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Arizona's Missing: Terasi Niholimbele, missing since August 2017

Niholimbele was last seen alive at a home on North 54th Lane.

PHOENIX - Tersasi Niholimbele was born in a Tanzanian refugee camp, his family fleeing his native country of Burundi in East Africa.

He eventually made his way to Arizona, entering the 7th grade at Peoria Elementary. 

"He was very humble – I think that's the one word I'd use to describe him is humble," his wife, Cheyenne Waters, said.

Waters and Niholimbele eloped at 19 years old. 

"We started dating and instantly got married," Waters said. "(Like) we've known each other for years. He was my best friend in the whole galaxy."

The two also had a daughter, Kalani, who is now 4 years old.

But Cheyenne Waters doesn't know whether to speak about her husband in the past tense or the present.

In August 2017, Niholimbele vanished and has not been seen since. 

Waters said the last place Niholimbele was seen alive was inside a house on North 54th Lane. Waters believes something may have happened inside.

"I got a text from one of his one of his friends that was supposed to pick him back up. And he said, 'Hey Terasi's not answering,'" Waters said.

At the same house, two months later, a man was shot to death. Police said it was drug-related.

Detective Stuart Somershoe of Phoenix PD's Missing Persons Division said it's possible Niholimbele was killed, but the theory lacks hard evidence to confirm.

"We have had some witnesses come forward that claim he's a victim of a homicide, but we haven't been able to verify that," Somershoe said.

Whatever the circumstances, Waters says her husband was not a drug user, but possibly got mixed up with the wrong people.

Either way, she wants to know what happened, especially for her young daughter, who still mourns for her missing dad.

"I go through nights where we're sort of in bed crying together because she wants him," Waters said. "You just want someone to come forward and give you answers, so you can close the book. I can't even give him a funeral."

Call Phoenix Police at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS if you have any insight into where Niholimbele may be or what happened to him.

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