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Detectives find body believed to be missing Afghan woman in her apartment

Arezu Kashify carries her son through Manito Park during World Refugee Day in Spokane on Saturday, June 29, 2015. The Afghan refugee was reported missing on Saturday. On Tuesday, Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies found a deceased woman in her apartment under the false floor of a chest freezer. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
By Jonathan Glover jonathanglover22@gmail.com

Investigators found the body believed to be that of a missing Afghan woman after searching an apartment she shared with her husband and children. He left the country on a one-way plane ticket days ago, and Spokane Police Department Major Crimes detectives suspect homicide.

The discovery was made Tuesday after detectives executed a search warrant on the couple’s apartment, identified by friends of the two as a complex in north Spokane.

While the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has not released the identity of the body, it’s believed to be 24-year-old Arezu Z. Kashify. The mother of two went missing reportedly amid a marriage dispute with her husband, who friends say is Wahid Kashify.

Arezu Kashify was last seen by friends May 25 after she dropped off her children at school. She wasn’t reported missing until Saturday. Child Protective Services is overseeing the care of the children, the sheriff’s office said earlier this week.

The sheriff’s office said on Facebook that a sweep of the apartment was done shortly after Arezu Kashify was reported missing, however a full search wasn’t completed until Tuesday because they didn’t have “legal authority to actually search a home.”

“The discovery occurred when we had gained enough probable cause during the investigation to conduct (a) search (of) the apartment for evidence of a crime,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Deputies say Wahid Kashify, owner of local taxi company Cougar Taxi, purchased a single, one-way airline ticket on May 28 and left the United States, though the sheriff’s office has not disclosed where his plane was destined.

Ijaz Khel, who owns JR Taxi and worked with Wahid Kashify for about a year, said Monday that Wahid Kashify sent him an email on May 30 that essentially granted him full ownership of Cougar Taxi.

Arezu Kashify’s car was discovered Saturday at Spokane International Airport.

Kashify and her husband were both living in the U.S. on a special immigration visa specifically for refugees who helped U.S. military or governmental personnel and can’t live safely in their native countries. They came to Spokane in 2015 from Afghanistan.

Wahid Kashify graduated from Spokane Community College in 2017 with an associate’s degree in criminal justice.