Update:

First, we thank each and everyone of you who have donated, amplified our story, shared words of support, and included Kidus and the family in your prayers. While we still don't have any answers as to what exactly happened to our beloved son, brother, nephew, and friend, we are working with community leaders and experts to encourage an investigation with integrity that honors the life of Kidus. Thanks to your generosity, we will be using donated funds to assist with that.

The funeral service and burial is taking place later this week. Additionally, a vigil in the next couple of days is underway to honor the life of Kidus and the life of other young people like him who have passed in a similar way and will be sharing those details as soon as we are able to.

Again, we thank each and everyone of you for all of your love and support. May God bless you.

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On September 23, 2026, our beloved Fiqremariam Kidus Dereje Zewde, a 23-year-old University of Minnesota student, left our home in Rosemount, Minnesota, to play indoor soccer. He never came home. Later that night, he was found dead in a wooded area approximately seven minutes from our home.

We are seeking answers. We are asking the police to fully investigate what happened to Kidus. We need to know what happened, how he died, and why his life was taken.

Kidus was kind, humble, and loved by everyone who knew him. He was studying for an exam the next day and had big plans for his future. He worked alongside his father, helped care for his younger siblings, and was always there for his friends. He would have turned 24 on October 13.

Our family is heartbroken. As we prepare to lay Kidus to rest and continue searching for the truth, we are asking our community to support us and stand with our family during this incredibly painful time. Every donation, every prayer, and every share means more to us than we can express.

Please donate and help us seek justice for Kidus. No amount is too small, and every share helps bring Kidus’s story to more people. Thank you for loving Kidus and for standing with our family during this difficult time.

With love,

The Family of Kidus Dereje

#JusticeForKidus

እርዱን

በሴፕቴምበር 23፣ 2026 የምንወደው ፍቅረማርያም ኪዱስ ደረጀ ዘውዴ፣ የ23 ዓመት የUniversity of Minnesota ተማሪ፣ በRosemount፣ Minnesota ካለው ቤታችን ወጥቶ የውስጥ እግር ኳስ (indoor soccer) ለመጫወት ሄደ። ነገር ግን ወደ ቤት አልተመለሰም።

በዚያኑ ሌሊት፣ ከቤታችን በግምት ሰባት ደቂቃ ርቀት ላይ ባለ የደን አካባቢ ውስጥ ሞቶ ተገኘ።

መልስ እንፈልጋለን። ፖሊስ የኪዱስን ሞት ሙሉ በሙሉ እንዲመረምር እንፈልጋለን። ምን እንደተፈጠረ፣ እንዴት እና ለምን እንደተገደለ ማወቅ እንፈልጋለን።

ኪዱስ ደግ፣ ትሁት እና በሚያውቁት ሁሉ የሚወደድ ወጣት ነበር።

በማግስቱ ፈተና ስለነበረው ለመማር እየተዘጋጀ ነበር፣ ለወደፊቱም ትልቅ እቅዶች ነበሩት። ከአባቱ ጋር ይሠራ ነበር፣ ታናናሽ ወንድሞቹንና እህቶቹን ለመንከባከብ ይረዳ ነበር፣ እንዲሁም ለጓደኞቹ ሁልጊዜ ከጎናቸው የሚቆም ሰው ነበር። ጥቅምት 13 24ኛ ዓመቱን ይሞላ ነበር።

ቤተሰባችን በከባድ ሀዘን ውስጥ ነው። ኪዱስን ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ ለማሳረፍ እየተዘጋጀን እና እውነቱን ለማግኘት እየጣርን ባለንበት በዚህ አሳዛኝ ጊዜ፣ ማህበረሰባችን እንዲደግፈንና ከቤተሰባችን ጋር እንዲቆም እንጠይቃለን። የሚሰጡት እያንዳንዱ ድጋፍ፣ የሚያደርጉት ጸሎት እና የሚያጋሩት መልዕክት ከምንም በላይ ዋጋ አለው።

እባክዎ ለኪዱስ ፍትህ እንዲገኝ ይርዱን። ለልግስና የሚሆነው ምንም መጠን ቢሆን ትልቅ ነው፤ እያንዳንዱ ማጋራትም የኪዱስ ታሪክ ወደ ብዙ ሰዎች እንዲደርስ ይረዳል።

ኪዱስን ስለወደዳችሁት እና በዚህ አስቸጋሪ ጊዜ ከቤተሰባችን ጋር ስለቆማችሁ እናመሰግናለን።

በፍቅር፣

የኪዱስ ደረጀ ቤተሰብ

#JusticeForKidus