Story highlights
Sunil Tripathi, 22, had been missing since mid-March
His body was found Wednesday in the Providence River
It may take two months to determine cause of death
A body found Tuesday in Rhode Island’s Providence River has been identified as that of Sunil Tripathi, a Brown University student who had been missing since mid-March, police said.
No foul play is suspected, police said, citing the state medical examiner’s office.
It might take two months to determine the cause of death of the 22-year-old philosophy major, said Dara Chadwick of the Rhode Island Health Department.
The identification was made through forensic dental examination, Chadwick said.
His relatives’ search for Tripathi was detailed on a Facebook page, “Help us find Sunil Tripathi.” They had temporarily taken down the page after they were inundated by ugly comments when he was falsely identified on social media as a possible suspect in last week’s Boston Marathon bombings.
Tripathi was last reported seen early March 16, on a security video walking south on Brook Street in Providence, near his home. His last recorded computer activity was shortly before that sighting.
“He was seen on the 15th, Friday, hanging out with his friends, talking to family members, all normal activities, nothing out of the ordinary that anyone detected,” his brother Ravi told CNN affiliate WPRI on April 10.
Tripathi had been on leave from the Ivy League school, meaning he was granted time off but remained a student there.
He was trying to figure out what he wanted to do, Ravi told WPRI.
He described his brother as a quiet person who enjoyed the little things in life. His preferred food was vegetarian, and he was a talented saxophonist, the family said.
Sunil, who had been living in Providence since 2008, grew up in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.