Posted on 08/05/2014 3:37:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The four Ethiopian runners who disappeared from the IAAF Junior World Championships in Eugene this past weekend defected from their home country to avoid returning to widespread civil unrest there, police confirmed in a report released late Friday.
The report, provided by police in Federal Way, Washington, describes an interview with Zeyituna Mohammed, an 18-year-old woman runner on the Ethiopian national team.
She told police that she and the other athletes decided to stay in the US because they were too afraid to return to Ethiopia.
The report confirms for the first time what many close to the case, including the team’s coaches, had suspected — that the athletes’ disappearance was part of a plan to defect from Ethiopia.
Mohammed told authorities she may seek asylum in the US, but she is not certain of her plans.
It remains unclear whether the other three athletes, whom police found in Beaverton earlier this week, are planning to do so.
Federal Way police agreed to help University of Oregon police with the investigation when authorities learned Mohammed was staying with an acquaintance there.
On Wednesday, five days after the athletes were first reported missing, Federal Way police found Mohammed staying at the home of two Ethiopian natives, one of whom came from the same village Mohammed is from.
Through an interpreter, Mohammed described how the group left the University of Oregon campus unnoticed with help from another runner on the team, who helped them arrange rides with Ethiopian connections in the area.
The group was given a ride to Portland, and then Mohammed was picked up by another driver and taken to Federal Way.
Police found the other three runners — Amanuel Abebe Atibeha, a 17-year-old boy, and Dureti Edao and Meaza Kebede, 18-year-old women — in Beaverton on Monday.
Mohammed signed a contract with Nike and Edao with Adidas on July 25, just hours before the group disappeared, their coaches told University of Oregon police.
Edao told the coaches she needed to send a copy of her passport to the Adidas contract manager to finalize the agreement, according a report from UO police released this week.
Coaches gave her a key to the room where the team’s passports were kept.
Other members of the Ethiopian team later saw the four running with their bags and then hop into a white sedan, according to the UO police report.
None of the other team members was able to identify the driver.
Coaches later said the four athletes’ passports were missing. Police found the women athletes’ rooms, in a UO dormitory, emptied of belongings.
Nike and Adidas have not provided details about the athletes’ contracts.
In a statement Monday, university police said the athletes are permitted to stay in the US under the terms of their visas.
No time limit was given. Officials in the US Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services office declined to provide any further information.
Welcome to America, but... are you sure about this? We’re in a rather steep decline.
“Hey, what country’re you from?”
“Ethiopia.”
“What part?”
“...Hunnertwentyfit’ Street.”
My guess is they’re already registered to vote (D of course).
'Defection' means deserting your own nation in favor of an *opposing* nation, right? Has Ethiopia turned into the USSR since the last time I looked?
I know that they're not exactly feasting on a five inch thick corned beef on rye with a side of potato salad in Ethiopia, but they're not in famine anymore. I thought that Ethiopia was the nation admired by Rastafarians.
By what rationale can these chicks -- despite Lazmataz petitioning in favor of asylum due to one having admittedly nice abs and being not too terrible to look at -- claim to defect? They walked away from a track meet, not landed a MiG at an USAF base, or anything.
There is a history of artists and athletes defecting to the US from Russia, Cuba, China and others. This is not unusual.
By the way, the pictured girl on the left with the nice abs is one 'Anita Hinriksdottir' from Iceland, so I've (we've) been tricked with that photo.
This deal is DOUBLE off. No way. Tell them to put an egg in their track shoes and beat it.
They’re just here to humiliate us in marathons. Wait, they can run for the USA now!!
I guess the proper term should be to seek asylum in the US.
I don’t much care about the issue, but there is a history of accepting athletes.
Carlsbad CA has a 10k in the spring. They have different levels of competition, seniors, open etc. About 4 ears ago the Kenya olympic development runners (HS kids in Kenya) shows up. They had legs up to my shoulders and looked like greyhounds. They took the first 5 spots in the open division. Something to see.
To take their claim at face value means to allow anyone from anywhere not as desirable as Seattle just 'defect' and 'plea for asylum'. That's absurd.
This is just illegal immigration.
Oh, they’re fleet. Well that changes everything.
Of course, they outrun the border patrol. LOL.
think the runners in Africa get pretty good jobs and recognition
Maybe it is. I don’t know. I guess they need to explain themselves further.
This is just illegal immigration.
&&&
Exactly.
Just send them back.
Illegals taking jobs from US Athletes!!!! ;d
Meant to ping you too.
since Sean Lee went down for the year!
Their motto: “Will run for food!”
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