Pune youth goes missing in US, family seeks urgent help

Washington, July 13: A Pune youth drowned in the waters of Glacier National Park in the US state of Montana and has been missing since July 6, according to a park spokesperson.

Siddhant Vittal Patil, a techie living in California, was hiking at the park with seven other friends when he went into Avalanche Creek on Saturday morning.

Patil entered the creek, either by slipping or losing his balance on a large rock. He went underwater, briefly resurfaced, and then was swept up by the current and into the gorge.

According to his friends who witnessed the fall, Siddhant was hiking and had diverted from the trail while standing on a large rock above the gorge.

"He slipped and fell into the creek below," Pritesh Chaudhari, Siddhant's uncle, told ANI.

Aerial searches were conducted by ALERT helicopters over the creek and the surrounding area while more than 10 rangers looked for the man along the creek and assisted in the search on foot.

The rangers have confirmed that some personal items have been recovered downstream. The area is still being monitored by GNP rangers; however, the water in the gorge is not searchable due to the strong currents caused by the whitewater conditions in Avalanche Creek.

Park officials said the runoff is very high in the creek, and rangers cannot enter the gorge until the water level dips down.

"The rangers said that it would take weeks or months for the search operations to start again once the water level reduces. They have received Siddhant's Apple Watch details on Monday itself and aren't able to decode it," Chaudhari added.

GNP says rangers flew a drone over Avalanche Creek on July 10 to attempt to locate the missing person; however, the effort was unsuccessful.

"Siddhant is the only child of his parents, and they were hopeful that he may be stuck somewhere safely. Not enough effort is being put in by the authorities," Chaudhari alleged and appealed to authorities to take prompt action.

The family has also appealed to hire private rangers to carry out search operations.

The maternal uncle further said that since several days have passed without any news, his family is going through a difficult time not knowing his whereabouts.

Further, Prem Bhandari, a prominent voice of the Indian diaspora, told ANI that "the family is in extreme grief and has been in constant touch with me. As a member of the Indian diaspora, I am trying to reach out to the authorities so that there can be some closure in this case."