The Saudi student who stopped attending classes at California State University, Northridge and vanished a month ago has been found dead.
Abdullah Abdullatif Alkadi, 23, sold his car on Sept. 18 and disappeared in a small town in the desert east of Greater Los Angeles.
Alkadi’s remains were discovered around midnight near Interstate 10 in Palm Desert, an upscale, miserably hot town in the Coachella Valley of Southern California, reports Los Angeles television station KTLA.
The electrical engineering student was last seen in his home on Sept. 17. His older brother, Ahmed Alkadi, said the younger Alkadi had sold his car the previous day. He had listed the Audi on Craigslist for $36,500. (RELATED: Saudi Student Who Sold His Audi, Abandoned College And Disappeared Remains Missing)
Alkadi had been the subject of a missing persons search by the Los Angeles Police Department. The FBI was assisting in the search.
Police said the car was worth about $52,000, according to Yahoo News.
The cause of death and the surrounding circumstances are being closely held by authorities. The LAPD released a statement saying very little. “Because the investigation is at a crucial juncture, further information surrounding this investigation will not be released” until after a Monday news conference, the statement said.
However, Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper has described Alkadi’s death as a “brutal murder.”
The paper reports that two suspects have been arrested for the Saudi student’s murder. The two men were involved in a considerable cash transaction with Alkadi concerning an automobile, the paper reports.
A third suspect reportedly remains at large.
In September, police traced Alkadi’s phone to Beaumont, Calif. The phone was deactivated shortly after its signal appeared there.
The Saudi national’s older brother, Ahmed Alkadi, noted that, as far as he knows, his brother has no ties to the Beaumont area.
“He came here to fulfill his dream,” the elder brother told CBS Los Angeles back in September. “He wanted to have a good education and go back to his country and be something in this world.”
The brothers’ parents — prominent citizens in Saudi Arabia — are “shocked” and “beside themselves with grief,” family friend Salman Al-Mutawa told KTLA.
Follow Eric on Twitter. Like Eric on Facebook. Send education-related story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.