Yusuf Shikder, then four years old, and his younger sister, Zahra, who was ten months old, were last seen in Hollywood, Florida, on March 15, 2015. The children were taken by their mother, Rashida Sumaiya Shikder, without the knowledge or consent of their father, Bashirul Shikder. At the time of their disappearance, Mr. Shikder was on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. He became concerned when his wife stopped responding to his messages. After several days of silence, he learned from his wife's parents that she and the children were gone.
Investigations by the FBI revealed that Rashida Shikder had flown with Yusuf and Zahra to Turkey and then crossed into Syria to join the terrorist group ISIS. Approximately one month after their disappearance, Bashirul Shikder received a phone call from a man with a British accent in Syria who informed him that his wife and children were in the "Islamic State." The man gave Mr. Shikder an ultimatum to join them in Syria within a month or his wife and children would be taken from him. Over the following years, Mr. Shikder had intermittent contact with his wife, who expressed a desire to leave but claimed her passport had been taken.
Tragically, in 2019, Bashirul Shikder was informed by his wife's sister that Rashida had been killed in a bombing raid in Baghuz, Syria, and that the children had been injured. Following their mother's death, it is believed that Yusuf and Zahra may have been taken by an affiliate of ISIS and could still be in Syria or may have been moved to Iraq. As of March 2018, they were believed to be in Sha'afa, Syria. The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice program has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that leads to the location, recovery, and return of Yusuf and Zahra Shikder.
Last Seen: Mar 15, 2015
