Abdullahi Muya’s body was undetected in Rochester reservoir for month: officials

The dead body found in a Rochester reservoir this week had been in the water undetected for nearly one month, officials said Thursday.

The remains of Abdullahi Muya, 29, were pulled from the city’s drinking supply around 8 a.m. Tuesday during the Bureau of Water’s routine morning checks of the Highland Park Reservoir.

The gruesome discovery sparked the immediate drainage of the reservoir and a water boil advisory, which forced city schools to shut down.

The body of Muya, who had been missing since Feb. 18, had been in the water for 24 days before mobilization.

“Mr. Muya entered the gated reservoir area during the early morning of February 24. A short while later, at approximately 6:30 a.m., he slid down the side of the reservoir into the water and tragically died,” Mayor Malik Evans said, citing security footage found during the investigation.

“There was no one else present and it does not appear that there is any criminal element to this investigation.”

Police believe Muya climbed over the tall, spiked fences surrounding Highland Park before sliding to his death.

The 29-year-old man somehow did not set off heat and motion sensors and was not spotted by any employees who might have been on duty at the time, Evans said.

“This obviously calls into question, how could he have not been detected in the reservoir being there that long?” Evans said.

Rochester officials previously claimed the reservoir “is inspected daily, and water quality is monitored continuously.”

The mayor theorized the size and depth of the reservoir, which contains roughly 26 million gallons of water, had hidden Muya from view.

His body was found “well below the surface” against the inlet structure of the reservoir, an area shrouded by shadows and reflection waves, Evans said.

Despite the decomposing body’s prolonged exposure to the elements, Rochester’s drinking water was not affected and officials lifted the water boil advisory Thursday.

Evans claimed the water testing had yielded the same results over the past several months, including the time Muya’s body was in the reservoir, indicating that there was no contamination.

The reservoir is still in the process of being drained and cleaned, which could take up to eight weeks.

Why Muya had climbed onto the property is still under investigation.

He was last seen six days before his death. Before he vanished, his state ID was found in the parking lot of a local market on Feb. 14, his grieving family told News10 at the time.

Muya had recently moved into a new home in the city and had suddenly stopped calling his loved ones, who grew immediately concerned he lost access to his necessary medication for an unspecified health condition.

“He needs to take his medication on a regular basis, every day. It helps him to sleep. It helps him to be in the right state of mind. If he doesn’t take it in two or three days, he becomes very paranoid,” his brother Mahamud Muya told the outlet.