Help Us Honor Rei Anyabwile – Funeral & Family Support

Rei Anyabwile was a devoted dad. He checked in with Nandi, Oko, Kandisi, and their mother Asantewa by phone several times a week where he loved learning about the latest news in his kids’ lives. He also enjoyed sharing elaborate birthday month texts, his review of the latest Marvel movie, an admiring list of all the recent dogs he’d encountered, or thoughtful discussions about his spiritual beliefs.

So when he fell out of contact for more than a week—they knew something was wrong. His concerned family mounted a search effort across the West Side of Los Angeles: tracking Rei from his last known sighting at a gym in Playa Vista, flyering the neighborhoods where he delivered food orders, and scouring parking areas he was known to frequent. A missing person case was opened with the LAPD, the Dept. of Justice Missing Persons Database was updated, social media campaigns were launched, and searches to ICE databases, local hospitals, and anywhere Rei could be were frantically conducted by friends and family.

Tragically, the search for Rei ended on Friday, July 18, 2025 when his rental car was located parked on a residential side street in Westchester, and he was found inside. There is comfort that Rei likely passed in his sleep from a medical event, but there is anger, frustration, and pain in knowing he wasn’t located for such an extended period of time.

Now, after weeks of mounting their extensive search, his family is faced with the heartbreaking reality that their father is gone and they are left to honor his memory. Grief is never easy, but navigating the bureaucracy of government agencies, fighting for law enforcement to take your case and leads seriously, and pounding the pavement yourself to seek answers has complicated their grieving process in unimaginable ways.

We, the friends and loved ones of Rei and his family, seek to lessen the burden of their grief by raising funds to cover end-of-life expenses associated with this unexpected hardship. Funds will go toward cremation and memorial expenses, travel and lodging for immediate family, and helping Rei’s loved ones cover basic living expenses during this difficult time.