Missing Indo-American Student Found Dead In US

CHICAGO – A 19-year-oldIndo-American student of theSouthern Illinois University,who had gone missing lastweek, has been found dead.The body of Pravin MVarughese was found onTuesday in a wooded area inCarbondale, Illinois, policesaid.Authorities do not suspectany foul play wasinvolved inVarughese’s deathbut the cause of hisdeath is yet to beascertained, ChicagoSun-Times reported.Varughese, originallyfrom Morton Grove, was lastseen at about 11pm lastWednesday in Carbondale,police and his family had saidpreviously.His most recent post onTwitter, sent Wednesday night,read, “Bloody knuckles…GuessI was in a fight #backdown.”The family had offered areward of USD 15,000 forinformation leading to therecovery of Varughese.According to investigators,Varughese accepted a ride froma recent acquaintance on WestCollege Street just before midnightthat night, police said in astatement.Varughese got out ofthe vehicle following a disputeand fled into a wooded area,the statement said.While his exact cause of deathis still being investigated, policebelieve the difficult terrain andlow temperatures made it difficultfor him to find his way outof the wooded area, it said.”On behalf of our family, wewanted to thank youall for your kindwords, endless supportand prayers forPravin,” his familysaid in a statementposted on Facebook.SIU Chancellor RitaCheng, in a statement,called his death “amoment of unimaginable sorrowfor the entire SIU community.””This is a very difficulttime. May we all find a spark ofhope in the outpouring of supportfor Pravin and his familyfrom people across SouthernIllinois, the Chicago area andaround the country and worldduring the past week and, certainlyin the days ahead,”Cheng said.University officials are workingwith his family to find anappropriate way to honourVarughese, and counselling isavailable on campus for griev-ing students, Cheng said.