Mumbai Indian coach Siddhant Vitthal Patil, presumed dead after drowning in Glacier National Park in the United States, had sent a text message to his mother from the park hours before the tragedy, his family said on Friday.
"Last Friday, Siddhant called his mother Priti from the park and told her that he had been in the park for three days with six other Indian friends and that he was enjoying the trip," said his maternal uncle Pritesh. Chaudhari.
Chaudhari, who resides in Pune, said Siddhant (26) also sent a text message to his mother two hours before the tragic incident, telling her that he would return to San Jose, where he worked with Cadence Design Systems, in another three days.
His friends obtained the IMEI numbers of his iPhone from the phone booth in his room and gave them to Montana park rangers and other authorities to assist in the search effort, Chaudhari said. This has not yet produced results, he added.
Both Priti and Siddhant's father Vitthal, who retired from the Maharashtra government's irrigation department in May, are shocked and in no position to speak, Chaudhari said.
"Suresh Sharma from the Indian consulate in Seattle called me after the incident because he had given me my number as a contact for American authorities," Chaudhari said.
"I have been in contact with the consulate since Monday," he said.
Maharashtra leaders, including Sharad Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, have written to the government seeking its help, he said. Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol, who hails from Pune, is in touch with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for updates on the search operation, he added.
"Siddhant went to the United States in 2020 to pursue his master's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He joined Cadence in 2023," Chaudhari said.
Siddhant's body is yet to be located despite helicopters conducting aerial searches, but officials suspected that the body was being held back by submerged obstacles such as fallen trees and rocks. The authorities consider him dead.
Rangers are continually monitoring the area and are beginning to recover personal items that have been washed downstream.
Rangers flew a drone to try to determine the location of the body, but the effort was unsuccessful.
"Last Friday, Siddhant called his mother Priti from the park and told her that he had been in the park for three days with six other Indian friends and that he was enjoying the trip," said his maternal uncle Pritesh. Chaudhari.
Chaudhari, who resides in Pune, said Siddhant (26) also sent a text message to his mother two hours before the tragic incident, telling her that he would return to San Jose, where he worked with Cadence Design Systems, in another three days.
His friends obtained the IMEI numbers of his iPhone from the phone booth in his room and gave them to Montana park rangers and other authorities to assist in the search effort, Chaudhari said. This has not yet produced results, he added.
Both Priti and Siddhant's father Vitthal, who retired from the Maharashtra government's irrigation department in May, are shocked and in no position to speak, Chaudhari said.
"Suresh Sharma from the Indian consulate in Seattle called me after the incident because he had given me my number as a contact for American authorities," Chaudhari said.
"I have been in contact with the consulate since Monday," he said.
Maharashtra leaders, including Sharad Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, have written to the government seeking its help, he said. Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol, who hails from Pune, is in touch with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for updates on the search operation, he added.
"Siddhant went to the United States in 2020 to pursue his master's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He joined Cadence in 2023," Chaudhari said.
Siddhant's body is yet to be located despite helicopters conducting aerial searches, but officials suspected that the body was being held back by submerged obstacles such as fallen trees and rocks. The authorities consider him dead.
Rangers are continually monitoring the area and are beginning to recover personal items that have been washed downstream.
Rangers flew a drone to try to determine the location of the body, but the effort was unsuccessful.
