Deputies searching for missing mother; husband bought one-way ticket out of country

A woman has been missing since she dropped off her children at school May 25, and sheriff’s deputies are seeking the public’s help.

Arezu Z. Kashify, 24, had been having marriage problems, and her husband purchased a one-way airline ticket to another country on May 28, according to a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators have been unable to reach the husband. The sheriff’s office did not indicate where the couple lived or what schools their children attended.

Kashify’s children are fine and are not in the custody of either parent, according to Deputy Mark Gregory, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Gregory would not say who is taking care of the children and would not disclose the destination country of the husband’s plane ticket.

A woman named Arezu Kashify was mentioned in a 2015 Spokesman-Review article that detailed her husband’s experience as a military translator and interpreter in Afghanistan during the war.

Her husband, identified in the story as Wahid Kashify, was studying criminal justice at Spokane Community College and reportedly planned on returning to Afghanistan after he was done with his degree.

The couple came to the U.S. from Afghanistan on a special immigration visa program for refugees who don’t feel safe in their home countries, according to the article.

Wahid Kashify, who worked for a company that contracted with the U.S. Army starting in 2003, said he and his family were wanted by the Taliban and other terrorist groups because of his work with the Army and that during his time in Kabul, he carried weapons with him and saw years of warfare. His car was hit by an improvised explosive device, almost killing him.

Arezu Kashify was last seen driving a white 2014 Toyota Sienna, WA license BLE3753, which is also missing.

The friend who reported her missing said it is very unusual for Arezu Kashify to not have contact with friends and family.

She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds, according to the news release. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on her or her car’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 and use reference No. 10072915.