Mahfuza Rahman left Bellevue hospital in New York City after her shift ended on December 8th, 2015. The following day, she attended a class at Hunter College. After that, she was never been seen or heard from again. Unfortunately, she wasn’t reported missing until March of 2016.
If you have any information, you can contact the Bronx Homicide Squad at (718) 378-8083 or anonymous calls can also be made to NYPD Crime Stoppers 1-800-577-TIPS. If you would like to follow Mahfuza’s case, please join theFacebook group called Justice for Mahfuza Rahman.
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hey, hey members, you can listen to the vanished ad free on amazon, music download the app today
and here we are in a year and a half later, a box would be the the the two year mark in December. You know and a couple of months and it's like how could you live with yourself?
You wake up and go to sleep every night as if nothing has happened, and you see your daughter, she doesn't have her mother that shit to me. It is beyond comfort
for me
so do you old, associate nurse misuse? Women left bellevue hospital in new york city after the shift ended on December eighth, two thousand and fifteen the following day. She attended a classic hinder college and, after that, she's never been seen or heard from again
Unfortunately, she wasn't immediately reported missing.
your contact at her husband after she missed work, and he told them that she had gone back to bangladesh because our parents had been in a terrible accident.
Several months later in march of two thousand and sixteen her
you're became concerned that she hadn't returned to work and contacted p d.
Foods his case is unique because our family lives overseas and they don't speak english.
so it hasn't been easy for them to advocate for her.
You may be wondering how I came upon this case. Well, one
we first as co workers has been fighting to keep her case alive. She was
what a fine refuses brother and communicates with him on social media, using google translate
This is an amazing story of how people from around the world have come.
Together to fight for justice. For one woman
and this is episode. Ninety four of the vanished, the story
of Methuselah disappearance
the
and
I
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Contacted back in february by one am refuses. Coworkers t, Annie.
he's been trying really hard to keep emphasis story out there. The problem
Before this case is that we don't have a ton of information ago on one,
started the show? I made the decision to cover any case, even if it
that I had to be a shorter episode, I wouldn't
current anyone down due to a lack of information.
so I've been hanging onto the story for some time trying to find ways to get more information
I tried submitting a freedom of information act request
that was denied. I spoke to the
active handling her case, and he was eager to speak with me because I desperately seeking information from the public, but I had to
approval from their press office.
Fortunately, my request was immediately denied. I believe
The issue is that Nypd is such a large police force that they
have denied a request coming from any small media outlets,
one that isn't there local new station or a well known national media outlets. So this week
I'm travelling and instead of skipping a week of the show I decide
The air one of these shorter episode that I've been working on.
At the time of her disappearance, mfa was living in the bronx section of new york city, with her husband
Thirty eight year old, mohammed chowdhury and their nine year old daughter, she was
working at bellevue hospital and also attending hunter college to obtain her bachelors degree nursing. While her
husband worked as a taxi driver and bus tables.
Refusal Mohammed had met back in bangladesh and moved to the. U s after the birth of their daughter.
One thing that I have struggled with from the start with this story has been. Who were
foods. Are we
that she was a thirty year old, mother working as a nurse and going to school, but
First, there was a private person
She would often talk with coworkers about her daughter.
Would pass on invitations to hang out after work tee.
He told me how she met with user and came to learn that she was missing. Yes, I worked with.
At bellevue hospital are for a little over a year. She started off as a balance. Here,
and then she
eventually got higher, and then I left on maternity leave.
What happened was arm? I thought it was
maybe about three four months old
What I saw her per se
on tv on similar
lose. Unlike. Why wait? I know her and then I still kept in contact with the nurses. Thou worked with her.
Dave hack, the near there like to see the door before those missing at all. She came to her to work this day in and
I was like wow. I was just shocked.
Refuses coworkers didn't see any indications that mfa was in any kind of danger at home. In fact,
she never even spoken of her husband,
the working environment. We work with children.
We didn't buy her a couple of times. For my kid got: half the work the time, but now she she was very religious. She practices islam
so. She was very, she was very you know, per culture, and but she would you know
joking laugh, but never nothing. You never heard anything bad about her.
Then we never met. She never mentioned her husband at all, good or bad or different, nothing to be added nothing at all.
even their neighbors didn't really know much about the family from one of the neighbors were describing. Them should be very, very poor
Where did it really talk? Only was basically spoke when spoken to
when you say: hey hi. How are you then? There was fine
I then the only mainly saw a full added that heat up clean outside of their front yard, though is it was like that
you know they mainly saw her at her daughter,
What we do know is that the n Y has been able to verify some of the foods as last movements.
They know that she went to work at bellevue hospital on December, eighth, two thousand and fifteen.
On December night. She attended a class, a hundred college and they ve been able
confirm that she did make it home on the evening of the ninth.
That's when mufasa disappeared without a trace.
next day was the tenth she was. So
you'll to work at the hospital but never showed up. It was unlike me,
is there to be a no call, no show tee.
Explain to me what the protocol is when someone doesn't show up for a shift at bellevue the process. If cause. I worked in the faint unit for the process, and I was the clerical associate there, so the past
As is basically, you don't come in the work of your, like a note
called also. They call you just make sure
Yeah, ok, what's goin on, are you going
a man so that that's what they did in what they call. They have her husband as an emergency contact number they gave me
This has been mohammed, a call, and he told them that refuse. I had left the country on December, ninth because her pair
had been in a terrible accident, so they caught him
said: hey, you know, buffalo bill was supposed to come in for threeg dirty shed.
And she never saw out do you know what's going on and he said I.
Sorry, I had to call you, but she had to go
After her country,
If there was a family emergency, her parents were in a bad accident. That's what he told the nursing staff. He basically said that she was supposed to come back, I'm in march, so you know they. They took his word for.
They said: ok, we'll just stop. Have her give us a call or if you can either keep in contact and let us do so. Then he told the nursing staff ass. She was to be expected back in the states by march. Six
Four days later, on December, fourteen the hospitals-
to hospital police officers over to us home?
this visit mohammed gave a slightly different story than the one he had given to the nursing supervisor just four days earlier. This time
he said that her parents have been in a terrible accident.
they were most likely going to die. He stated
My father had left earlier that same day on the fourteenth to go back.
to bangladesh to be with them,
So here he changes a date that she left the country from the ninth to the fourteenth
he also told them that she was expected to return in march and would be returning to work after that time. But here
We're refuses case goes called for a while
nobody realises that anything is really wrong. Nobody will.
what's her missing,
as we see stories in the news about people, have gone missing but aren't reported as missing for months or even years, and we all go
How in the world does this happen, refusal
case, is the perfect example of how this happens. She was
a fairly isolated life.
she had no family living in this country. She went to school and work, and that was about it.
Many employers wouldn't have gone to the lengths at bellevue hospital did when she didn't show up- and I bet
husband didn't expect the hospital police to shore up at his door on December, fourteenth
when didn't show back up for work in march. Other nurses urge the hospital police to look into this further, so they were
back out to the home that mfa, shared with her husband and daughter, only
find that it was vacant.
This is when the hospital police contacted the n Y p to report. That mfa was missing, detector
took refuses case seriously from the start. They can
tat, it immigration officials and learned that she never left the country, but her husband
flown to bangladesh, with their daughter back on december, fourteenth
which was the same day that the hospital police went out to check on the future.
We are told the local news about the last conversation he had with Mohammed.
The last. I see that the horsemen and he told me watch my
because I gotta go to my function, the this
another neighbour, spoke about being shocked by the news that the was missing
Following the family, I never see nothing.
this rule. For me, I've been there were nice people. I was very surprised when I got there was something going on.
Police searched their home. They found that the basement had flooded due to a broken pipe.
They believe that this may have been done intentionally to hide forensic evidence.
They also found that the walls in the home had been freshly painted and that a concrete slab out front look like had been recently put down. They do
dig up the concrete but didn't find any evidence there.
The evidence in the home isn't necessarily evidence of murder but its evidence,
the food they never laughed. They found her paw
sport, wallet, clothes and credit cards?
They began digging deeper and looked into Mohammed's banking records around the time that mfa disappeared.
This is when they made a startling discovery
at eight or nine a m on December. Tenth,
the morning after mfa was last seen mohammed
had gone to a local store
just the sixteen inch camping acts and packing tape.
law enforcement got in touch with my family in bangladesh they learned
Your parents had never been in an accident and that Mohammed had told them that mfa had left him for another man come when he
told the police. You know that
last overseas. Ah the story:
the he told her parents was that she left him for another man, so there he goes
telling through different story. That's when I mentioned earlier that he called the police one thing and then he called
her family, something out.
One thing that I wondered about is whether or not refuse daughter may have seen or heard something. Maybe she
be the key to solving this case.
Tierney told me that she wondered about that too.
Another question that I'm like who knows if she saw something now I spoke to the brother and he said that they are the night that he was that they picked him up from the airport, the daughters. I hear that sort of thing for him she was crying, she was crying and she was asking for my mom
and he told her husband, Ma Mohammed told her.
Her brother don't make a big thing of this. You know use she's case she's though, but verde
with a stable currency nine years. First of all, she was a good school and you
and you're taking her out of her. Whatever happened, I'm pretty sure, and I hope she did it, but it she did. Then she saw something in that house
traumatize in her. You take her out of out of because you ve been in the united states and she would boy you're thinking
Her comfort zone, you figure out of this environment, where it is unstable and you bring her back to a place where
it's a third world country like she's, I'm she scared up.
so as a nine year old. She scared and she's helpless, and she doesn't know what
why am I here a moment
friends and in new york. Why am I here? You know that's another thing, though,
he went. The brother told me that you know it was like,
why would he to me in my head? I make why would he say something like that for her brother, all euro zone, the raw dawn, neural she'll, be ok, sure
she'll get over it? You know like how you gonna shrugged off an act like that's. That's nothing.
Unfortunately, law enforcement has never been able to speak with Methuselah daughter, because she's now living in bangladesh with Mohammed mother,
refuses family has urged Mohammed to come back to the? U s, to speak to police. He promised
he would but he's not
follow through on that promise, tee
He has been able to communicate with mfa. Brother using facebook and google translate her
He has been left in a terrible position because they want answers.
but they also don't wanna be cut off from seeing refuses daughter
he doesn't want to press him, because that data
they will have contact with her daughter, her ten year old daughter. They they wanted.
Keep that relationship open, so they can
able to be in her life. It's hard, it's hard for them.
The.
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the.
The only tell me more about her communications with misuses brother and what her families hoping for at this point. When I try to contact the brother, I guess because at the time difference here, he took several days to respond, and you know we went back and forth and end in Houston,
But tell me you: don't please: if you have any information to lead,
No,
yeah you know I can, and I I will do anything that I can to help to get you guys cocksure, because that's all they want at this point. You know it's not about why it's about okay, we just want her back home if the worst is that she,
dead, which is probably what it is sad to say that, but they just want closer and they just want the truth and there obviously not getting back from him.
It's hard to communicate with Him-
again our languages. Other language barriers is just bad, but I try and
I try to get information from him after he had spoken to him. Have you
he sat down, we haven't seen, but the baby, but the young girl, you know
I don't know he's saying he's gonna cut back up like so I'd try to get information, and I guess you saw together
we should for me as well? I feel bad because- and I feel like I'm in the states-
her elbow, we weren't cloth, but we did have a working relationship and you know cause was pregnant and there were think that she
talk to me about you know to warn me throughout my pregnancies you notice novel talk and
I noticed tat she never really much in her husband, but she shall be pictures of her daughter that I know you know. I know that
took her to canada. Ali took her to world, but you know she never spoke of her husband and her family. You don't you just spoke of her daughter.
One problem that they run into with this case is that people with
Their community seem reluctant to talk to law enforcement.
Tony found one woman on facebook who had been friends with mfa and seemed to have information about their marriage, tat,
encourage her to contact law enforcement. There was this young lady that I also came across on me on facebook, which I think she went to school.
See I want, I want point, had her husband as a friend of a book is bought, but data
longer. Our friends on facebook me and a girl. I found her because I was the slovene look at about the same,
washington who spoke to her last forget my information and she basically wishes
say you know he will. He did something for her
You know you don't want to tell me a ladder for me, and so she hid it to me. You know he had something to do with it, because I was I was sexy or
but messaging him and his brother, and no one wants to ask me. He'd deleted me off
look, I know what I want. I pulled her thinking. She knows maybe knows something more, as I was her best friend to an issue
just ah, I gave her that that check this number is they wanted to speak to her ever listened united trouble, but they didn't want to get more information. If you know something, you could possibly be that one person to shed light on something any issue that they had in their marriage, but she did
to the fact that you refuse to that all I don't want to get involved, and that was accepted
it's left her alone because I didn't want to feel like I didn't you don't want to feel like. I was bothering her or
fearing in her life,
also come to light that mfa and mohammed we're having some marital issues, supply
was it really due to her families, higher social status and all
his mother had secured a visa in bangladesh and he wanted her to come, live in their home. Apparently
I didn't think that, with such a great idea
actors have also stated that they learn that mohammed felt, like mfa, was becoming too americanized detect,
These are currently training refuses case as a murder, investigation and now there-
for enough information to charge Mohammed, they feel like they capacity
you'd have, even if her body isn't recovered. He basically
He doesn't need a body approve that
It was murdered because, obviously none of her finances have been touched. Nothing has
Then the dismal movement. You know, there's no profession.
The country? Then they went into the
where they found her passport
I'd be her credit cards, everything were there, so basically they they, China, get him to come back,
and he he told me your he's had experience where you locked up a couple of people that they need
body. They didn't need abiding to prove that he did something. You know what I'm saying that they did anything. So I'm hoping that's the case. He said he's going to talk with the press, the prosecutor.
Working on the only told me what drives her to keep pushing for answers and refuses case just the fact that you know what, when you use
People gone missing in you, don't know them, but when it somebody you to go and if it hits your heart is like ok, I know this person
It may not know her personally, but I work with her. I was in the sweet girl. I those you, you know she didn't from what I saw.
You don't even have any issue that she will. You know coming in from coming into. Work spoke about, her daughter had all did
things have got on the weekend and I saw that part of her. Then it's late,
I want to know what happened to her alive. Why? What our
other cited, the gear you you ve got.
so. There are certain things that detectors are looking for and hoping someone out. There has some answers.
They want to know if mohammed reached out to anyone you could have
friend neighbour coworker and possibly asked him to help him move or transport, something.
you may have had no clue what you were helping him move.
He did some renovation to the home around that time, so it could have even appeared to be construction supplies rolled up carpet. Some
the package anything
there are also wondering if someone in the neighborhood may have seen him moving something in the middle of the night. Between december ninth and december, tenth of two thousand and fifteen.
They were living in the bed for park section of the box at the time
so anyone who either mfa or mohammed may have confided in about their marriage.
even though they haven't found her they're trying to build a case that strong enough to get him back to the. U s for prosecution.
T only recently contacted me to let me know that, during whatever conversations with Methuselah brother, she learned that Mohammed has now remarried, that's all
scary,
anyone who may have information now
the time to step up before he has a chance to harm anyone else at the time
never disappearance, refuse a remain, was described.
is being between five foot, three inches and five five inches taller and wait,
Between one hundred and one hundred and thirty five pounds, she's black
air and brown eyes. Anyone
Information can contact the bronx homicide squad at seven one, eight, three, seven, eight, eight zero, eight three.
You can also call an anonymous tips to the end. Why p d crime stoppers at one
Hundred five, seven seven tips,
like to follow me who's this case on social media TE runs a facebook group called justice for mahfouz a remain that
the end of episode. Ninety four,
to thank tee for taking the time to speak with me and also for keeping the updated over the many months since we first spoke,
one thing that I'd like to point out about mahfouz's case is that it really highlights the need for us to look out for one another. If her
workers at the hospital, had pushed the hospital police to look into the story.
She may never have been reported missing
I'm assuming that's what her husband was hoping for, hoping
they could just tell her work, that she went back to bangladesh and tell her family that she left him for another man
and no one would look into it much further.
It really makes me wonder how many victims are out there who have never been reported missing.
one update for those of you who don't follow the shown social media madeline jones in baby, William, who were featured in episode. Ninety two were found in san diego on Monday october, second mattie was taken into custody and william has been reunited with his father and other family members who have been desperately searching for him for months,
it's been such a role of those since that episode aired, but I'm thrilled that everyone is safe.
If you was a missing love, one you like to have featured on the show,
the key submission form at the vanished, podcast dot com. If you want to follow the shore, facebook there's a page in a private discussion group and also on twitter at the vanish pod and or instagram as vanish, podcast join me next time, I'll be covering the case of the missing man from texas. Now, please be patient with me for this. Next, when irish
two six hundred page file from pleased. So it may take me a little bit more time that this one together, thanks for listening,
But whatever the majority of the council, I am hid his thing you're gonna, be in ending vary from my eyes,
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Transcript generated on 2023-05-23.