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WINDSOR, Ont. — Where is Mohammed El Shaer? His lawyer said he doesn’t know. Neither of the Windsor mosques he attended has seen him. Even his own family said they’re not sure. “I don’t know anything,” said a woman at the family home.

That could be a problem because Mr. El Shaer has been identified by the RCMP as one of the 90 “high-risk travellers” under investigation as part of a program set up to prevent radicalized Canadians from leaving to take part in violent extremism.

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But he somehow left the country anyway.

On Wednesday, Mr. El Shaer failed to show up in a Windsor, Ont., courtroom to face a passport fraud charge. “I think he went out of the country and is unable to fly back,” his lawyer, Paul Esco, told the court. “He may be on a no-fly list.”

The judge pointed out that the Ontario Court of Justice had prohibited Mr. El Shaer from leaving the province. “If he left the country he’s in breach of the court order,” she said. The judge then issued a bench warrant for Mr. El Shaer’s arrest.