Search continues for Wheeling man

Mumtaz Hadi is at a loss to explain why her son Osama, missing and feared drowned in the West Indies, even went near the water.

"He was afraid of the water," she said. "He wouldn't go there purposely."

Osama Hadi, a 25-year-old medical student at Windsor University in Basseterre on the island of St. Kitts, was expected to graduate in just a couple of weeks, his mother said. The family lives in Wheeling.

According to the Royal St. Kitts and Nevis police, Hadi and two friends went sea bathing around 5:40 p.m. last Friday at North Friars Bay.

Hadi and one other friend reportedly encountered difficulty while in the water and shouted for help.

The third friend and a student from another university who was on the beach went to help them, but they were able to rescue only Hadi's friend. Hadi disappeared in the water and hasn't been seen since.

The friend who helped in the rescue said he had tried to discourage the other two from swimming, Inspector Cromwell Henry said.

"The water was rough," Henry said. "The friend wasn't able to tell what happened, but he recognized that (Hadi) was having difficulty."

The U.S. Coast Guard has been assisting the local coast guard in search efforts, since the island is near Puerto Rico.

Mumtaz said her husband and Osama's cousin also went to the island to find information firsthand.

Henry said water conditions are still rough and the coast guard hasn't been able to actually go into the water.

The Hadi family moved to America from Pakistan nine years ago and first settled in Skokie. The Hadis then moved to Wheeling in 2005.

Mumtaz Hadi said her son was first enrolled at the University of Illinois at Chicago after graduating from Niles West High School.

"He was a very good student, but we didn't have the money (to send him to UIC) since we just migrated," Mumtaz said.

Osama Hadi decided to take some courses at Harper and Oakton community colleges before following his sister's footsteps and attending the Windsor University school of medicine. He started his fifth and final semester in January.

"He was to graduate on the 16th of April," Mumtaz said.

She said the family is holding onto hope and looking for answers to questions.

"He wasn't saved. How come?" she said. "He's a wonderful son; I can't tell you how wonderful. We are just shocked."