COMMERCE CITY — “He’s alive.” That was the first clue offered about the whereabouts of Charles Eloundou — an 18-year-old speedster from West Africa signed by the Rapids after they won a lottery for his services — by the team’s technical director, Paul Bravo.

“And he’s in Cameroon.” That was the second clue.

Beyond that, Eloundou remains a mystery.

His story may also contain a briefcase full of cash, an extortion attempt and some of the bigger clubs in Europe circling the teenager like vultures. It’s all followed by a paper trail that extends from Colorado to New York to Zurich to Garoua (a port city in Cameroon).

It’s an elusive story and it highlights a very soccer-specific international free agent and trade and transfer market.

“I would call it political before I would call it corruption,” Bravo said. “There’s just some politics going on right now.”

Here’s what we know: In January, the Rapids won a lottery for Eloundou after Major League Soccer gave him a stateside contract in December. The Rapids beat out two teams to win the right to sign him.

Eloundou previously played for Coton Sport FC (the most important and popular club in Cameroon), where he was on loan from a small club in Mfou.

Even at age 18, he already has played for Cameroon’s national team — where he figures to be a key future piece for the Indomitable Lions.

“He is the top young talent coming out of Cameroon and one of the top young prospects in all of West Africa,” Bravo said. “He’s still only 18 … but we think it’s well worth the time and well worth being patient for.”

But here’s where it gets murky. A report last month in the French-language Cameroon newspaper La Nouvelle Expression quoted an unnamed “relative” of Eloundou’s who said Coton Sport gave Eloundou’s brother 500,000 African francs (about $1,000) for him to stay with that club. The report also quoted the relative saying that Eloundou was told he would never play for Cameroon’s national team if he moved to the U.S. Other reports out of Cameroon said Eloudou was hosted in November by FC Zurich, a wealthy team in Switzerland, for a tryout.

“There are a lot of teams from Europe that have scouted him and have actually put forth offers to his previous club through this whole situation,” Bravo said. “Some of the top clubs in Cameroon would like to take a piece of what the action is.”

Bravo said some confusion arose when Eloundou’s loan to MLS became a full transfer (meaning his rights belong to MLS, not his original club, AS Fortuna de Mfou, where he signed as a 14-year-old).

The Rapids’ recourse, Bravo said, was to ask MLS to ask the U.S. Soccer Federation to lobby FIFA (soccer’s international governing body) in Zurich to intervene. What the Rapids need is an international transfer certificate authorized by FIFA.

But short of e-mails and fax machines, the Rapids are at the mercy of the wind. Oh, and the MLS early transfer window closes May 5, posing a pressing deadline.

“I feel bad for the young man,” Bravo said. But “nobody’s going to go over and strong-arm the chairman of Cameroon’s FA.”

Nick Groke: 303-954-1015, ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke

Read more on The Terrace: As the Charles Eloundou Situation draws out for Rapids, Paul Bravo explains why.