Missing Kansas Student: Husband Believes She Was Kidnapped
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Ryan McVay/Thinkstock(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — Though police say all possibilities are being considered in the case of missing Kansas student Aisha Khan, her husband of five months firmly believes she was kidnapped.
“My message to the kidnapper is, let her go,” Waseem Khan told ABC’s Good Morning America Wednesday. “You have the power to let her go and I will completely forgive you if you let her go.”
Aisha Khan, 19, was last heard from on the morning of Dec. 16, when she left her sister a troubling voicemail, saying that while she was studying for finals at an outdoor picnic table, a drunk man had been harassing her and attempted to kiss her before she hit him and he took off.
Though Khan’s message is disturbing, some have noted that her voice is strangely calm as she speaks. This has led to questions about whether the disappearance could be a setup or a runaway situation, but police are staying mum on the matter.
“It’s still classified as a missing person and that hasn’t changed since day one,” Overland Park police spokeswoman Michelle Koos told ABC News. “But we have dedicated our resources as though it’s the worst-case scenario.”
Koos would not comment on whether police are considering that the situation could be staged, saying only that police are “looking at all different angles.”
Investigators are looking for clues in Khan’s personal life, including her cellphone, iPod touch and social media accounts. Some have questioned whether her devoutly Muslim family may have arranged her marriage against her will.
But those close to Khan refuse to believe she could have taken off without warning.
“She doesn’t do anything without her phone,” Khan’s cousin Sana Habib said. “Her leaving her stuff out like that is not her.”
Aisha’s cellphone, backpack and other items were at the University of Kansas picnic table where she had been sitting, but she was nowhere to be found.
Khan was last seen around 11 a.m. on Friday at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus. She is a student at the Johnson County Community College, which partners with the University of Kansas, which is why Khan was on the campus.
Police have interviewed family, friends, students, faculty and construction workers that were working nearby. Police said construction workers and a faculty member believe they saw someone that matched Khan’s description walking away from the area alone, but police have not yet confirmed if it was Khan.
FBI agents are assisting the Overland Park Police Department in the investigation. Searchers on foot and on horseback have searched the campus, nearby woods, a creek bed, park and a nearby golf course to no avail.
Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio