NY-Dan Pirfo, Ithaca 4/24/05

[villagespin]

I read about this student missing from Cornell University, of which I am an alum, in the student newspaper. The campus has many beautiful gorges and I hope he did not fall into one, either accidentally or on purpose.

Prayers that they find this young man.

cara
_______________
http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/27/426f2aee7bbab

Pirfo Still Missing
April 27, 2005
by Sun Staff
A search is continuing for Dan Pirfo '08, who was reported missing by his roommate early Monday morning. His was last seen at Mews Hall at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning. However, records show that he re-entered the dormitory at at approximately 4:30 a.m. No subsequent records exist.

According to Simeon Moss '73, Cornell press office director, a State Police helicopter canvassed the campus yesterday, but no substantial leads were found. The police may widen their search today.

Pirfo is now being described as being a white male, 5'8" and 160 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, according to a Cornell News Service press release. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cornell Police at 255-1111 or 911. More information and a photo can be found at http://www.finddanpirfo.com/

[villagespin]

http://www.ithacajournal.com/news/stories/20050428/localnews/2122337.html


Police still searching for missing CU student



JODY ROSELLE
Ithaca Journal Staff



ITHACA - The search for a missing 19-year-old student continued Wednesday as Cornell University Police added volunteers from area law enforcement, emergency response agencies and other people from the community.

Daniel A. Pirfo, a native of Washington, D.C., was reported missing around 1 a.m. Monday by a residence hall adviser. Pirfo was last seen between 4:30 and 4:45 a.m. Sunday in Mews Hall, the freshman residence hall where he lives.

"They've been searching around the North campus residence halls and the grounds around the north campus residence," said Simeon Moss, director of the Cornell press office. "The Ithaca Police Department is actually coordinating that search."

New York State Park Police helped coordinate the search from the Cayuga Heights Fire Department Wednesday.

Friends and dorm residents created fliers, constructed a Web site and sent out e-mail in an effort to locate Pirfo.

A link to Pirfo's Cornell student profile, provided through a message board on The Cornell Daily Sun Web site, showed Pirfo's profile had allegedly been modified at 11:14 p.m. Monday.

Moss said Wednesday he had not been aware of the modification nor who may have done it.

Ithaca Police reported 32 volunteers combing the area for Pirfo.

"We're just following all leads and exhausting all possibilities," said Lt. Timothy Williams of the IPD investigations unit.

Pirfo has been described as white, 5-foot-8 inches tall, about 160 pounds and has brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved button-down shirt, light-colored khakis and black sneakers. Anyone with information should call Cornell Police at 255-1111. Originally published Thursday, April 28, 2005

[villagespin]

http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/29/4271df4b648f4

Search Continues For Dan Pirfo '08
April 29, 2005
by Ben Birnbaum
Cornell Daily Sun Staff Writer
Cornell University Police continued their search yesterday for missing student Dan Pirfo '08, 19, who disappeared Sunday from Cornell, as friends across campus anxiously awaited news of his fate.

At 8 a.m. yesterday morning, a search party of about 30 student volunteers departed Ho Plaza to check three wooded areas not well canvassed by recent ground and aerial searches that came up empty. "Dan's disappearance is being covered by C.U. Police, Ithaca Police, Ithaca Fire Department, and the State Forestry department, as well as the Fire Department Volunteers," said Simeon Moss '73, Cornell press office director. "There's been very good cooperation among agencies, and together they're following up on all leads."

Pirfo was reported missing at 1 a.m. Monday morning by roommate Sean Clemens '08 and other friends from his floor in Mews Hall.

Clemens said he last saw Pirfo at around 3:10 a.m. Sunday morning: "I told him I was going to bed and he said he'd be back."

The last confirmed sighting of Pirfo was in another friend's room in Mews at about 4:45 a.m.; he was possibly seen at around 9 a.m. in a Mews lounge by a passing resident.

Pirfo, who is about 5'8" and 165 pounds, was last seen wearing a black shirt and khaki pants. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Students with any information are asked to call Cornell University Police at 607-255-1111 or 911.

Clemens said he hadn't noticed anything unusual about his roommate's behavior in the days leading up to his disappearance.

"Even after we reported him missing, I think we all just expected him to show up the next day with some new adventure," said resident advisor Dan Zarrow '06. "When that didn't happen, we became really worried. Everyone in the hall is very anxious, and they're getting more anxious with each passing day."

According to Zarrow and Todd Carlson, Mews residence hall director, nightly meetings have been held since Dan was reported missing with police updates and Counseling and Psychological Services representatives on hand. The meetings were moved into a larger room after over 60 students attended the first, according to Zarrow.

Since Sunday, a group of Dan's friends and other students from Mews have created a website, FindDanPirfo.com, which has racked up 24,000 hits, and have posted over a thousand flyers around campus and in Collegetown. "I think it helped students deal with this by being able to do something to help find Dan," Zarrow said.

"I've been really touched by the outreach and concern the Mews community has shown for Dan," Carlson said. "I've also been really impressed by the resources and services the University has provided for this case. And, of course, C.U. Police has been putting everything they can into finding Dan. The amount of attention from all around has been tremendous."

Pirfo, better known by Clemens and his other floormates by his nickname, "D-Unit," was "a popular guy on the floor," according to Zarrow. "A real character."

"He's different from me, but we connected early on," Clemens explained. "Us and a few others on the floor. We're a pretty tight-knit group -- we had been getting even closer in the past month, I'd say -- everyone really brought something else to the table. Dan always tried to make sure everyone was having fun. He was taking a lot of hard classes and worked hard, but he tried to enjoy himself, to keep his eye on a larger picture. He was a funny guy ... is a funny guy."

"We're asking everybody to keep Dan and his family in their thoughts and to please contact Cornell University police if they have any information that might help find him," Carlson said.

"This really caught us all off-guard, and people are handling it in different ways," Clemens said. "But we're still optimistic that we're going to be able to talk to him really soon."

[jodierenee]

hopefully this is an accidental death. if he really was intoxicated at the time and had to be carried to his room, maybe he decided to go visit someone or get a bite to eat and became disoriented?


i dunno...was there a history of depression? He seems like a well liked, popular kid.

[villagespin]

Search continues for missing Cornell student
Updated: 4/29/2005 11:27 AM
By: Megan Driscoll, News 10 Now Web Staff

http://www.news10now.com/images/750.gifhttp://www.news10now.com/media/2005/4/29/images/01_______pirfo.jpg http://www.news10now.com/images/750.gifhttp://www.news10now.com/images/750.gifhttp://www.news10now.com/images/750.gifWhere authorities left off students picked up. They gathered together around 8:00 this morning to search campus for any signs of Daniel Pirfo. They combed the woods and other areas authorities had not been able to thoroughly go through. Previously, students had distributed more than a 1,000 flyers and started a Web site to help look for Pirfo.

Students say they just want to do all they can to help.

"All of us are very concerned about his disappearance. And really we are trying to lead the student effort to do something about it. I got in touch with the Cornell Police department and they very much welcomed our presence and said that they were understaffed and a little over stretch so as a group of concerned students we wanted to get together and do something about it," said concerned senior Ross Blankenship.

"I got an email late last night and I thought why didn't anyone lead a student search before it made a lot of sense. There is a lot of people and I think a lot of us care. So I just decided to come out this morning and see if I could help," said senior Erin Broaddus.
Now, although authorities have ended the ground search, they say they will continue with interviewing. And unless there are any new leads they will not be starting any new searches.

Pirfo is a white male, 5’ 8”. He weighs about 160 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. If you have information, you're asked to call Cornell Police at (607) 255-1111 or Ithaca Police at (607) 272-3245.


http://www.news10now.com/content/all_news/tompkinscortland_county/?SecID=111&ArID=41552

[mere]

I found this at cornellsun.com.


"I heard from a classmate that Dan was carried back to Mews from the footbridge by two big guys because he was so intoxicated. The time that this happened was not specified. This could just be hearsay, but if the two guys could be identified, perhaps they may have some info."

anonymous
cornell student

[villagespin]

I feared this would be how it turned out. Prayers.

http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/10/42816720e1e30

Body Found in Fall Creek Gorge
May 10, 2005
by Sun Staff
At approximately 5:00 p.m. this evening, a body was found in Fall Creek Gorge, near Lake Street.

The Ithaca Police, Cornell Police, Ithaca Fire Department and Bangs Ambulance responded to the scene.

The body has not been positively identified as of yet, and sources will not confirm whether it is connected to the disappearance of Dan Pirfo '08, who has been missing since late April.

"We are apprehensive of course, and we are going to wait for the investigation to be completed," said Simeon Moss, Cornell's press relations office director. The Sun is continuing to investigate this story. Please check www.cornelldailysun.com for updates.

[jodierenee]

he was wearing a black shirt and khaki pants when he went missing..


the body being pulled out of the gorge has a black shirt on and brown looking pants :(

http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20050511/localnews/2132377.html

[lady-eowyn]

Oh no....:(

[sharon25]

if it is him, at least his parents will have closure.
hopefully, it will be determined to just be an accidental death.

thoughts going to the family.

[lady-eowyn]

ID of body should be released today:

Cornell University says the identification of the body found in the Ithaca Falls will not be released until Thursday. They say the county medical examiner has requested additional information from the medical examiner in Albany.

http://news10now.com/content/all_news/tompkinscortland_county/?ArID=42228&SecID=111

[fourboys]

Posted May 12, 2005 2:42 PM

Ithaca Police have identified the body found near the base of Ithaca Falls Tuesday as that of missing Cornell University Student Daniel A. Pirfo.

According to IPD Lt. Timothy Williams, injuries found on Pirfo's body are consistent with a fall into the gorge. His death has been ruled accidental, Williams said Thursday.

Pirfo, who lived on campus in Mews Hall, reportedly was last seen early on the morning of Sunday, April 24, and reported missing the following day.

See Friday's Ithaca Journal for more information.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/updates/11695.html

[jodierenee]

:\


how far away was this place from where he was last seen? Surely LE decided to check all the gorges when they first heard of this....

[villagespin]

http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/12/4283c76dc4e63

Body Found in Gorge Identified as Pirfo '08
IPD: Student Death Accidental
May 12, 2005
by Sun Staff
The Ithaca Police Department has confirmed that the body found in Fall Creek Gorge on Tuesday evening is that of missing Cornell student Daniel A. Pirfo '08.

The Tompkins County medical examiner and the Ithaca Police Department announced the positive identification of the body today at approximately 2:45 p.m., according to Simeon Moss, Cornell press relations office director.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dan Pirfo," said Susan H. Murphy, vice president for student and academic services, in a press release. "Our thoughts and prayers go to his family and his many friends. During this time, the University is offering support and counsel to all who have been touched by this tragic event."

The body was found at approximately 5:00 p.m. Tuesday night, by three fishermen and was not immediately identified.

"Injuries on the body were consistent with a fall into the gorge," according to an Ithaca Police Department news release.

Pirfo's death has been ruled an accident.

He was reported missing on April 25 and was last seen in the early morning hours of April 24.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends across the campus.

"It has been a difficult and stressful time since Dan disappeared, and we are all saddened to have the search end in this tragic way," stated President Jeffrey S. Lehman '77 in an e-mail to the Cornell community. According to the Cornell News Service release, "Cornell's Office of the Dean of Students and the university's Community Support Team are arranging and leading community support efforts on campus, including arranging for group discussions with affected students and community members."

Students are working with Cornell United Religious Work to plan a gathering to remember Pirfo.

The Sun is continuing to monitor this story. Please check www.cornelldailysun.com for updates.

[villagespin]

Cornell is up on a hill in Ithaca and there are a few places on campus where you cross the gorges. You can also hike down into the gorges along some paths. It is a large campus and a beautiful one at that. However, there really is no way to fence off the gorges so a student who was intoxicated and staggering around could (depending on where he or she was) accidentally fall into the gorge. Though I have to say one would really need to be drunk for this type of accident to happen.

I know while I was there we had a student accidentally fall into the gorge after a long night of partying and another commit suicide by jumping off the suspension bridge that crosses one of the gorges.

He was found by three other Cornell students who were fishing. I would guess he fell in somewhere around campus and then the water carried him down to where he was found.

The family and friends of Dan have an answer, though not the one they wished for. I wish them strength at this difficult time and mourn this beautiful life full of possibilities lost.

[luthersmama]

:\


how far away was this place from where he was last seen? Surely LE decided to check all the gorges when they first heard of this....


The gorges are huge and deep with many water falls and deep pools. They are very difficult to search because they are full of rocks. There are trails, but they don't cover the gorges completely. It is not uncommon for bodies to take a few days to be discovered. Sometimes they get into a deep pool and get caught behind a waterfall for a day or so. If the water is really high, a body could be completey invisible as it rushed down the hill.

He might have fallen. He might have jumped. When I was a student there, silly frat boys would show off by walking along the railings of the bridges. ONe guy died when he did a handstand on a railing. How dumb is that? Dan might have been taking a shortcut along one of the trails that skirts the gorge.