Family and friends in Des Moines are worried about a teenager who vanished two weeks ago during a snowstorm in the Iowa capital and hasn’t been heard from since, according to the Des Moines Register.
Abdullahi “Abdi” Sharif’s mom, Fadumo Ahmed, dropped the 18-year-old off at Target, where he works, on January 17 when he told her he’d been called into work. That Friday was a snow day at school as much of Iowa was blanketed by a winter storm.
Sharif called later to say he’d be working late; he also telephoned his sister. At about 5:30 p.m., he’s seen on surveillance video leaving work. And then he disappeared.
***MISSING PERSON***Des Moines Police Dept detectives are requesting the community's assistance with locating a…
Posted by Des Moines Police on Monday, January 20, 2020
After a weekend search, police said they’d found some evidence indicating Sharif’s “absence is voluntary,” but police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said the search was not stopping.
“Taking recent weather conditions and his apparent lack of supportive resources into consideration, we are concerned about his welfare,” Parizek said.
This week, community activist group Creative Visions helped raise a $5,000 reward to help find Sharif.
At a news conference announcing the reward, Sharif’s uncle Ahmed Hashi asked the teen to “Come home.”
“Not only come home. You’re loved,” added Statehouse Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, founder of Creative Visions. “Your family loves you, and if anyone had anything to do with this young man’s disappearance, we want you to call. We want you to help us to bring this young man home.”
Parizek said young Sharif’s phone went out of service almost immediately after he left Target that day.
“The troubling piece for us is there is nothing we can find in his background, at home or at school that would indicate he’s got any reason to take off or anything that he’s running with the wrong crowd,” he said, according to WHO. “Nothing like that.”
Micheal Davenport, one of his teachers at Roosevelt High School, where he’s a senior, said disappearing “is just out of character for him.”
“He’s been an office helper the last couple semesters at Roosevelt,” Davenport said. “Everybody thinks the world of him, and it’s so bizarre.”
According to Business Insider, Sharif Snapchatted something about “bad bad news” on January 17, but his family is baffled as to what the post might mean.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Featured image: Abdullahi Sharif/Des Moines Police Department]
