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Missing Aferdita Gjergjaj 
Aferdita, approximately 2001; Binak Gjergjaj Date reported missing : 02/26/2001 Missing location (approx) : Auburn Hills, Michigan Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Female Ethnicity : White DOB : 09/07/1970 (50) Age at the time of disappearance: 30 years old Height / Weight : 5'3 - 5'5, 115 - 130 pounds Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A black top, a denim jacket, a black leather coat and denim slacks. Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Caucasian female. Red hair, brown eyes. Aferdita's nicknames are Gina and Rita. Her last name is pronounced "jehr-jyz." She is a native of Albania; she moved to the United States in early childhood. Aferdita has a scar on her forehead. Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Aferdita was last seen in Auburn Hills, Michigan on February 26, 2001. She told her sister she was going to meet her ex-husband, Binak "Kola" Gjerjaj, and their children in the parking lot of Showcase Cinemas> on Opdyke Road at 7:00 p.m. ImAge at the time of disappearance: s from a surveillance camera in the parking lot show Aferdita arrived there, got out of her car, went to another one and sat inside it for half an hour. Then the vehicle drove away with her still inside. She has never been heard from again. Afterdita was reported missing after she failed to arrive for work at a clothing boutique in Troy, Michigan, where she was the manAge at the time of disappearance: r. Her light blue Ford Escort was found in the parking lot of the cinemas shortly after her disappearance. Her cellular phone and purse were inside the vehicle, and so was an unused round from Aferdita's handgun. The gun itself was missing and has not been recovered. A photograph of Binak is posted with this case summary. He and Aferdita married in 1987 and separated in 1996, and in 1998 Binak filed for divorce. Aferdita and Binak shared legal child custody, but physical custody was granted to Binak. Aferdita had been seeking more access to the children in 2001, and Binak had allegedly threatened to kill her if she tried to take them away from him. He fled the country shortly after Aferdita went missing, leaving his children, and hasn't contacted them since. Binak moved to Kosovo, a nation in southeastern Europe. In 2002, he was charged with felony assault for allegedly beating beating Aferdita in 1998. Kosovo refused to extradite him to the United States to face the charge, however. In March 2011, he was arrested in Kosovo on another warrant out of Michigan, charging him with Aferdita's murder. Again, however, Kosovo refused to extradite him, and he was released in June of that year. In June 2019, Binak was arrested again in Kosovo for Aferdita's murder, and this time it looked more likely that Kosovo would extradite him, as they had, for the first time in their history, extradited another indicted criminal to the United States. While still in the custody of Kosovar authorities, hanged himself in a jail bathroom. Aferdita has been declared legally dead, but her body has never been found. Her disappearance remains unsolved and foul play is suspected. Other information and links : ncy Auburn Hills Police Department 248-370-9444 Oakland County Sheriff's Department 248-858-0692 September 2021 updates and sources Auburn Hills Police Department Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney's Office The Detroit News North American Missing Persons Network |