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'Completely out of character': Family of Toronto man missing since April desperate for answers

Deiaeldin Nassar (Handout provided by the Nassar family)
Deiaeldin Nassar (Handout provided by the Nassar family)
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The last time Sue spoke to her son, Deiaeldin Nassar, she said everything seemed normal.

The two speak every morning over the phone from her home in Nova Scotia, Sue told CTV News Toronto on Thursday.

“He calls me everyday to see how I’m doing,” she said. “We talk about what's going on in our lives and our day.”

Their last conversation was on April 29. Just hours later, Nassar was reported missing.

According to Toronto police, Nassar, 48, was last seen that day near Park Lawn Road and Lake Shore Boulevard West in Toronto.

They say he was last seen wearing a black sports jacket, black jogging pants, black ‘Yeezy’ sneakers, and a black 'Raptors' baseball cap with a white logo.

Sue said Nassar had planned to go for lunch that day, but within a few hours of their morning phone call, his phone was shut off completely.

“He told us that he went for lunch on Friday between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., and by 2 p.m., his phone was shut down, which has never happened before in his life,” she said.

Hayden Robinson, a close friend of Nassar’s for nearly 25 years, said both Nassar's dissappearance and his powered-down phone are "completely out of character."

“I know his patterns and he never shuts down his phone,” Robinson told CTV News Toronto.

Both Sue and Robinson said they wonder if Nassar could have been abducted, pointing to the powered down cellphone.

At this time, Toronto police have not indicated there's any reason to believe Nassar was abducted. CTVNewsToronto.ca has reached out to police for an update on the case, but have not heard back.

“It's just how the events unfolded – basically, he went fully offline,” Robinson said

The family says they are offering a $25,000 reward to whoever can provide information that leads to finding Nassar alive.

'THE MOST POSITIVE PERSON'

Robinson described Nassar as “the most positive person” he’s had in his life.

“When I first met him, we just clicked. We could finish each other’s sentences. Our visions were the same. We're not done yet.”

Sue called him “one of the nicest, kind, generous people you can meet.”

“You know the expression, ‘You can take the shirt off his back?’” she said. “He’s one of those people.”

Deiaeldin Nassar, 48. (Handout provided by the Nassar family)

In the week since Nassar went missing, Sue said she’s been living through “‘hell.”

“Not knowing if he's alive or dead, fed or hungry, cold or warm,” she said. “It's not an easy thing.”

“This is my son, my child. I carried him for nine months.”

In the meantime, Sue said she hopes someone in the public might recognize his photo and provide information that leads to him being found.

Toronto police are asking anyone with information pertaining to this case to contact them at 416-808-2200. 

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