Sunil Tripathi was a Brown University student who disappeared on March 16, 2013, in Providence, Rhode Island. His disappearance sparked a massive search effort, and his story gained national attention when he was mistakenly identified as a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. Tripathi’s body was found in the Providence River on April 23, 2013.
Early Life and Education
Sunil Tripathi was born on August 14, 1990, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. His parents, Akhil and Judy Tripathi were both Indian immigrants who had come to the United States in the 1970s.
Sunil
Sunil grew up in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and attended the Radnor High School, where he was a member of the cross-country team and the debate club.
After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he studied philosophy and literature.
The Disappearance of Sunil Tripathi
On March 16, 2013, Sunil Tripathi disappeared from his apartment in Providence, Rhode Island. He was last seen by his roommates, who reported him missing when he failed to return home. His disappearance sparked a massive search effort, with hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement personnel searching for him in the surrounding area.
campaign set up by his family
Despite extensive efforts to find him, Tripathi remained missing for several weeks. His family and friends launched a social media campaign to raise awareness about his disappearance.
Misidentification during the Boston Marathon Bombing
On April 15, 2013, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. In the days that followed, law enforcement officials released images of two suspects, later identified as brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
In an effort to gather information and identify potential suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing, Reddit users created a dedicated subreddit on April 16, 2013, just one day after the tragic event took place. The subreddit aimed to consolidate all relevant information related to the bombings, with the goal of helping law enforcement officials solve the case.
On April 18, Reddit users began to speculate that Sunil Tripathi might be one of the suspects. The speculation was based on a grainy photograph of one of the suspects, which some users believed resembled Tripathi.
To fuel the speculation around Tripathi’s involvement in the Boston Marathon bombing, a woman, who claimed to be his classmate, took to Twitter and posted that she also believed Tripathi bore a resemblance to one of the suspects in the FBI’s photos.
The speculation quickly spread across social media, with many people sharing the theory and calling for Tripathi’s arrest.
Despite the lack of evidence linking Tripathi to the bombing, the theory gained momentum, and it was eventually picked up by several mainstream media outlets. On April 19, CNN and the New York Post both reported that Tripathi was a suspect in the bombing, citing anonymous sources. BuzzFeed reporter Andrew Kaczynski shared a tweet that named Sunil as the primary suspect from his personal Twitter account.
Following the release of the photos, individuals attempted to reach out to the Tripathi family by making phone calls to ABC News and leaving angry messages on Sunil Tripathi’s Facebook page, which was dedicated to finding him.
According to the BBC, Tripathi had soon become the “standout suspect” on social media before the FBI identified the real suspects to be the Tsarnaev brothers. Sunil was found dead on April 23.
Sunil is Found
On April 23, 2013, a body was discovered floating in the Seekonk River behind the Wyndham Garden Providence Hotel. Dental records were used to confirm that the body belonged to Sunil Tripathi. While the cause of his death was initially unclear, authorities determined that there was no evidence of foul play.
The Legacy of Sunil Tripathi
Although Sunil Tripathi’s life was tragically cut short, his legacy lives on through the Sunil Tripathi Memorial Fund, which was established in his memory. The fund provides financial support to undergraduate students at Brown University who are pursuing studies in the arts and humanities.
In addition to the memorial fund, Tripathi’s story has also inspired a documentary film, titled “Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi.” The film explores the impact of social media on Tripathi’s disappearance and the misidentification during the Boston Marathon bombing.