This summer has not been good for Indiana colleges. The unexplained disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierer on June 3rd has dominated the headlines in Central Indiana as Most of Monroe County and parts of surrounding counties have been searched with little to know sign of this young lady appearing. This weekend, a similar incident happened further north as Purdue football player Sean Matti disappeared while swimming in Lake Freeman in Carroll County just north of Lafayette.
According to WLFI Channel 18 out of Lafayette, Matti was last seen while swimming around 5pm Sunday afternoon:
DNR officials say they were contacted around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night. Matti was last seen swimming in Lake Freeman in the Snow Ditch area near a home on Hambridge Drive around 5 p.m.
DNR officers and the Carroll County Sheriff's Office are continuing their search for Matti at this hour. Divers performed a close-to-shore search by foot Sunday night until they had to call it off due to darkness. The search resumed this morning with the use of a sonar boat.
"They didn't locate anything, that matches anything, that possibly resembles a body. So the divers didn't go in. Right now we're doing a land based search with multiple agencies. Actually my understanding is we've got some dogs coming up to hopefully help with the search," said Matt Tholen, an officer with the DNR.
DNR Officer Matt Tholen said officers are still investigating whether Matti walked off, or had gotten into an argument with someone at the party, for now though he said he's still hopeful. When asked if Tholen believed Matti was still alive he said, "Right now we can only hope."
Matti is 22 years old. He was last seen wearing gray shorts with the number one on them. He was not wearing a shirt at the time. Witnesses say Matti had been drinking at the time he disappeared. Matti is six feet tall, weighing approximately 220 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
My grandparents used to lived on Lake Freeman and Matti is a close friend of site contributor Jordan, so if you know anything please contact the Carroll County Sherrif's department. Matti is entering his fifth and final season as a walk-on and has not accumulated any statistics to date. Please pray for him and his family as we search for a positive end to this situation.