By Rajwa Quasim
Dilan Shaan Ashar, a 22-year-old psychology student at the University of Maryland, was found dehydrated and disoriented Wednesday evening after being missing for nearly six days.
Ashar approached a Howard County Search and Rescue Squad vehicle in Lot 4 near the Xfinity Center at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. University of Maryland Police Department (UMPD) Chief David Mitchell said during a press conference Thursday morning that Ashar knocked on the vehicle’s window and asked, “Are you looking for me?”
Mitchell said Ashar was dehydrated, disoriented and extremely hungry when he was found. He received immediate medical attention and was reunited with his family. As of Thursday morning, Ashar remained under medical care.
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The search for Ashar began Friday after university police received information about a missing-person report filed with the Prince George’s County Police Department. Mitchell said university police regularly receive requests from parents concerned about their children on campus. However, Ashar’s case raised more serious concerns because authorities believed he could be in grave danger.
The search included efforts to locate Ashar in the woods around the campus. According to Mitchell, Ashar told police he had been in the woods and described several landmarks he had passed that authorities were familiar with. This information helped investigators understand his movements during the search. Authorities also used drones equipped with infrared technology to search the area.
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During Thursday’s press conference, Patty Perillo, the university’s vice president for student affairs, read a statement from the Ashar family thanking the campus community for helping find him.
“Dilan is safe and our family is together again,” the statement read.
The family also thanked university President Darryll Pines, UMPD Chief Mitchell, university police and detectives, Perillo, and students who assisted in the search.
Pines thanked the university’s faculty and staff for working with the Office of Faculty Affairs to provide information about Ashar’s whereabouts and the classes he had attended on campus.
Authorities said they would gather additional information once Ashar had recovered sufficiently to speak with investigators.