Recent graduate, declared missing, found dead

Although police would not officially confirm it, friends close to Roswell Friend say his body was found yesterday.

Days after he went missing, Roswell Friend’s body was found in the Delaware River yesterday, friends close with him confirm.

While a university statement by President Ann Weaver Hart also affirms Friend’s death, New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. Steven Jones said the body found in Riverton, NJ has not yet been officially identified as Friend.

Jones said a forensic dental examination would be conducted today.

A report from the Baltimore Sun also states that a Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson relayed information that Friend’s father identified the body as his 22-year-old son.

Friend, a resident of the 1700 block of North Willington Street, was last seen Thursday, Aug. 18.

Over the weekend, friends and family members conducted search parties in the area, offering a $2,000 reward for information regarding his whereabouts. Notices of his disappearance were posted in surrounding neighborhoods.

Those close with Friend, a broadcast telecommunications major who graduated this past spring, say he was always smiling.

“He was a great guy,” said housemate Travis Mahoney, a senior exercise and sports science major. “He was friends with everyone.”

A Philadelphia Police Department spokeswoman, who confirmed details of his disappearance, said authorities believed he may have been suffering from depression.

However, Mahoney said he didn’t think Friend was depressed and that, lately, he seemed happier.

Friend’s housemates did confirm that Friend left a note on a whiteboard reading: “I’m sorry guys.”

Reports have also indicated that Friend posted a status on his Facebook which stated “I’m sorry everyone,” before he disappeared.

A Facebook group has been created in remembrance of the former student.

Friend’s four housemates, all of whom are entering their senior year, said they rented their house across from the police department’s 22nd district headquarters for the past 14 months.

The housemates, who described themselves as brothers, said Friend planned to stay in the house with them while they finished their final year at Temple.

Neighbors Nicole Saltzer, a junior advertising major, and Marisha Chambers, a sophomore tourism and hospitality management major, said they lived next door to Friend since the beginning of August.

“He was an outgoing guy…he would always acknowledge us,” Saltzer said.

Chambers said Friend would sit outside and talk with them, even though they were nearly strangers.

“You can tell how many lives he affected…he kind of tied our two houses together,” Chambers said.

In its statement, the university encourages students coping with Friend’s death to utilize counseling services.

“Roswell’s passing, at a time when his life was full of so much potential, is especially tragic,” the statement reads.

Friend was a member of the track team during his time at the university.

Mahoney said Friend, who had a job interview lined up for Friday, Aug. 19, seemed excited for the road ahead.

“He was looking into the future,” he said.

Angelo Fichera can be reached at afichera@temple.edu.

[Updated 8/23 at 5:45 p.m.]