Pitt student still missing

Pitt engineering student Pranesh Patel is still missing.

Patel was reported missing May 4… Pitt engineering student Pranesh Patel is still missing.

Patel was reported missing May 4 by his brother Tarak, a student at West Virginia University, and his roommate John Vroom, a Pitt student.

Tarak Patel hired Pittsburgh Private Investigator Chris Findley of Findley Consulting and Investigations on May 8, to work on the case in addition to the missing person’s unit of Pittsburgh city police.

But so far, both city police and Findley can only speculate as to Patel’s whereabouts.

Findley said that the fifth-year Oakland resident did not own a car at the time of his disappearance, and his license had been suspended Dec. 17 because of a DUI issued by the Pittsburgh police.

Patel’s last credit card activity appeared on April 18, when he spent $6.48 at a gas station in McKeesport, according to Findley. Patel could not be identified on the establishment’s security cameras because the footage from Patel’s purchase was deleted a week after its recording.

As for Patel’s bank account transactions, approximately $1100 was withdrawn between April 17 and 20, four days before he was last seen by Vroom.

Findley and the Pittsburgh police have been following tips from the public, including a reported sighting of a man matching Patel’s description in Washington, Pa. After a week, investigators decided the man was not Patel.

Police are in the process of analyzing Patel’s cell phone records, mail and laptop, which was left behind in his room. Pittsburgh city police said yesterday that there has been no recent news on the case.

Patel is 5-foot-11, between 170 and 180 pounds, brown skin, black hair and brown eyes, as described by Vroom.

Anyone with information about Patel or his whereabouts should contact Findley at (724) 934-5007 or the Pittsburgh Missing Persons Unit at (412) 323-7141.