Police speak to community leaders and the family of the missing man. Picture: Ben Crabtree/The West Australian.
Police officers have found human remains during a search in Mirrabooka but have not identified whether they belong to a missing Somali man.
Forensics officers searched Mirrabooka this morning as a result of an investigation carried out by the local Somali community into the disappearance of Abdulahi Mohamad Igal who was last seen in May.
Around 10.45am WA police spokesman said remains had been found off Chesterfield Road, Mirrabooka.
"The information provided suggested the remains were those of 26-year-old Abdulahi Mohamad Igal, whose absence was reported to WA Police on Friday 30 September 2015," police said this morning.
About 100 Somali community members gathered outside Herb Graham Recreation Centre last night as police established a search area in bush between the recreation centre and Reid Highway.
Distraught friends and family said they decided to start their own investigation into Abdulahi Igal’s whereabouts after months of police inaction.
Their inquiries uncovered a potential link to a former friend of Mr Igal’s who had fled to Somalia the night of his disappearance.
The chairman of WA’s Somali community, Hassan Egal, said the former friend confessed yesterday afternoon to killing Abdulahi and hiding his body.
It is understood the man confessed to stabbing Abdulahi twice and hiding his body in bush.
“We contacted the guy’s family in Africa and we told them we are suspecting that this guy knows something about the disappearance of his friend,” Hassan said.
“After some time, they brought him to the telephone conference and he admitted it.
“He said, ‘We had a fight and he’s dead and I left the country’.
“We gave the police a statement about what we had found out and where the deceased
person was buried.”
Community leader Hassan Egal
Hassan said it was hard for the community to accept Abdulahi’s body might have been lying in local bush the whole time.
Abdulahi’s cousin and community spokesman Abdi Artan said the community was disappointed in the police missing person investigation.
“They’re very disappointed that they haven’t received the respect the family has deserved and this matter hasn’t been properly investigated,” he said.
“It’s the community that has taken on board this initiative.
“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to find out what happened.”
Mr Igal's sister Nimo
Mr Igal’s sister, Nimo, said the family had arrived in Australia from New Zealand in 2002. Her brother, in his mid-20s, was a tradesman who sometimes worked in Kalgoorlie.
“He’s a young boy, very nice and a very generous, honest person,” she said. “He didn’t deserve to die like this. No one deserves to die under a bush.”
Members of the Somali community at the scene.
Police cordoned off the search area overnight.
A police spokesman said forensics officers would be sent to the scene this morning to examine several sites of interest that were found during an earlier sweep of the bush.
Police sealed off the scene
He said he did not have enough information on the missing person case to comment.
He could not confirm possible human remains had been found.
Detectives in Mirrabooka
