Posted on 01/20/2007 8:20:28 AM PST by pctech
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The parents of a missing Purdue University student on Friday (Jan. 19) announced a reward is being offered for information leading to his whereabouts.
Wade S. Steffey, 19, a freshman from Bloomington, Ind., has been missing for nearly a week. Steffey, a National Merit Scholar majoring in aviation technology, was last seen early Saturday (Jan. 13).
"More than 350 volunteers helped explore a large area of campus during an organized search on Thursday," said Purdue spokesperson Jeanne Norberg. "We hope this reward will generate additional interest and encourage someone to come forward with information that helps us find Wade."
The reward fund, established by Steffey's family and friends, is being administered by Fifth Third Bank in Central Indiana. Donors should make their checks out to The Wade Steffey Reward Fund in Central Indiana, and donations can be made at any Fifth Third Bank branch. For information, call Fifth Third Bank in Lafayette at (765) 423-5557.
On Friday (Jan. 19) police began asking people to display a flyer with a photo of Steffey. The flyer is available online at
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html3month/2007/071019SteffeyFlyer.pdf
Purdue police also requested that campus and Greater Lafayette residents search areas near their homes and workplaces for clues to Steffey's whereabouts.
In addition, Purdue police have partnered with A Child Is Missing, a non-profit agency that helps police departments find missing people. The alert program will send out 2,000 to 3,000 phone calls to residents within a three- to five-mile radius of where Steffey was last seen. The calls will include a description of Steffey and his clothing, as well as a phone number people can call to report information on the case.
Norberg said police are particularly interested in recovering any items of clothing, cell phones, wallets and other personal effects, such as identification cards.
Police were alerted to Steffey's disappearance on Tuesday (Jan. 16) after family and friends became concerned that he had not been seen since early Saturday (Jan. 13). Steffey attended a party at the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house, 900 David Ross Road, on Friday (Jan. 12) evening and was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with light blue stripes and light-colored jeans.
Police received a tip that a person matching Steffey's description was seen at the northwest corner of Owen Hall around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, near the time when a call was placed from his cell phone to a female student who lives there. Steffey had reportedly left his coat in Owen Hall, Norberg said.
Steffey is white with short brown hair and brown eyes, is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Purdue Police Department at (765) 494-8221 or the anonymous tip line at (765) 496-3784.
I'm thinking of heading over myself and helping with the search though by now I feel he's been the victim of foul play and probably isn't still with us. There's plenty of places and roads around the campus to hide him and I feel the police need to widen their search area.
P.S. Pretty sad that the Lafayette Journal and Courier will not allow us to post links to their newspaper. The first I tried to post this article it got blocked because jronline.com has been blocked due to complaints. Liberals........
Hasn't Greta had a lot of these missing college students on her show. Isn't there more than 5 that they have never found. Body style all the same......do you smell a serial killer??
I think this one is more along of the lines of someone wanting to steal some cash from someone using an ATM, only gets $50.00, get's pissed and offs him, runs out of town in a hurry, dumps him along the way and keeps on going.
Photo at the above link.
Hope they find him alive and well.
The first step in finding him would be getting his name right, wouldn't it?
I don't know how to change it, or even if I can. Can the Moderator help?
Disagree.
There are no fat dumpy guys abducted. They have money too.
That's my guess. Thieves and muggers tend to be drug addicts, and they get angry if the victim doesn't have enough on him to buy a fix.
A friend of mine used to keep a $20 bill in his shoe, so he could give a mugger his wallet and still have the cash to get home. I've never been that paranoid myself, but it seems to be the way things are in certain parts of the world.
This kid wasn't fat or dumpy. He's 5'10" and 150 lbs, sounds to be tall and thin. Easy pickings for would be addicts and thiefs, especially if he's alone. What kills me is the ATM he, or someone else with his card, used to withdraw money didn't have a functioning camera. Sounds like the bank will have some hell to pay for not having operational equipment in this age of ATM hold-ups.
My daughter goes to school up and I always preach to her about not going out alone and she and her friends regularly go to a bookstore off the campus. Scares me.
My point was that only the nice looking (appealing to the perverts) type kids are abducted. If they were looking for money, there would be a variety of kids abducted. Not so. They all look alike, so I say it is some perverted serial killer.
I hope for the kids sake you're wrong but I am inclined, more as the days pass, that your assessment may be proved correct.
Thank you for changing the title
I have a grandaugter at Purdue. When I e-mailed her earlier about the kidnapped student in Vermont she replied that she and her friends are very, very careful. I certainly hope so. We haven't had any word on this missing student in the Philadelphia area, probably because he isn't a female. Or perhaps because our newspaper is filled with all the murders in Philadelphia.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.