Police are searching for a recent University of Georgia graduate who hasn’t been seen since he finished his shift at a Gwinnett County Publix pharmacy.
Alvin Ahmed went missing Monday night after working his shift at a Publix pharmacy on U.S. 78 in Loganville, according to a Facebook post from older brother Kalvin Ahmed. Loganville police are leading the search.
Credit: Facebook
Credit: Facebook
On Wednesday, a man’s body was pulled from Lake Carlton two miles away from the grocery store. Decomposition has made identification difficult, but authorities are looking into any connection with the missing person case.
“On the surface, it seems like it could be the same person,” Gwinnett police Sgt. Jake Smith said during a Thursday morning briefing outside at Lake Carlton. “We don’t have anything to actually tie those two cases together.”
The autopsy Thursday afternoon was not able to immediately identify the body, Smith said in a news release. Further tests are being completed, but the results will not be available Thursday, he said.
UPDATE: Police say body found in Gwinnett lake could be missing UGA grad
Ahmed’s family is holding out hope they will find the man unharmed. They believe he was abducted.
Ahmed planned to come home after his shift ended at 9:15 p.m., but his car was found unlocked in the Publix parking lot, his brother said on Facebook. It appeared that someone went through the car’s glove box, and groceries and his pharmacist coat were left in the car.
Surveillance video within the Publix, which was obtained by Channel 2 Action News, shows Alvin leaving in his pharmacist coat and carrying groceries.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
There are no cameras in the store’s parking lot, the post said.
“Alvin was forcibly taken away,” the post said. “After speaking with his best friends and coworkers, he had no other plans but to be home. That’s the last thing he told me and our mom.”
Channel 2 spoke with Kalvin Ahmed in the Publix parking lot, where he was handing out missing person flyers Wednesday.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“He graduated early from UGA, went to pharmacy school, and he studied for his exams,” he told Channel 2. “There was no reason for him to walk out.”
Before 5 p.m. Monday, Alvin was allegedly approached by a group of young men walking down U.S. 78 who asked him about his Honda Civic and “how much you make,” Ahmed said on Facebook. He didn’t confront them, but he told his supervisors this is the first time this happened.
“I’m hoping that it was just some random thing, that it was just kids being dumb and it’s unrelated. But people must’ve definitely seen them if this happened around 5 p.m. on 78, since the roads get busy then,” the post said.
Ahmed was supposed to start as a full-time pharmacist next month, his brother said.
To read more of the post, click here.
“I refuse to believe that someone who was just about to successfully start the life that he worked so hard for would have it ended like that,” Kalvin Ahmed said in a search update on Facebook. “So please keep Alvin in your prayers... and keep your eyes open.”
