NEW: Investigation Into Missing Brown Student Goes Viral
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
As the search for missing Brown University student Sunil Tripathi intensifies, with police and FBI agents now scouring surveillance video for images of Sunil on the night of his disappearance, support for the search has exploded to a national scale. With national news headlines now spotlighting the sudden disappearance of the 22-year-old, the Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi Facebook page has gone viral, generating over 1.1 million views in just six days. Meanwhile, businesses, authorities and complete strangers from Providence to Illinois have started lending time and resources to the widening search.
For Sunil's family's original statement on his disappearance, go here.
The FBI, Providence police, and Brown University Department of Public Safety are now collaborating closely, leveraging their combined resources in the growing effort to find Sunil. Today the joint investigation will devote close scrutiny to surveillance video footage captured near Sunil’s house around the suspected time of his disappearance. “We know that Sunil left his house on foot and we’re hoping to find footage of him that could provide critical clues such as the exact time he left and the direction he was heading,” said Sangeeta Tripathi, Sunil’s sister.
Meanwhile, support from the general public has soared as the search for Sunil has captured national headlines. The Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi Facebook page has gone viral, generating more than 1.1 million unique views in its first six days – a nearly 1500 percent increase in the page’s cumulative traffic since its first day. Providence police are receiving an increasing number of tips on Sunil’s possible whereabouts, including calls from across New England and as far away as Illinois. Sunil, who is six feet tall and weighs 130 pounds, was last seen on March 16 wearing a black hat with a Philadelphia Eagles logo, thin black-rimmed glasses, a black ski jacket and jeans. Anyone with information on Sunil’s whereabouts should contact Detective Mark Sacco at 401-641-8691.
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As the search for Sunil expands far beyond Providence, the search within Providence has intensified, with local businesses, Providence police, Brown University officials, and complete strangers all devoting time and resources to find Sunil. “The police and FBI are going above and beyond the call of duty to find Sunil,” said Judy Tripathi, Sunil’s mother. “Brown University has shown itself to be an exceptional community – people at all levels, from the University President to the staff who have vowed to search ‘every nook and cranny,’ are showing a dedicated and beautiful commitment to Sunny.”
Meanwhile, Providence businesses have been volunteering valuable support, including by reviewing their private surveillance footage from the weekend of Sunil’s disappearance. “We have been awed by the outpouring of support from the Providence community,” said Ravi Tripathi, Sunil’s brother. “From grocery store and coffee shop owners who are posting flyers to the waves of complete strangers who have volunteered to search the parks and canvass the streets, the community’s willingness to pitch in to find Sunny has been really remarkable.”
Sunil’s family, who remain in Providence to work around the clock on the search, said today, “As we search for Sunny, our heart goes out to the many other families who are searching for loved ones or accompanying them through times of struggle. Please tell those in your life, whether or not they are enduring hard times, how much they mean to you. We cannot overstate the difference that it makes.”
Those in Providence wishing to lend support to the search for Sunil can email [email protected].
