Fears for Jordanian athlete who vanished after arriving in Texas

A search for a disabled athlete from Jordan has been launched after he vanished just hours after landing in Texas ahead of a soccer match. 

Rabe’e Ata Juma’a Alqaq, 24, who has cerebral palsy and only speaks Arabic, arrived in Houston, Texas, over the weekend to participate in the Genuine Cup, a soccer tournament for those with intellectual disabilities and autism. 

He and his teammates are staying at Martel College, a residential college on Rice University’s campus, and had arrived around 9pm on Saturday. 

Four hours later, the young athlete told his teammates that he was going for a walk, only he never came back. Around 2.30pm, they reported him missing after he failed to show up to breakfast.  

Campus surveillance footage showed Alqaq wandering around campus. At one point, he is seen near one of the university’s exits, only for him to turn around and head back. He appears to be looking at his phone. 

‘He does not know the area, doesn’t know the city, new country, doesn’t speak the language, the weather. All those things factor into everything, and yeah, reason for concern,’ Rice University Police Department Lieutenant Francisco Fernandez told ABC 13. 

Police are treating his disappearance as a missing persons case as Alqaq had left personal belongings in his room, Fernandez told the outlet. 

A search team was ᴀssembled, but authorities have not yet found the young athlete, who stands between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in. 

Rabe’e Ata Juma’a Alqaq, 24, went missing early on Sunday after he went for a walk on Rice University’s campus, where he and his fellow Jordanian teammates were staying for the Genuine Cup

He was seen walking around campus on surveillance footage. Alqaq has cerebral palsy and does not speak English 

They face an even harder obstacle as police cannot access his cell phone data due to it being with a foreign carrier, Fernandez said.  

Campus police have asked Houston, West University Place, Texas Medical Center and Metro police departments for ᴀssistance in the search. 

‘We’re pulling out all the stops,’ Fernandez said, according to the Houston Chronicle. 

Ignacio Torras, cofounder of the Genuine Cup, said: ‘Our first hope is that he’s safe, and the second hope, that he’s back as soon as possible.’ 

Alqaq was last seen wearing a light blue t-shirt and black pants. 

Surveillance footage saw him walking near a university exit, before he turned around

His teammates reported him missing around 2.30pm on Sunday. Police are treating this as a missing persons case as Alqaq left behind personal belongings in his room 

The Genuine Cup runs between July 27 and August 1, with the university hosting more than 1,000 athletes from 53 countries.  

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Rice University Police Department and Genuine Cup for comment.