3 boxers missing from World Boxing Championships

Three athletes who were in Chicago for the World Boxing Championships have gone missing from the competition, organizers and authorities said Thursday.

It appears the two Ugandan boxers and one Armenian boxer left their teams on purpose and were not the victims of a crime, said Chicago police spokesman John Mirabelli.

"Some of them have been in phone contact with those that are nearest to them," Mirabelli said. "It appears they left voluntarily."

Authorities did not immediately release the boxers' names, but Ugandan team manager John Baptist Ntgete identified his missing athletes as team captain Sharif Bogere and Phillip Adyak.

Bogere did not show up for weigh-in on Thursday morning for an afternoon match, Ntgete said.

"We didn't expect him to let us down," Ntgete said.

Coaches approached the local organizing committee expressing concern over the whereabouts of their athletes, said Richard Baker, spokesman for the International Boxing Association. The teams were referred to Chicago police, he said.

"It was just a little bit of concern, it's common courtesy (for boxing officials) to assist the process," said Baker, who added officials were "not overly concerned" for the boxers' safety.

Neither Baker nor Mirabelli immediately knew when the boxers went missing.

Police are conducting a typical missing persons investigation, Mirabelli said.

Chicago is hoping to use the event as a boost in its bid for the 2016 Olympics. The city got the championships in May after the event was pulled from Moscow.

So far the event has gone smoothly and the disappearances were not considered the result of mistakes by organizers, Baker said.