By Derek Hawkins
Nearly three weeks after the first missing person report came in, the Boston Police Department (BPD) has asked for the public’s help in finding Nicholas Sova, a former Northeastern student whose friends and family say they have not seen or heard from since Feb. 4.
“He’s not in trouble, we just want him to get in contact with his family, or us, so we can make sure he’s safe,” said BPD detective Kevin Pumphret.
Sova’s roommates said they last saw him the morning after a Superbowl gathering at their apartment on Hillside Street in Roxbury. After he went missing, most of Sova’s room appeared untouched, they said, although his laptop, cell phone and phone charger were gone.
“We think that he might have left on his own volition,” said Dan Taylor, one of Sova’s four roommates and a senior political science major. “The night of the Superbowl everything was fine. There was no sign of any foul play.”
Police said Sova’s bank account has been active since his disappearance. He has spent $700 and was charged $200 in overdraft fees, they said.
They added that Sova has no record of drug or alcohol abuse and no history of emotional problems.
Sova, 22, had recently completed a co-op and was slated to graduate in May with a degree in business, friends and family members said. But Northeastern officials said Sova hadn’t registered for classes for the 2007 fall semester and was not currently a student at the university.
“We were under the impression he was going to classes all along,” Taylor said.
Sova’s father, Michael, said he was unaware his son had withdrawn from school.
“All we want him to do is contact us and tell us everything’s OK,” he said. “He’s a young adult. He attends NU and he loves it. He lives in Boston. All we want is for him to call home.”
Taylor said he contacted Sova’s father, who lives in Monroe, Conn., the Wednesday after Sova was last seen, thinking he had gone home to visit his parents. By the end of the week, when Sova hadn’t replied to numerous phone calls, e-mails and Facebook messages, his family and friends went to the police.
Saturday, after more than two weeks with few hints of his whereabouts, police went public with Sova’s case.
“[Boston and Northeastern police] have been working diligently,” Sova’s father said. “He’s a smart, gregarious kid. With all the friends he has at NU, hopefully all this exposure will help.”
Sova’s friend John Mateu, a senior international business major, said he was surprised to hear of Sova’s disappearance, but expects he will eventually touch base with the people looking for him.
“I don’t think he would be so selfish as to leave his whole world behind,” Mateu said. “But this is the strangest thing he’s ever done. He was an eccentric kid, he had lots of different hobbies and interests, but nothing ever pointed to this.”
Police described Sova as white, about six feet tall, 200 pounds, with brown hair. Anyone with information should call BPD District-2 detectives at (617) 343-4275.
