Missing U of M student found deceased in Mississippi River in St. Paul

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
·1 min read
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A University of Minnesota student who was reported missing last week was found dead in the Mississippi River in St. Paul, police said Tuesday.

Foul play is not suspected in the 21-year-old’s death, according to Minneapolis police. A family friend said the young man’s name was Abdirihman Abdifatah Ali and he was known as Abdi; authorities had variations in the spelling of his name.

Minneapolis police received a missing person report last week about Ali, who last seen last Wednesday on the U of M’s West Bank, according to a missing person poster. He was from Prior Lake and was to graduate next year.

St. Paul officers were called Monday about 5:45 p.m. to a report of a body in the river in the area of Harriet Island. The Ramsey County sheriff’s office water patrol recovered Ali’s body.

On a Facebook page dedicated to looking for Ali, a post thanked people for spreading the word about him and asked for thoughts, “prayers, kindness, and space for” Ali’s family to grieve, along with a message of: “We love you Abdi. You will be missed.”

Ali was the second University of Minnesota student recently found deceased in the Mississippi River in St. Paul. Austin Ray Retterath, 19, was reported missing May 8 and was located May 18; foul play was also not suspected in his death.

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