Hunt for kidnapped infant's body to end

YORK, Pa. - Upper Darby police say they will likely will end their search for a kidnapped 7-month-old boy, who is presumed dead, Friday unless new information surfaces.

"The vastness is unbelievable," Police Superintendent Michael J. Chitwood said, comparing rural York County, where the child's body is believed to be buried, with urban Upper Darby, where the kidnapping took place.

In the search for the infant, police and the FBI have used cadaver dogs, helicopters, and even Maryland state police rescue divers to look in the Susquehanna River.

Ummad Rushdi, 30, is charged with kidnapping Hamza Ali, the infant son of his girlfriend, Zainab Gaal, also 30. The couple and child lived together in a large country-style home with a stone facade in Windsor Township, southeast of York. They were visiting Rushdi's parents in Upper Darby when Rushdi allegedly left early Aug. 4 with the child. Hamza Ali has not been seen since.

Police were called when Rushdi's brother, Jawwad Rushdi, told Gaal something terrible had happened to her son. According to court records, Ummad Rushdi told his brother that he shook the child to death because he would not stop crying.

Chitwood said the defendant told his brother "he gave the child a proper burial, a Muslim burial."

Chief Thomas C. Gross of the York Area Regional Police Department urged anyone with information to call law enforcement.

"We want to know where [Ummad Rushdi] was during that Sunday and Monday," Gross said.

Neighbors of Rushdi said they had complained to West Windsor officials for years about the condition of the home.

"It has always been an issue with the grass not being cut," said Jeffrey Miller, who lives next door.

Miller recalled a recent incident in July when he was installing a larger privacy fence on the property border when Ummad Rushdi approached him with Hamza Ali in his arms.

The two struck up a conversation that touched on the responsibilities of parenthood. It developed into a religious conversation and ended with Ummad Rushdi saying, "I'll pray for you," Miller said.