Pain and anger over false Internet reports (Tripathi family)

[redheadbaker]

www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/203769451.html

After the FBI released photos of two men wanted in the Boston Marathon bombing, callers to the Radnor Township police said one of them looked like someone they knew.

The name they gave was that of Sunil Tripathi, 22, a Brown University student from Bryn Mawr who was reported missing last month in Providence, R.I.

The speculation went viral on the Internet, some statements portraying it as fact, and reached his family.

"It was Twitter, viral, a very ugly effort," his sister, Sangeeta said in an interview.

“That escalated throughout the evening of course," she said. "It was a very ugly night.”

It got so bad, the family pulled down a Facebook page it had set up to find Sunil after he disappeared without a trace on March 16, leaving behind his wallet, cellphone, credit cards and a cryptic note, details of which have not been released. The comments were too hard to take.

Sunil's brother, Ravi Tripathi, said he contacted the FBI to alert the agency to the online allegations and that the agency "contacted us back to say 'We're aware.'

"That was really the summary of our interactions," he said. "Today we have not been in touch with any law enforcement."

The Facebook page was restored after authorities identified the two bombing suspects as brothers from Chechnya around 7 a.m. "We know absolutely that that's not Sunil," Sangeeta Tripathi said.

But the damage was done.

All through the night, Tripathi's name was linked on social media and several websites to the man Boston officials called "Suspect No. 2." There also were unconfirmed reports that the 2008 Radnor High School graduate's name was picked up on Boston police scanners along with that of another young man.

About a dozen news vans descended on Tripathi's family's home in the predawn darkness, preparing to report news that was fueled by Internet speculation that was ultimately unfounded. Among them was a news crew from Los Angeles, which was in Philadelphia for another story.

Radnor Police Chief William Colarulo said the possibility of the connection reached his office in the form of tips from residents. His department notified the FBI, but did not hear back from the agency.

"No police agency ever contacted us," Colarulo said.

Radnor Township Police Officer Mark Stiansen was listening to The Big Daddy Graham sports radio show when he heard the report of Tripathi's possible involvement. He and another officer went to the family's home around 3:30 a.m., anticipating a large media presence.

At Radnor High School, Principal Mark Schellinger held an assembly to address the rumors and to report that the FBI had informed him the reports about Tripathi were false.

"The assembly was to make students conscious of rumor and innuendo that’s reported through online and social media, and we wanted to acknowledge that this rumor was spreading," said Michael Petitti, communications coordinator for Radnor School District "...We’re trying to be proactive."

"We feel for the Tripathi family," he said. "They really didn’t deserve the compounding of their grief."

In a statement from Providence, where the family continues to search for the young man, they said, "The last eighteen hours have generated tremendous and painful attention on social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, as well as from television media inquiries linking Sunil to the video stills released by the FBI yesterday afternoon."

The family expressed its sympathies for victims of the bombings and their families.

"The last 34 days, and the last 12 hours especially, have been heartwrenching," said Sunil's mother, Judy Tripathi.

Tripathi, who suffers from depression, was last seen by his Providence housemates on March 16.

When close friends could not reach him, they contacted police. In the following weeks numerous law enforcement investigators, family and friends searched coffee shops, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, hospitals and even morgues.

Foul play is not suspected. An FBI forensic analysis of his computer, bank, and phone turned up no clues to his whereabouts.

"Sunny," as he is known, had taken a leave from Brown University where he was studying philosophy. He was volunteering at a local library while deciding his next steps, Ravi Tripathi has said.

After he disappeared, volunteers plastered posters around Providence, at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station and at regional-rail stations. Calls and tips have come in from South Carolina, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Boston as well as Rhode Island.

[LoveTrains]

Yeah I feel really, really bad for this Tripathi family. I live very near to where this guy disappeared from and its been really sad. I keep seeing the flyers up all over town and I keep wondering what happened to him. My guess is he committed suicide but why haven't they found the body? I keep wondering if he jumped into the Bay.

[ttt]

I heard it on the scanner last night. I really, really wonder how they came up with his name as one of the suspects.

That poor family