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Missing UCLA student Ahmad Arain's mother, Zahida Arain, pleas for the return of her son Wed

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Arain

The family of missing UCLA student Ahmad Arain announced a cash reward of $10,000 for information leading to his safe return and pleaded for his safety in a press conference in front of university police headquarters Wednesday.

Twenty-year-old Arain, a computer science student, was reported missing the night of July 23 after failing to return to his Anaheim home. Arain left his home around 8:30 a.m. July 23, headed for UCLA on an MTA bus.

He did not arrive at an 11:30 a.m. appointment with his academic counselor on campus and was last heard from around 10 a.m. when he spoke to his mother on his cell phone.

University police said during the conference that they had confirmed with the Anaheim bus driver that Arain boarded the bus and later exited at the Imperial/Wilmington Rosa Parks bus station in Watts. There is no confirmation that Arain boarded a bus to UCLA, said police Lt. Manny Garza, adding that possible sightings had been reported in Los Angeles and Culver City but had not turned up anything.

Arain’s cell phone and credit card records have not shown any activity in the time he’s been missing, Garza added.

Arain’s mother, Zahida Arain, made an emotional plea for the safe return for her son. Barely audible, Zahida pleaded for her son to “please come home.” She was joined by her son, Ahmad’s younger brother, and other friends that comforted her during and after the press conference.

Previously, Ahmad’s friends and family said it is unlike him to leave without answering his phone or telling anyone where he is going. Arain had planned to go to his counseling appointment, to the Getty Center, to his afternoon prayers at UCLA, and then return home by 5:30 Friday night, Zahida had said in an earlier interview.

“By 7 o’clock (p.m.), I was sure something might be wrong,” Zahida said.

She said she became worried when her son did not call to tell her he would be late. She contacted UCPD when he did not return on the 11:30 p.m. bus – the last of the day.

“He always informs me of where he is and what he’s doing,” she said. “If I leave a message on his phone, he always calls me back.”

She added that if her son is running “even half an hour late" he calls to let her know.

The case is being investigated actively by the UCPD as a missing person’s case, said Sgt. Jim Vandenberg of the university police

 “At this point in time there is no indication of foul play," Vandenberg said.

Volunteers have called hospitals around Los Angeles and Orange counties to no avail.

Arain, who is receiving a full scholarship to UCLA, is described by friends as a happy and “home-oriented” person.

“He’s always on the phone with his mother,” said Umar Farukhi, Arain’s roommate of three years. “He’s a very straightforward, open, sincere guy.”

This past academic year Arain lived in an off-campus apartment on Landfair Avenue. Two UCPD officers were seen leaving the building but said they did not uncover any information from residents.

Farukhi, who has known Arain for eight years, said Arain was not having any problems with friends or at home and dismissed the notion that Arain had run away, saying “I don’t see any reason why he would run off.”

Rizwan Haque, another of Ahmad’s roommates, agreed with Farukhi’s characterization of Arain as "a very good person" and could think of no reason for Arain’s disappearance.

“He was mostly a stay-at-home kind of guy,” Haque said.

Some area mosques have held special prayer services for Arain’s safety, according to a press release distributed by his family.

The FBI has placed Arain on its official list of missing persons.

Arain was last seen wearing a red, short-sleeved, collared shirt and jeans.

Contact UCPD at (310) 825-1491 with any information regarding Arain’s whereabouts.