The first arrest in connection with the disappearance of Haymanut Kasau, who went missing from an absorption center in Safed on February 25, 2024, has been made.
Police believe that the 63-year-old man who was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of trying to kidnap a young girl in Beersheba on Monday was also involved in Kasau’s disappearance.
The suspicion came to light today during a remand hearing for the suspect in the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, where he was ordered to six more days of remand. Police have not yet publicly outlined the full scope of evidence linking the suspect to Kasau’s disappearance. The court order extending his detention gives investigators more time to question him.
Justice Dorit Saban-Noy reportedly wrote in her decision that there is reasonable suspicion against him in both cases, according to KAN.
Following the suspicion of the connection between the two cases, Police Commissioner Daniel Levi on Tuesday handed the investigation over to the Lahav 433 major crimes unit.
Footage shows suspect entering girl’s home
Footage obtained by Walla shows a man arriving at the home of a young girl, later reportedly identified as a close friend of the missing Kasau. The man entered the building, which prompted the girl to flee screaming.
The girl pictured in the surveillance video said on Wednesday that the suspect tried to pull her out of her home and that he is “a friend of my father.”
“I knew him from Safed; everyone knows him,” the girl said outside her home. She said the suspect knocked on her door and entered. “I gave him water, and he drank it and went to the bathroom. When he came back, he said, ‘Come, I’ll tell you something.’
“He hugged me and grabbed my hand, and I opened the door and went out, and he grabbed my hand. I screamed and ran out of the house. He’s a friend of my father, who is now in Ethiopia. I know Haymanut – she’s a friend of my sister,” the girl said. When asked if she had been present when Kasau disappeared, she replied, “I was not in those situations.”
Lawyers in the Public Defender’s Office representing the suspect told KAN that their client has no criminal record and described him as a “law-abiding citizen” but declined to elaborate in light of a gag order placed on the investigation.
The suspect told police that when Kasau disappeared, “I was no longer at the immigration center in Safed but had moved to Beersheba,” according to KAN News. He said he arrived in Israel years ago and initially stayed at the immigration center in Safed with many other Ethiopian families before relocating with his own family to Beersheba in 2022.
Kasau’s family had previously requested that the investigation into her disappearance be transferred to Lahav 433 and had been informed of the transfer.
While the decision is believed to be coincidental to the incident in Beersheba, people involved in advocacy efforts for the family said the development has renewed hope for a possible breakthrough in the Kasau case.
“Although the decision comes after a significant delay and after the loss of precious time, the police commissioner did the right thing by transferring the investigation file to Lahav 433, especially after we discovered that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) had not been involved until now,” MK Pnina Tameno-Shete (Blue and White) said in response to the decision.
“They must enter the investigation with full force, using all available tools,” she said. “The Israel Police must do everything to find Haymanot. Those who abducted the girl must be stopped before this happens to the next child.
“At this opportunity, I want to encourage the Kasau family and pray that they find the inner strength to cope with the most terrible thing that can happen to parents and a family,” she said.
MK Gilad Kariv (The Democrats) also welcomed the move to transfer oversight of the investigation to Lahav 433, affirming, “We are not prepared to give up on Haymanot, and we will not let go of this issue. It is good that Israel Police is recalculating its course regarding the stalled investigation.
“We will continue to stand alongside the Kasau family and will not retreat from our commitment to find Haymanot and bring her home.”
On February 25, 2024, Kasau participated in a school trip with her class from the Shavit Sofer School in Hatzor HaGlilit. She returned home at around 4 p.m. and later joined her mentors for activities at the absorption center. Shortly after, she went out to play with friends.
The last known documentation of Kasau was recorded at 7 p.m. by a security camera at the entrance to the absorption center. She was wearing a pink tracksuit with a black skirt over it and white sneakers.
At first, the investigation into her disappearance was handled by officers from the Israel Police’s Northern District. After extensive searches, the case moved to an intelligence-based track. Search operations for the girl have continued throughout.
Kasau’s family immigrated to Israel about five years ago. She is the middle child of five siblings. Her mother previously appealed to the public for help in locating her daughter.
“She returned from school to the absorption center at 9 Tzahal Street in Safed. They allowed her to distribute election flyers to residents of the absorption center, going door to door. It seems her disappearance was planned,” Kasau’s mother said.
Kasau’s father, Tespay, continues to search for his daughter regularly and recently traveled to the West Bank after receiving an indication that she might be there.