Missing Since: 2017-08-30 Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Niholimbele was last seen at 5:00 p.m. on August 30, 2017. He told his wife he was going to run an errand, and a friend dropped him off at a house in the vicinity of the 5500 block of west Flower Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Niholimbele was supposed to call his friend when he wanted to be picked up, but he never did and has never been heard from again. His family reported him missing on September 1. The house where Niholimbele was last seen was connected to associates of a drug cartel, and a few months after he disappeared, a man was murdered there in a drug-related homicide. It’s unclear whether the death it has any connection to his case, but police think some of the same people involved in that murder could have also been connected to Niholimbele’s disappearance. His wife stated he used marijuana and had a medical card for it, but that he didn’t use illegal drugs. In spite of his struggles with bipolar disorder, it was uncharacteristic of him to be out of touch with his family. Niholimbele’s family, which includes his parents and eight siblings, is from the African nation of Burundi. They fled the country during the genocide against the Tutsi people in the 1990s when his mother was pregnant with him, and he was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania. They moved to the United States when Niholimbele was four years old. Although he had a green card, Niholimbele never became a U.S. citizen. At one point he was nearly deported, but the immigration court decided to let him stay because of his mental health issues, because of his wife and child who are both American citizens, and because of the fact that he isn’t a citizen of any other country. His wife stated their marriage was good and he adored their three-year-old daughter, and she thinks he may have been murdered. His case remains unsolved. Investigating Agency Phoenix Police Department 602-495-2019 Source Information NamUs Rap Sheets Phoenix Police Department Arrest Files Help Terasi’s Wife and Child Terasi Niholimbele’s Facebook Page Facebook Page for Terasi Niholimbele 12 News KJZZ 91.5 The Vanished Podcast Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 23, 2022; distinguishing characteristics updated.