The family of an Arizona State University student who vanished from the Grand Canyon just one week before he was set to graduate with his master's degree are pleading for help as they look to speak with the man who found his backpack.
Sandrash Krishna, 26, told relatives on April 27 he was planning to stop at Grand Canyon's South rim on his way to Las Vegas, but had planned to be back in time for final exams and his graduation on May 9, Fox News reports.
Tragically, he has not been heard from since, leaving loved ones desperately searching for answers.
His family has visited the South Rim multiple times over the past week, relying on cellphone tower data that shows Krishna's last known location was between the Bright Angel Lodge and Mohave Point on the day of his disappearance.
His cell phone data has not moved ever since, leaving Krishna's family scouring the area 'two to three times already, looking for him,' his sister-in-law Pooja Shivananjappa told AZFamily.
'We obviously don't want to give up, so we have taken our binoculars, we have walked the trail, we have done our own research.'
The family has even hired their own private investigator to help find Krishna, as his brother, Adarsh Krishna, said they 'don't want to believe he's hurt' and still have hope 'that he's somewhere out there.
'But again, we need proper closure. We don't know exactly what happened to him,' Adarsh told KPNX, adding that his brother is 'not the kind of kid who would hurt himself.'
Sandrash Krishna, 26, has been missing since April 27, when he told his family he was visiting the Grand Canyon before a trip to Las Vegas
Krishna said he had planned to be back in time for final exams and his graduation from Arizona State University on May 9 as well as for a job interview
Pooja Shivananjappa, Krishna's sister-in-law, described how family members have already been to the Grand Canyon at least two times looking for him
Krishna had moved to Arizona from India in 2024 to pursue a master's degree in computer science at Arizona State University.
His loved ones describe him as bright, kind and deeply family-oriented.
'He has a helping hand,' Shivananjappa said. 'As I said, he has the heart of a kid, and we terribly miss him.'
Family members and park officials are now looking to speak with a good Samaritan who brought Krishna's backpack to the Bright Angel Lodge lost and found at around 7am on April 27.
The man did not leave his name or indicate where he found the backpack, but authorities stress they do not believe he is a suspect in Krishna's disappearance.
Authorities are instead looking to speak with him to get more details about where and how he found the backpack, in hopes that he could provide them with more details about what led up to Krishna's disappearance.
'This is the whole reason why we are calling, and we are reaching out to everybody to find the person who returned the backpack,' Shivananjappa said.
'This is a main piece of evidence as of now. If we can get to know the exact location of the backpack, we can focus on searching that specific area.'
Family members and authorities are looking to speak with this man, a good Samaritan who turned Krishna's backpack into a lost and found
More than 30 search and rescue personnel have been deployed to the Grand Canyon's South Rim to try to find Krishna
In the meantime, search efforts have ramped up across the South Rim, with more than 30 search and rescue personnel deployed over the past several days.
Crews are using a myriad of techniques to try to find Krishna, including trail scanning, walk-down routes into the canyon, technical rope insertions, aerial reconnaissance flights and drone operations, park officials have said.
Rangers are specifically focusing on an area along Hermit Road.
Krishna was last seen wearing black pants, a white hoodie and black and white Jordans.
He is described as 5-foot-10-inches with a thin build, weighing approximately 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
He may have been using a rideshare or taxi service at the time of his disappearance.
Anyone with information about Krishna's whereabouts or information about the good Samaritan who turned in his backpack is asked to call the tip line at (888) 653 - 0009.