PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts continued their search Thursday for a missing 21-year-old Brown University student whose kayak was found a few miles off the coast.
Authorities have been searching for Dana Dourdeville of Marion, Mass., since he failed to return from a duck hunting trip Tuesday afternoon.
Police in Fairhaven, Mass., said Dourdeville's mother found his car parked in a lot at the West Island town beach. They said a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter later located his kayak about 2 1/2 miles east of West Island. There was a single glove inside and it did not appear the kayak had flipped.
What was described as a "limited search" resumed offshore by Massachusetts Environmental Police on Thursday morning.
Dourdeville is a member of Brown's class of 2015. University spokeswoman Marisa Quinn said Thursday the school is concerned and following the news closely.
"Our thoughts are with Dana and his family at this difficult time," she said in an email.
Dourdeville was the valedictorian and a standout athlete at Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett, according to the Standard-Times of New Bedford. He ran cross country and track.
In his address to the graduating class in 2011, he evoked the "fundamental truths" of "Star Wars" and spoke to "facing your fears … making the honorable choice" and treasuring the bonds of family and friends, the paper reported.
"Dana is a once-in-a-career kind of student. He epitomizes everything you look for in a student. Everyone at Old Rochester is proud of him," Principal Michael Devoll said Wednesday night. "He's a beloved member of our school community."