Jose was looking forward to job interviews in the days ahead.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A vigil was held for Reny Jose, the Indian American engineering student from Rice University who is still missing in Panama City Beach, Florida.
The vigil was held at the Hindu Cultural Center in Albany, New York, on Sunday night, where Jose and his family are from. Friends and family gathered to console each other and pray for Jose’s safe return, carrying signs and wearing shirts asking “Where is Reny?” and “Let’s bring Reny home. “ Meanwhile, police continue to scour the Panama City Beach area looking for any sign of the disappeared 21 year-old.
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Jose went missing one week ago, on March 3. He was staying with friends in a two-story beachfront house on Front Beach Road, and was last seen around 7:00 PM that night by his friends. The group of students, all of which were from Rice University, were celebrating spring break. Jose was reported missing the following day around 11:30 PM, and police later found Jose’s clothes and a few personal effects in a garbage can not far from the house they were renting.
Reports indicate that Jose told his friends on the night he went missing that he was going for a walk, but never came back. His friends and family have told investigators that the young man gave no indication whatsoever that he would do something to harm himself; Jose is a 4.0-caliber student in mechanical engineering, is set to graduate in May, and was excited about job interviews in the days leading up to his disappearance.
Among the attendees at Jose’s vigil in New York was Congressman Paul Tonko, who also spoke to those gathered at the Hindu Cultural Center. The Democratic Congressman represents the state’s 20th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com