Cause Of Death For 'Jubi' Undetermined: Medical Examiner

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The cause of death for a Scottsdale man who was missing for several months before being found at a canal pump station is listed as undetermined, according to a report from 12 News.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office listed the cause of death for 20-year-old Najib "Jubi" Monsif as undetermined because of the condition of his remains.

Just after his body was found, the Scottsdale Police Department said that his remains were mostly decomposed, aside from his skeleton. DNA testing confirmed that the remains belonged to Monsif, police said at the time.

The medical examiner's report, released Monday, suggested that Monsif might have drowned, since his remains were found in a canal, Fox 10 reported.

The report determined that head trauma or some other sort of bodily injury from an accident or caused by another person could not be ruled out, because of the condition of the remains, according to the Fox 10 report. There was no evidence of foul play at the time Monsif's remains were found, police said at the time.

Monsif was reported missing from his home in Scottsdale on Sept. 23. Monsif had autism, giving him a diminished mental capacity, according to his family and police.

Monsif's skeleton was found by a worker at the Central Arizona Project canal pump station near Power Road and Red Mountain Loop 202 in Mesa, in early December police said.

A canal that runs behind Monsif's home in Scottsdale is the extension of the canal where his remains were found, police said. The station where his skeleton was discovered is the end of the line for that canal, 11 miles away from Monsif's home.

Monsif's family has publicly questioned the Scottsdale police theory that he slipped through a small space between fences around the canal. They also questioned the police assertion that there was no evidence of foul play, since the state of Monsif's body when it was found left little to examine.