Body of missing Massachusetts college student, Franco Garcia, found in reservoir

BOSTON – Seven weeks of searching and hoping for their son's safe return dissolved into grief Wednesday for the parents of a Boston College student who said police pulled his remains from the water of a reservoir near the campus.
Priests prayed over 21-year-old chemistry major Franco Garcia before authorities placed his body inside a van at the edge of Chestnut Hill Reservoir.
Garcia's father, Jose Garcia, weeping at his Newton home later Wednesday, said, "I found him. But not the way I want."
Garcia was last seen drinking with friends at a bar near campus early on Feb. 22. He had planned to stay the night at a friend's dorm but never showed. His car was parked where he left it, there was no new activity on his credit card and no one had used his cellphone since it pinged off a tower near the reservoir that night.
Divers had repeatedly scoured the depths of the reservoir, in between campus and the bar, since he disappeared. Authorities also used sonar to search the reservoir, but found no sign of Garcia there until a man walking his dog reported seeing a body in the water Wednesday.
Authorities said the body was found in an area of heavy weeds, which had limited visibility during their searches.
The family said police reported that the clothes on the body matched the description of what Garcia was wearing when he was last seen. Police also found the student's wallet in his pocket and recovered his eyeglasses, according to his family, though the district attorney said he couldn't confirm for certain that the body was Garcia's until authorities performed an autopsy.
Garcia's parents said police told them they will investigate whether their son died in an accident or if foul play was a factor. They said they hope authorities find that Garcia's death was an accident so they can have some closure as they grieve.
"This is not going to be over until we find the truth of what happened with him," Luzmila Garcia told The Associated Press. "The only thing I ask is to find the truth -- what happened with Franco?"
The night he disappeared, her son had gone to a popular hangout with fellow members of Boston College's Symphonic Band after a practice on campus. Inside the bar, he also met up with friends from high school. At closing time, his college friends couldn't find him. A close friend of Garcia's previously told the AP that Garcia was drunk "but not smashed" that night.
There is no fence around the reservoir where authorities found the body.
Police got involved a day later, when his parents returned in a panic from a vacation to New York City after not being able to reach him.
Garcia lived at home with his parents, who emigrated more than two decades ago from Lima, Peru. Worried relatives there also have been following the case, and one of Luzmila Garcia's sisters flew to Boston from Lima to help search for her nephew.
The case drew the attention of singer Bruce Springsteen, whose son is a senior at Boston College. The musician posted the student's missing person poster on both Twitter and Facebook.
A priest joined Garcia's parents at their home later in the day, when they said they would begin planning for their son's funeral now that their search for him had ended. Family planned to attend a church service in Garcia's memory at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Catholic parish Saint Mary in Waltham.
Luzmila Garcia said that while she knew her son was gone, she still felt his spirit.
"I can see him telling me, `Calm down, Mama. That's OK,"' she said. "He's telling me that."

Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

How sad! Thanks for posting Lisette.

Thanks lisette. How sad for the family to not know how he died.

Peruvian Community Left with Questions After BC Student's Body Found

By Tanya Pérez-Brennan
Published April 11, 2012
Fox News Latino

Boston – He was described as a quiet and calm family man who helped his mother in the grocery store she ran. He lived in a middle-class neighborhood near Boston and was studying chemistry in college.

Now family and friends of Franco García, 21, are trying to figure out what happened to the Boston College student who vanished in February, and on Wednesday turned up dead in a reservoir close to his school.

"He was a chico de casa [a homebody], very calm,” said Lilly Padilla, who has been friends with his mother for 10 years. “He was a little shy, but he never caused problems.”

Padilla said she heard the news of the body’s discovery when the family called her earlier today.

“The truth is, I was surprised, but the news made me feel relieved for his mother, because at least now she can deal with the loss,” Padilla said.

Many in the Peruvian community had come together after Garcia’s disappearance, putting up posters, attending vigils, and otherwise helping with search efforts.

“I think his body was just thrown in the water,” Padilla said. “I’ve been to that reservoir many times since he disappeared and I haven’t seen anything and to now have something appear floating in the water is very mysterious.”

This sentiment is echoed by other Peruvians, which community estimates place at anywhere from 12,000 to 15,000, including those registered with the Consulate and those who are undocumented.

Conrado Montero, one of the members of COPEMA, La Colonia Peruana de Massachusetts, one of the few Peruvian community organizations in the city, said it is hard to believe that García’s death is due to an accident.
“What we really regret is [the loss of] a boy who grew up here and had a lot to offer,” Montero said. “It’s a loss not only for his family and for the Peruvian community in East Boston, but for the entire city.”

The García family, originally from Lima, Peru, run a corner store in East Boston, a neighborhood with a large Latino population, where they sold Peruvian products.
Attempts to reach the García family were unsuccessful.
Montero said that his organization has given a small sum of money to the family and will likely provide help to them in the near future as they come to terms with García’s loss.

State police assigned to the District Attorney’s office will be conducting an investigation into the death, Wark said. An autopsy is expected tomorrow morning.

García, who was studying chemistry at the Woods College of Advancing Studies, was also active in the university marching, pep, and symphonic bands as a clarinetist.

"The news of today causes deep sadness, and our hearts go out to the Garcia family and his many friends at Boston College," said University President William P. Leahy, S.J. in a statement. "More than ever, we need to remember them in our prayers.”

Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

BOSTON—The Boston College student who was missing for nearly two months before police recovered his body in a reservoir will be laid to rest this week.

Franco Garcia will be remembered at a wake Tuesday at the Catholic parish Saint Mary in Waltham from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Garcia's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill.

Authorities previously said that preliminary autopsy results suggest Garcia died after he accidentally fell into the water.

They still are awaiting toxicology test results, and haven't finished their investigation.

Friends last saw the former Boston College Symphonic Band member at a bar near campus on Feb. 22.

The 21-year-old chemistry major's disappearance sparked a weeks-long search and police probe.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Funeral Held For Franco Garcia At Boston College

April 18, 2012

BOSTON (AP) — From a choir loft above mourners, the sound of students’ brass horns spread through a church on the campus of Boston College in a tribute to their school band mate.

Their notes climbed, and then suddenly fell, betraying sniffles from the crowd inside Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church on Wednesday.

They were honoring the life of Franco Garcia, whose Feb. 22 disappearance sparked a massive search that ended when his body surfaced last week in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

Authorities said preliminary autopsy results suggested the 21-year-old chemistry major may have died after an accidental fall into the water.

Friends last saw Garcia, a junior at the college, while drinking at a bar near campus after a band practice.

“Franco’s disappearance brought to the surface how much love you had for him and still have for him today,” the Rev. Michael Nolan told churchgoers in a service that included prayers in English and Spanish.

Senior Katherine Corteselli eulogized her best friend as someone with a beautiful smile, a passion for music and an uncommon devotion to family and friends.

She said they met during their first day at Boston College, when she mistook Garcia as someone older and more confident than a freshman when she went to pick up her band uniform.

“He was one of those people who once you met him, you felt like you knew him forever,” Corteselli said.
She was among college friends who got separated from Garcia the night he went missing. They couldn’t find him at bar closing time.

The next day, his parents Luzmila and Jose Garcia returned in a panic from a New York City vacation. Their son never again showed up for classes, never returned to his family’s West Newton home, and never went back to his full-time pharmacy technician job.

Police divers searched the water of the reservoir several times. Authorities also used a helicopter and police dogs to comb the campus neighborhood.

Garcia’s parents stopped working for weeks as loved ones came together to search and pray for Garcia, including an aunt who flew in from his parents’ homeland of Peru.

Police recovered images from a bank ATM of Garcia walking in the area near the bar. But there were no more clues until his body floated to the top of the weed-filled reservoir on April 11.

Luzmila Garcia said after following her son’s chrome-colored casket from the church Wednesday that she still has questions about how he died.

“We want to know the truth,” she told The Associated Press.

Authorities are awaiting toxicology test results that could reveal more and have said the investigation into Garcia’s final hours is ongoing.

Nolan called upon mourners to pray for anyone who might know something about what happened to Garcia that night.

But the priest also told churchgoers that the student had “gone to the Lord.”

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I hope his family gets this answers.