The body of a missing Northwestern student from New Hyde Park has been found according to university police.
Harsha Maddula’s remains were recovered from Wilmette Harbor Thursday night shortly before 7 p.m. Maddula’s wallet with his Northwestern ID card and his mobile phone were found on the body.
Wilmette Police investigators on the scene said there were no signs of foul play on the body.
“On behalf of Northwestern University, I extend our deepest sympathies to Harsha’s family and to his many friends at Northwestern. Our hearts and thoughts are with them,” University President Morton Schapiro said in a statement. “The loss of one member of the Northwestern community deeply affects us all.”
Maddula was a sophomore in Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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He was last seen September 22 at approximately 12:30 a.m. leaving a party off campus. Northwestern University Police and community service officers, aided by personnel from more than 20 law enforcement agencies and fire departments, on Wednesday conducted a search of the waters in Wilmette Harbor and Lake Michigan near the harbor after an examination of cell phone records showed that the closest cell phone tower to the last signal received from his phone was in that area. The signal was received early on the morning of September 22, shortly after Maddula was last seen.
Thursday would have been Maddula’s first day of classes.
“As we start the new academic year, normally a time of joy and optimism, we do so this year with a heavy heart,” Schapiro said in the release.
The exact cause of death has yet to be determined. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, the body of Maddula is scheduled for an autopsy Friday morning.
