EAST LANSING, Mich. — A larger search effort began Thursday morning in an attempt to find Brendan Santo, who has been missing since Oct. 29.
Teams from four nearby counties, including Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Wayne, gathered at the Red Cedar River in East Lansing to search for Santo.
The river has been divided into segments by dive teams, with 35 divers spanning the river.
Dive teams continue search for Brendan Santo
“We know that this is a difficult situation for the Santo family, all of Brendan’s friends and the investigating officers, the deputies, the agencies as well," said Michigan State University Police inspector Chris Rozman. "So it’s important that we maintain a level of hope when we do our jobs which we continue to do, and we’re committed to this operation and bringing Brendan home.”
An additional team of 50 FBI personnel have continued a ground search away from the river. Police have confirmed that no evidence or personal property belonging to Santo has been located at this time.
The Facebook group Bring Brendan Santo Home posted Wednesday that debris had been removed from the river to accommodate this search. The search was held Thursday because the river level is lower than when Santo went missing.
Santo, 18, was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on the Michigan State University campus the night of Oct. 29 shortly before midnight. Police say foul play is not suspected, and they also believe that Brendan Santo did not intend to harm himself.
Civilian searches began in early November, but no sign of Santo has been found. Bring Brendan Santo Home has been working to coordinate these searches.
Shortly after Santo’s disappearance, MSU president Samuel L. Stanley Jr. released a statement confirming that the cameras at the Yakeley Hall entrance were not working the night that Santo went missing.
RELATED: MSU president: Security camera at Yakeley Hall not working the night Brendan Santo went missing
This investigation is still underway.
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