Zamil Limon, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi-origin doctoral student at the University of South Florida (USF), was found dead on a bridge in Tampa, Florida, on Friday (US time). The shockingly unfortunate news shook the South Asian-origin community about a week after the young man was last seen in his Tampa residence.
While at a news conference on Friday (US time), the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced that Limon’s remains were discovered on the Howard Frankland Bridge. That same day, 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, who was Zamil’s roommate at one point, was arrested in a North Tampa home after reports of an unrelated “domestic violence” call.
Limon was one of two USF students to have mysteriously disappeared this past week. The search for fellow 27-year-old Nahida S Bristy, who is also from Bangladesh, is still ongoing. Authorities insistently appealed to the public to share any information that could help them find her and put the unsettling case behind them.
Who was Zamil Limon?
The 27-year-old USF doctoral student was pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy. According to NBC News, Zamil Ahamed Limon was last seen in his Tampa residence on April 16 at 9 am.
His LinkedIn profile revealed that he had been attached to the US university as a ‘Graduate Research Assistant’ since August 2024. Before pursuing higher education opportunities in the US, he was linked to the Centre for Natural Resource Studies in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has previously secured a degree in urban and rural planning from a university in Bangladesh.
Just weeks before the tragic revelation, Zamil proudly announced via his LinkedIn that he presented his work at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting 2026. Esteli Jimenez-Soto, an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, recently left a comment on the post, saying, “Our student Zamil in this post is currently missing since April 15, if anyone has information please reach out to your local police or USF faculty. His family, friends and colleagues at USF are concerned about him.”
About a month ago, Limon also shared with his LinkedIn connections that he had received a Poster Award at the UF Water Institute Symposium for his research. “This was also my first poster presentation in the United States, making the experience especially meaningful. It was a truly rewarding experience to share my research, receive thoughtful feedback, and connect with researchers working on similar environmental challenges,” he added in the post.
According to CBS News, Limon’s family said he was studying the use of artificial intelligence in environmental science. He is believed to have last spoken to his family on April 13. As per their account, the 27-year-old USF student was expected to present his thesis this week, and had asked them not to contact him unless there was an emergency.
University of South Florida’s doctoral students missing: Are the cases linked?
Originally from Bangladesh, both Limon and Nahida Bristy were in the US on student visas. The international doctoral students went missing on the same day, April 16, within hours of each others. According to local news outlet Tampa Bay, the location where they both disappeared are a little less than a mile apart.
While Limon was last seen at about 9 am at at his apartment in the Avalon Heights student housing complex off East Fletcher Avenue, Bristy was last spotted at 10 am in USF’s Natural and Environmental Sciences building, near the center of campus.
Bristy’s brother, Zahaid Hasan Pranto, told NBC News that she and Limon were romantically involved in the past but weren’t currently dating. Meanwhile, Zamil’s younger brother, Zubaer Ahmed, said the two were “thinking about having [a] future together, but were committed to their studies. Describing the pair as “very serious” people, he noted that they weren’t the kind of people who would “disappear without telling anyone.”
According to the University of South Florida Police Department (USFPD), both students were reported missing by a mutual acquaintance the day after they went missing. “On April 17, 2026, at approximately 4:50 p.m., a family friend notified USFPD after being unable to contact both individuals. Missing person reports were initiated, and both individuals were entered into FCIC/NCIC missing persons databases,” authorities shared via Facebook at the time.
What’s the latest update in the USF missing students case?
Limon’s roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, was arrested in Florida this Friday morning following a domestic violence call. Though initially refusing to leave a residence in Tampa, he ultimately surrendered to a SWAT team, walking out of the house while wearing a towel.
The 26-year-old man was subsequently arrested on charges of simple battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death to officials and unlawfully holding or moving a dead body in unapproved conditions, according to local US report.
Officials have yet to determine the cause of Limon’s death, with an autopsy reportedly underway. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has since disclosed that Hisham is being looked at as a person of interest in the disappearances of Limon and Bristy.
USF also issued a statement divulging that Abugharbieh, though not currently studying at the school, was enrolled there from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023 for pursuing a bachelor of science in management.