UC Berkeley student goes missing near USC; police seek help finding him

A 19-year-old UC Berkeley student went missing near USC early Saturday, and authorities and family members are seeking the public’s assistance in finding him.

Eloi Vasquez, a college freshman who is on his university’s soccer team, was last seen about 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of West 28th Street, where he was attending a party with friends. Vasquez left the party, telling friends he was going to take a walk, and never returned, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

The party was held at USC’s chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and he was last heard from around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, according to a statement from Cal Athletics.

Vasquez didn’t have money or identification on him, according to police. Friends unsuccessfully tried to contact him Saturday morning.

Police described Vasquez as a Latino with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray pants and white tennis shoes, police said.

Vasquez is 5 feet 10 and weighs 175 pounds, according to his profile on the website of the UC Berkeley men’s soccer team, which also says he attended high school at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif.

“Eloi is a wonderful young man who has excelled both academically and athletically here at Cal,” his school’s athletics department said in its statement. “Our entire Cal Athletics family is very concerned for Eloi’s safety.”

UC Berkeley just had its spring break. Classes resume Monday.

Anyone with information about Vasquez’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Southwest watch commander at (213) 486-8582 or the LAPD tip line at (877) LAPD-24-7. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS or by sending a text message to the number 274637 (CRIMES) beginning with the letters “LAPD.”

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