Terasi Niholimbele's family fled from Burundi during the genocide of the Tutsi people in the 1990s. At the time, Terasi's mother was pregnant and he was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania. Terasi's parents and eight siblings moved to the United States when he was four years old.

Terasi later enrolled in Phoenix's Peoria Elementary in the 7th grade. Terasi's wife, Cheyenne Waters, describes him as "very humble" and her "best friend in the whole galaxy." They eloped when they were both 19 years old and have a daughter Kalani. He later worked at an awning manufacturing site and while he was a green card holder, he never became a U.S. citizen. He was once nearly deported but the immigration court decided to cease deportation proceedings due to his mental health issues, refugee status and his wife and child who are both U.S. citizens.

23 year old Terasi was last seen at 5:00pm on August 30, 2017 by friends who dropped him off at in the area of 5500 W. Flower Street in Phoenix. In a 2018 news article, Cheyenne stated he was last seen at a house on North 54th lane in Phoenix. His friend was supposed to pick him up but Terasi was not answering the phone when the friend called. Terasi's friend texted Cheyenne to let her know and Cheyenne reported Terasi missing the next day. At the same house, two months later, a man was shot to death in what police called a drug-related killing.

Detective Stuart Somershoe of Phoenix PD's Missing Persons Division stated in the same news article that there have been witnesses who have come forward to state that Terasi was murdered but authorities have not been able to verify those statements. Cheyenne says Terasi was not a drug user but could have "gotten mixed up with the wrong people." The Charley Project notes that Terasi struggled with bipolar disorder but it was not like him to be to not keep in touch with family.

Kalani especially misses her father with Cheyenne commenting "I go through nights where we're sort of in bed crying together because she wants him...you just want someone to come forward and give you answers, so you can close the book. I can't even give him a funeral."

Terasi remains missing. He has black hair, brown eyes, and a mole on his forehead above his eyebrow. He has numerous tattoos on his neck, chest, arms, hand and legs which include the name "Felista" on his right wrist, the name "Jean Angel" on his right forearm, the word "Family" on his right arm, and the name "Mathias" on his left wrist. If you have any information, please call Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151.

Links:

https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/arizonas-missing-terasi-niholimbele-missing-since-august-2017/75-63844480-9e91-4a49-97b6-b7ab4db17c0e

https://ktar.com/story/2312058/phoenix-police-still-searching-for-2-men-who-have-been-missing-for-years/

http://www.crimestoppersweb.com/524/Pictures/2017-2885Flyer.pdf

https://charleyproject.org/case/terasi-niholimbele