Indian student missing in US located, safe: Police

PTI, Jun 4, 2024, 11:54 AM IST

Houston: A 23-year-old Indian student who went missing in the US state of California last week has been located and ‘is safe’, police said on Tuesday.

Nitheesha Kandula, a California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) student, went missing on May 28 in Los Angeles.

John Guttierez, Chief of Police, CSUSC, said in a post on X that she was located and was safe.

‘#MissingCSUSBUpdate: The missing student identified in this bulletin who was reported missing on May 28, 2024, in Los Angeles, has been located and is safe!’ Guttierez said, without giving any more information on her whereabouts.

Police had sought the public’s help to find Nitheesha, reportedly from Hyderabad, urging people with information on her whereabouts to contact authorities.

She was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall and around 160 pounds (72.5 kgs) in weight with black hair and black eyes in the police’s written statement.

Recently, the Indian community in the US has grappled with a string of such incidents involving students.

Last month, 26-year-old Rupesh Chandra Chintakind, an Indian student, was reported missing in Chicago.

Earlier in April, a 25-year-old Indian student missing since March was found dead in the US city of Cleveland. Mohammad Abdul Arfath, hailing from Nacharam, Hyderabad, arrived in the US in May last year to pursue a Master’s in IT from Cleveland University.