things differently.

MOO

Did the family not report him missing till Saturday? If so, then why? What did the family do, between 9:30pm Friday night and Saturday morn when TARGET called? Has that been answered yet?

 

[katladi69]

Is it possible that he was running from someone and slid and fell into the river? Or he was hiding near the river for a while and then when he thought the coast was clear, he accidentally fell into the water? Is there fencing or barriers near the water to keep people from falling off the side of the road into the river?

 

[SharonNeedles]

Did the family not report him missing till Saturday? If so, then why? What did the family do, between 9:30pm Friday night and Saturday morn when TARGET called? Has that been answered yet?

Keep in mind, he’s 18. He’s an adult. Tough call, I know...

 

[SharonNeedles]

I’ve been so caught up in the mindset that if he was at Prospect Park somebody must have driven him there - but now I’m wondering if that’s even necessarily true. There’s a network of trails in the area, big nicely paved trails. I’ve never seen these trails in the winter, no idea if they’re used at all. But right now, if you wanted to get from Prospect Park to the north bank (across the river), you could follow the trail up river and cross that bridge, then follow the trail downriver on the other side. Google Maps shows walking time from the mall to that bridge at just over an hour. Maybe not out of the question at all.

 

[PayrollNerd]

He must have planned on doing something that he only expected to last a few hours. Wherever he was headed, he needed time to get back to Target. Unless his story was bogus and he had no intention of returning to Target.

Around 5 p.m., Abdi Sharif posted on Snapchat using the geotag for the Target store mentioning some “bad, bad news,” his sister said. He later texted his mother asking her to pick him up from work at 9:30 p.m., but when she arrived, texts and calls to him went unanswered.

Body of Iowa 18-year-old found by kayakers 5 months after he mysteriously vanished from Target

 

[katladi69]

He must have planned on doing something that he only expected to last a few hours. Wherever he was headed, he needed time to get back to Target. Unless his story was bogus and he had no intention of returning to Target.

Around 5 p.m., Abdi Sharif posted on Snapchat using the geotag for the Target store mentioning some “bad, bad news,” his sister said. He later texted his mother asking her to pick him up from work at 9:30 p.m., but when she arrived, texts and calls to him went unanswered.

Body of Iowa 18-year-old found by kayakers 5 months after he mysteriously vanished from Target

I wonder if when they dig deeper and look into his phone records, if the ping was actually from Target or if he just put that there so that's where he wanted people to think he was at?

 

[katladi69]

Keep in mind, he’s 18. He’s an adult. Tough call, I know...

Yeah.... but the Mom had been really concerned...and if she was that worried then why didnt she go inside of Target to ask about him? or ask if someone knew if he'd gotten a ride home? And if he hadnt come home, why didnt she call Target first thing in the morning? Did she call any of his friends that night? had she done that she might have found out that he mislead her about being at work, then she could've alerted the police. Which is why I keep asking about what happened in between those time frames.... I'm not sure the police would've done something about it but it would have been noted that she was worried about his where abouts. I dont know but something isnt right about the whole thing. Im a mother and I would've been all in his business! 18 years old might be legally an adult but to a mother it's not a full grown adult.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Yeah.... but the Mom had been really concerned...and if she was that worried then why didnt she go inside of Target to ask about him? or ask if someone knew if he'd gotten a ride home? And if he hadnt come home, why didnt she call Target first thing in the morning? Did she call any of his friends that night? had she done that she might have found out that he mislead her about being at work, then she could've alerted the police. Which is why I keep asking about what happened in between those time frames.... I'm not sure the police would've done something about it but it would have been noted that she was worried about his where abouts. I dont know but something isnt right about the whole thing. Im a mother and I would've been all in his business! 18 years old might be legally an adult but to a mother it's not a full grown adult.

And he was a high school student too!! It would strike me as odd if my kid wasn’t home by the city curfew - which is midnight here.

 

[Dawookie]

there are alot of details being withheld possibly because they are suspicous of someone and they dont want them to know or just sloppy detective work. Im curiuos about where he was when he posted the bad news video.

Yeah it could be any one of those things. Just seems weird like so many other cases from the region of the states

 

[BabyfaceCain]

Hello, new friends! Very sad news today. I used to work in leadership at Target and think Abdi would have been a great person to have on my team. A lot of young team members hang around when they aren’t scheduled: to visit with friends that are working, to see if they can pick up hours, or sadly, to escape a home situation or to just connect and get attention from someone/anyone because they don’t have other strong social ties. Target shifts in Iowa are typically 4 or 4.5 hours or 8 hours, for break law purposes; it’s not always worth it to keep someone and have them have to take a lunch or risk hitting meal compliance. My guess is that he showed up and asked to work. It was said that he helped support his family with his Target earnings, so it makes sense that he would try to get more hours in. As a leader, I would never call a high school student outside of their availability. His leaders probably agreed to let him stay and clock in during typical peak hours (1-4 pm) to support the floor or give someone else the opportunity to go to lunch if there were a lot of call-outs, but might not have necessarily needed him for essential business functions. It sounds like he was a cafe team member? Am I wrong? (“Krusty Krab” reference). Doesn’t always look good to the big bosses to spend payroll on the cafe work center during a snow storm.

Abdi would have had a paid 15 minute break for a shift of 4 hours. You aren’t really supposed to have your phone on the floor while you’re working. He may have taken his break just before 5 pm. There have been times when a break gets pushed back towards the end of a shift, especially if it’s not a scheduled shift. Something might have blown up/escalated at this time and prompted the “bad bad news” post. Or maybe someone asked to meet up. He then called his mom to schedule a ride for later that night.

I know some have said that there have been inconsistencies in statements from the family. I don’t know much about the subject... but I keep thinking about stories of “Honor Killings” in some Muslim communities. Does anyone else know much about this?

It’s probably nothing, I could be crazy, but is it possible that in an attempt to fit in with his peers or to individuate from his family, Abdi engaged in activities that could be seen as shameful? And could someone have taken it upon themselves to deal with him in order to restore honor to the family/community?

Did Abdi lie to his mom about being called into work because he didn’t feel safe at home?

I’m truly hoping that it’s not the case! I do think he was dearly loved. The medical examiner will be able to answer a lot of our questions in time. I’m lighting a candle for him tonight.

Stay safe, y’all!

 

[Indyannie]

Wow...that is a lot to think about. Thank you for sharing. I hope we can get answers soon.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

A family may not call police to report a missing person in a very timely manner for a variety of innocent reasons.

 

[NornIron]

Re waiting to call police and not going in to Target to check- there could be any number of reasons. Language barriers, a belief that you have to wait a certain amount of time before reporting a missing person, a fear of law enforcement possibly due to prior experiences in a home or host country. Due to my childhood experiences I'm very hesitant to contact law enforcement and it's rarely the first thing that comes to my mind in situations when others would immediately call police. So I'm not viewing the family's actions in delayed reporting as suspicious. Moo