Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Latest on Missing Student


Nicholas Garza has been missing from the peaceful and bucolic campus of Middlebury College in rural Vermont since the night of February 5th, 2008. He was last seen leaving on foot from one dormitory to another about 11:00 PM.

Now that spring has arrived in Vermont the area around the campus has been searched by police, search teams with dogs, and on the weekend of April 26, by more than a hundred volunteers who came from all over Vermont and adjacent states.

The only clue that has been reported in the press and media is the vague sighting of something that might have been similar to some of the clothing that he was said to be wearing when he disappeared, seen in the fast moving waters of Otter Creek, which flows from south to north through the town of Middlebury.

A more comprehensive search will have to wait until the spring flood waters subside. It's a sad and baffling story. Middlebury College is one of the most competitive and highly-rated liberal arts institutions in the country. The young man reportedly was bright, popular and well adjusted. He was not wearing winter clothing when he left to dormitory. The section of the creek where the objects were sighted is not readily accessible from the campus, and in February there was substantial snow cover on the ground, which would have impeded the progress of anyone, even with the proper clothing and footwear.

His family is still maintaining a website: http://www.nicholasgarza.org/

1 comment:

John M said...

Real sad. He apparently was planning to use a foot bridge across the creek, and slipped on the bank, fell through the ice, and his body was swept away.
There was enough scent left that bloodhounds were able to trace his steps to that spot later in the spring.
His body was recovered from an underwater log jam some distance down stream.
Really sad, a freak accident. R.I.P.