What started as a night out with friends, having drinks and discussing an upcoming spring break trip, has turned into a nearly weeklong search for a missing Boston College student beloved by his community.
Friends and family gathered around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir yesterday and waited with bated breath as state police underwater recovery units scoured the water using special sonar scanners and two divers, looking for 21-year-old Franco Garcia.
After a three-hour search, results came up negative, but the investigation in the reservoir will resume Tuesday.
“I know my son is not here,” said Garcia’s father, Jose Garcia, staring at the lake with tears forming in his eyes. “He’s alive — I know he’s alive. Something tells me I will see him soon.”
Garcia’s mother said she hasn’t slept much since her son went missing last Wednesday from Mary Ann’s bar in Cleveland Circle.
“No one in the world should feel this pain,” said Luzmila Garcia.
Luzmila, like her husband, said she had doubts her son’s body will be found in the water.
“He is in some place he does not want to be,” she said. “That’s my fear — that someone is going to hurt him.”
Close friends of Garcia’s brought food for his family as they stood by and clutched posters with their son’s smiling face printed on them. They waited hours for the results from the search.
“It’s just a lot of shock. It has been really tough,” said Mark Potash, who has known Garcia since their freshman year.
“Seeing this makes you think of the worst case scenario,” he said.
Newton police officials called Garcia’s disappearance “very unusual,” but foul play has been ruled out.
Reservoir to be searched today
State police will continue scouring the reservoir near Boston College today in their desperate search for clues into what may have happened to Franco Garcia.
Six divers are expected to spend the day in the water and two police helicopters will be hovering above the reservoir and forested area surrounding it.
Facts in Franco’s case
Police reviewed surveillance footage from the area surrounding Mary Ann’s in Brighton, but Garcia was not seen.
A ping from a cell tower shows that Garcia’s phone was somewhere near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir around 1:15 a.m.
There has been no credit card activity since Garcia’s disappearance.
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear
