The last time Hassan Elnour spoke to his brother, Ali Ali, was Sunday night.
Ali needed to pay his rent and have enough money to register for classes the next morning.
As the elder brother, Elnour is in charge of the finances for both. He wanted to make sure Ali had enough to pay rent -- which bank records show he did Sunday night -- and to register for classes and live on. Ali, 24, spent the following morning registering and applying for an assistantship, and then he disappeared.The Sudanese brothers are in the United States to advance their educations. Elnour is a medical resident in urology at the University of Mississippi in Jackson. Ali came in August to pursue his master's degree in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He was last seen around noon by people at the Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science Building on UTC's campus. When Ali didn't return home to his off-campus apartment that night, his roommates checked area hospitals and notified police.
"I knew from the first day that this was an emergency because I know him," said Walied Hassan, Ali's roommate.
Hassan, also an engineering student from Sudan, met Ali at UTC and took a quick liking to a man he described as a nice, normal person. Hassan said he, Ali, and their two other roommates spent every moment outside of classes together.
He said Ali was acting normally right up to the morning he disappeared.
"I didn't realize anything different at all," Hassan said. "That morning, we had tea, and then he went to school."
The roommates notified Elnour on Tuesday and he drove to Chattanooga to search for his brother.
Wednesday morning, Elnour went to UTC police, who directed him to the Chattanooga Police Department. The detectives handling the case told Elnour to try to track his brother's phone. He got in touch with an Apple employee who was able to locate Ali's iPad.
"She said, 'He's online right now, I can see where he is, I found him, yay!'" Elnour said.
But the Apple representative told Elnour that she couldn't give the location without an application filed with the police. After several hours of haggling between the police and Apple on Wednesday night, the application was denied, and Ali's whereabouts are still unknown. Elnour couldn't believe it.
"If I had a patient, and it was an emergency, I wouldn't say, 'OK, come tomorrow,'" Elnour said. "It's not acceptable."
Elnour, Hassan and Ali's other roommates are worried and frustrated, but they aren't idle. They've posted fliers around UTC's campus. They're checking in with city police and hospital emergency rooms. And they continue to monitor Ali's bank account, whose lack of activity is especially troubling to his brother.
"His last transaction was to pay his rent Sunday," Elnour said. "He doesn't carry cash, so he hasn't bought anything, he has no food, and he doesn't know anyone here."
UTC spokesman Chuck Cantrell confirmed that Ali is a UTC student and that he has been reported missing. He said the university is working with Chattanooga police on the investigation.
While they await further instruction from police, Hassan said the roommates and Ali's brother will keep looking for Ali.
"We're still searching for him as if it's the first day," Hassan said. "And we'll continue to do that until we find him."
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525.
SOURCE: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/jan/09/utc-student-missing-monday/281793/
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LostNMissing Inc.
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LostNMissing Inc., is an all-volunteer national tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "code") and qualifies as a public supported organization under Sections, or Categories: P99 (Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C.); M99 (Other Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness, and Relief N.E.C.); I01 (Alliance/Advocacy Organizations). LostNMissing is organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of New Hampshire. We never charge a fee for our services.
--------------------------------------------------------
LostNMissing Inc.
www.lostnmissing.com
LostNMissing Inc., is an all-volunteer national tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "code") and qualifies as a public supported organization under Sections, or Categories: P99 (Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C.); M99 (Other Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness, and Relief N.E.C.); I01 (Alliance/Advocacy Organizations). LostNMissing is organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of New Hampshire. We never charge a fee for our services.
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