Unfortunately, Patrick Kycia, Found in the Red River
Please say a prayer for the family, this is a sad story of a young man in college gone wrong.
A body found Tuesday in the Red River was that of a missing Minnesota State University Moorhead student, the student’s mother confirmed.
Patrick Kycia, 19, of Stillwater, had been seen last in the early morning hours on Friday at a fraternity party.
There were no obvious signs of trauma, police Lt. Bob Larson said. The body was to be taken to Ramsey County for identification, but the clothing, physical description and items found in the man’s pockets led police to believe it was Kycia.
Rose Foley, Kycia’s mother, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis she had been contacted by authorities who said her son ‘looked pretty good, considering.’ She said she was relieved that her son’s body had been found. ‘That was our goal.’
Patrick’s father, Julian Kycia, was in Minneapolis on Tuesday morning and planned to return to Moorhead. He told the newspaper, ‘At this point, I’m not going to rest until I can find out what happened.’
One of Kycia’s friends, Ricky Sayarath, said Kycia drank a lot of whiskey at a Phi Sigma Kappa house party.
‘Guys just kept giving him shots,’ said Sayarath, who was at the party. ‘He must have been pretty drunk.’
Kycia’s wallet – with cash and bank cards still in it – was found about three blocks south of the fraternity house. Police said Monday night that a shoe found in the Red River matches a description of the shoes Kycia was wearing when he went missing.
Two brief calls were made from Kycia’s cell phone, but there was no talking.
Family and friends began to worry when Kycia missed a philosophy test and missed his 5 p.m. Friday shift for delivering pizzas.
Kycia’s father, Julian Kycia, said that was out of character. ‘He doesn’t miss classes, and he doesn’t miss work,’ he said.
Kycia’s family and friends also searched along the Red River, and his roommates have put up fliers on campus.
The FBI joined the search on Monday.