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New York college student missing in France is alive, father says

New York college student missing in France is alive, father says

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Ken DeLand Jr. is alive, according to his family and a CNN report Friday morning. The DeLand family confirms they have heard from the missing St. John Fisher University exchange student.

CNN explained that Ken DeLand Sr. was on the phone with them when he received another call. It was his son, Deland Jr., on the other end. Deland Sr. told CNN his son is alive, but that’s all he could say.

The DeLand Family released the following statement Friday on the website set up to help search for their son:

“We are so happy to announce that Kenny is safe; we received a call from Kenny in the early morning hours on December 16, 2022. Kenny is in Spain, and Carol (his mom) is in France, preparing to see Kenny and hopefully bring him home for Christmas. 

“We want to thank all the Media members for their diligence and swift attention in spreading the word about our Son. Without the media’s help, Kenny would not have seen himself in the news and reached out to us. We also want to thank St. John Fisher College, the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS), French Administrations, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, especially the Rochester and Buffalo branches, Congress Woman Claudia Tenney, and Senator Pamela Helming. We also want to extend our love and appreciation to our fantastic community for rallying together. 

“Without everyone’s help, we wouldn’t have our son, hopefully, home Christmas.”

Deland Jr., a St. John Fisher senior, had been studying at the University of Grenoble Alpes, according to his family.

No one had heard from him since Nov. 27. Fellow students reported him missing on Nov. 29. Grenoble authorities immediately launched an investigation.

DeLand Jr.’s story has attracted national attention. Now, after being missing for 18 days, he has been found, although the details of his disappearance are, for the moment, still a mystery.

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