Disappearance

Date of Disappearance

April 26, 2009

Notes

Ward left his home that day to visit a nearby shopkeeper and buy bread and hummus. He was expected to arrive home directly afterward, but did not return.

In April 2010, one year after Ward’s disappearance, his family began receiving phone calls from an unknown male speaking in an Egyptian dialect. The man demanded a ransom for the return of Ward over several calls that appeared to be coming from Turkey.

The second time the man phoned, Ward’s father demanded to speak to the child to confirm that this was not a scam. The man spoke saying “وقال الوالد” (‘talk to your son’) and a voice on the phone said “يا ابوي” (‘My Father’). The voice sounded like Ward and the term he used is how Ward had always addressed his father.

Ward’s father said that he fainted upon hearing the child but when he recovered, the suspect demanded $1,000 be transferred to Turkey via Western Union as a sign of good faith. It was to be deposited into an account under the name “Ahmed Sayed Muhammad” (احمد سيد محمد). Ward’s father offered to fly to Turkey and give the man $10,000 in exchange for Ward’s safe return, but the man refused the offer. The police were notified, but we were not able to learn how that situation was resolved. The child is still listed as missing.

In 2016, Ward’s case was featured on a television show regarding Missing Persons. An unidentified male, believed to be speaking with an Egyptian dialect, called into the show and said that he had once helped to kidnap a child from Jordan in a ransom scheme. Although he said he regretted the incident, he did not stay on the line and Ward’s family were not able to trace the call.

They continue to search for the child without ceasing and have issued several calls to the public to offer any information that is available. Given the nature of the situation, there is any possibility that the child was moved to Egypt, Turkey, or in fact anywhere in the Middle East or Europe relatively quickly given the fluid nature of their borders.

Multiple Victims?

Rumored or Actual Sightings