The Des Moines Police Department says it has completed its investigation into the death of 18-year old Abdullahi ‘Abdi’ Sharif, and there is no evidence of foul play.
Sharif disappeared on January 17th, after leaving his job at Target at Merle Hay Mall. His body was recovered in the Des Moines River near Prospect Park on May 2nd.
On Wednesday, Des Moines Police released a narrative that pieces together Sharif's final hours. Police say video from a DART bus and cell phone tracking information show that Abdi took a bus from Merle Hay Road to the 3300 block of MLK Parkway. From there, he walked to the Euclid Avenue Bridge over the Des Moines River.
While on the bridge, Abdi took a picture of the water below him, and was uploading that picture to his Instagram account when his phone died. Police say all evidence points to Sharif taking his own life, or accidentally falling off the bridge into the water.
The complete narrative from the Des Moines Police Department:
"Des Moines Police Department detectives have completed their investigation into th disappearance of Adullahi “Abdi” Sharif. Below is a summary of the investigation that includes new details.
Sharif was last seen on 17 January 2020. He was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on 18 January 2020. His body was discovered in the Des Moines River, near Prospect Park, on 02 May 2020.
During the investigation, detectives worked tirelessly to locate video evidence, digital evidence, potential witnesses, and gather background information. Well over 1,000 hours were dedicated to following investigative leads. In addition to canvassing the area for leads, grounds searches were done along the suspected path that Sharif traveled, as well as the wooded areas near the Des Moines River. Environmental conditions did not support a river search, however visual inspections were done. Throughout the investigation these searches were repeated.
Early in the investigation, detectives learned from Sharif’s family that as early as November 2019 he had, more than once, expressed thoughts of harming himself. Detectives also learned that Sharif had been secretive about his movements, and his family had discovered apparent conversation between Sharif and others regarding minor illegal activities, and he was experiencing other personal struggles.
Interviews with friends and associates of Sharif provided investigators with information that there were rumors that Sharif was hiding and staying with unknown friends at unknown locations. These leads, and others that indicated that Sharif was a victim of foul play, were thoroughly investigated as they came in and all were ultimately found to be false. Detectives were able to obtain cell phone tower data which provided a very general look at Sharifs movement as he traveled east from Target. The last “ping” from the phone was in the area of the Euclid Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River.
Detectives spoke with Sharif’s father who resides in Canada. He indicated that he had not spoken with Sharif for approximately a week prior to his disappearance.
On 30 January 2020, detectives requested the technical assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Polk County Medical Examiner determined that Sharif had no traumatic injury to his body that would indicate an assault or other deliberate harm had come to Sharif prior to his death. His clothing, weather/water damage excluded, showed no signs of a struggle with another person. When Sharif was recovered from the river, his cell phone was also recovered. That phone was turned over to the FBI for forensic examination. On 23 July 2020, detectives received the results of that examination.
During the first week of the investigation, detectives requested a review of Des Area Regional Transit (DART) bus video. Detectives requested a specific time frame and distance from the last confirmed sighting of Sharif as he left the mall. A review of that video found no evidence of Sharif boarding a bus.
Reviewing the data provided by the FBI, it was noted that it appeared Sharif began to move at the speed of a vehicle approximately 12 minutes after leaving Target. This information was shared with DART, who adjusted the scope of the search and was able to find video of Sharif bordering a bus further east on Douglas Avenue. Sharif boards the bus alone and has no interaction with anyone throughout the length of the video. Due to the parameters requested on the original search, there is no video of Sharif exiting the bus.
The phone data recovered by the FBI provides a detailed timeline as Sharif travels eastbound onDouglas Avenue and then south on MLK, Jr Parkway. At 5:33 pm, the bus GPS and Sharif’s phone GPS both “ping” at a bus stop in the 3300 block of MLK, Jr Parkway. From that point, the bus continues south and Sharif moves north.
The data shows Sharif begins to walk eastbound on Euclid Avenue from MLK, Jr. Parkway at 5:36pm. During this walk, Sharif accesses multiple apps on his phone and makes to calls; one a FaceTime and one a phone call, to family. When asked about this discovery, a family member confirmed participating in these calls but could not recall the content of the call.
At 5:43 p.m., Sharif is on the Euclid Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River. During that same 5:43 p.m. minute, Sharif takes a photograph of the river below him. At 5:44 p.m., Sharif opens his Instagram account. It is believed that he begins to upload the photograph. Also at 5:44 p.m., the phone stops providing data.
Reviewing evidence acquired in this investigation, it is believed that Sharif jumped from the bridge committing suicide, or accidentally fell from the bridge. There is no evidence of any criminal act."