Tracing Harsha Maddula's whereabouts
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    View Harsha Maddula Timeline in a larger map. Production by Katherine Mirani / North by Northwestern.

    Updated: Feb. 26 at 9:50 p.m.

    The Daily Northwestern reported Monday that no one has seen McCormick sophomore Harsha Maddula since Saturday, Sept. 22, when he was leaving an off-campus party with a group of friends. North by Northwestern has compiled a list of the the events surrounding Maddula's disappearance. All times listed are approximated based on interviews with Maddula's friends and reports by The Daily, the Chicago Tribune and the Northwestern News Center.

    September 21

    10:36 p.m.: Maddula leaves Public Affairs Residential College with a small group of students.

    10:45 p.m.: Maddula and friends arrive at an off-campus party on Garnett Place for a few minutes.

    11:00 p.m.: Maddula and the group arrive at 2013 Ridge Ave., the site of another off-campus party.

    11:15 p.m.: Maddula and the group leave 2013 Ridge Ave.

    Between 11:15 and 12:10: The group arrives at a third off-campus party on Hamlin Street, where they realize Maddula is missing.

    September 22

    12:10 a.m.: Maddula calls Weinberg sophomore John Kim, a friend of his, to ask where he is. Kim says he is at 2013 Ridge Ave., at the party where Maddula had been.

    12:35 a.m.: Weinberg sophomore Linzy Wagner, who had been with Maddula that evening, calls Maddula and asks where he is. He tells her he is on the second floor of PARC. However, according to a later University statement, closed-circuit TV tapes and electronic key data indicate that he was not at or around PARC at this time.

    11:00 a.m.: Maddula does not appear at a PARC tailgate, despite having committed to participate and bring speakers.

    12:30 p.m.: Wagner contacts PARC Community Assistant Cameron Songer, a Medill sophomore, to check on Maddula.

    5:30 p.m.: Songer informs SHARC Area Coordinator Keenan Colquitt that no one has heard from Maddula. Colquitt contacts NUPD.

    6:45 p.m.: NUPD officers arrive at PARC and enter Maddula's room with hall staff to find that he is not present.  

    September 23

    Prasad Maddula, Harsha's father, contacts a SHARC Community Assistant about his son's whereabouts. The CA is unable to verify Maddula's location.

    September 24

    8:38 p.m.: First emergency notification is sent to Northwestern email accounts.

    Prasad and Dhanalakshmi Maddula, Harsha's mother, arrive in Chicago.

    September 25

    2:00 p.m.: First volunteer search party assembles.

    2:15 p.m.: Northwestern spokesman Al Cubbage holds a press conference where he announces the involvement of local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and the Evanston Police Department.

    September 26

    10:15 a.m.: The University announces in a press release that the search for Maddula is expanding to Wilmette. The last cell phone signal police tracked, from early in the morning on Sept. 22, led them to Wilmette Harbor (about two miles north of PARC). Law enforcement agencies, divers and the U.S. Coast Guard are on hand.

    3:00 p.m.: Divers and the Coast Guard continue searching in and around Wilmette Harbor using SONAR. The Daily quoted Cubbage, "We are looking for a body."

    September 27

    8:53 a.m.: A press release from Cubbage states that searches in Wilmette Harbor will not continue, but law enforcement will continue their investigation.

    7:00 p.m.: Wilmette police discover Maddula's body in Wilmette Harbor east of Sheridan Road. They notify NUPD, who notifies Maddula's family.

    10:00 p.m.: Cubbage announces Maddula's death at an outdoor press conference. Meanwhile, Assistant Vice President of Student Engagement Burgwell Howard announces the news to students gathered at the Rock. 

    September 28

    A Cook County medical examiner determines the cause of death to be drowning, but cannot rule it an accidental death until toxicology tests have been completed.

    October 1

    Harsha is mourned at a family-arranged funeral in New York before being cremated in accordance with Hindu tradition.

    February 7

    Evanston Police Department receives final report from the Cook County medical examiner’s office, which lists the nature of Harsha’s death as drowning, but leaves the manner undetermined.

    February 25

    Evanston Police officially concludes investigation of Harsha Maddula’s death, with the determination that the nature of death was accidental with alcohol as a contributing factor. Previously unreleased information is also made public, including the utilization of grand jury subpoenas, voice stress analysis tests on Maddula's friends and that Maddula was discovered with an unzipped fly.

    Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president of student affairs, releases a Universitywide statement about EPD’s determination.

    As of Feb. 25, 2013, the investigation into Harsha Maddula’s death has been concluded. EPD Commander Jay Parrott said in an NBN piece about the case's conclusion“If there is something that appears to be relevant and factual to this case, then we would be looking at it to make a more refined manner of death classification. But in terms of the investigation itself, without new information or something we don’t already know, the case will stand closed.”

    Editor's Note: This article originally said that Maddula was "contacted but not seen" at 6:45 p.m., according to The Daily's coverage. In reality, this was the time that University police first entered Maddula's room.

    Editor's Note: This article originally stated that Songer was the first to enter Maddula's room. North by Northwestern regrets the error. 

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