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10.22.2014

Missing: Microsoft employee Krishna Venkatesh

Last seen October 15 in Seattle; car found at Deception Pass



In Seattle, authorities are asking for the public's help in searching for a 27-year-old Microsoft employee, missing since last week, whose car was found abandoned at a state park 80 miles north of Seattle.

Search under way for missing Microsoft program manager

Krishna Venkatesh, a program manager, was last seen at the Microsoft campus in Redmond last Wednesday, October 15. According to the Seattle Police Department, he is believed to have driven to Deception Pass, where his car was found at the south bridge parking lot on Monday afternoon.

Microsoft sent someone to Venkatesh's residence on Friday after he didn't show up to work for two days. His friends, who filed a missing persons report on Monday, say the circumstances around his disappearance are "uncharacteristic."

Sachdeva said she and her friends have “absolutely no clue what happened” to Venkatesh. She spoke with him through text messages early last week and nothing he said seemed alarming, she said. He went to a trivia night with co-workers the Tuesday before his disappearance. His phone has either died or is turned off, but he always has at least two chargers, Sachdeva said.

“Knowing Krishna, this is uncharacteristic,” she said. “It was raining, it was dangerous, why would he drive up there?” she asked. She said Venkatesh is generally a private person.

“There was never a sign of him being in any mental distress at all. This is why it’s concerning,” Sachdeva said.

Venkatesh has no known chemical dependency or mental-health issues, police spokesman Drew Fowler said. He is not considered endangered, but his disappearance is under investigation.

“The fact that he has been gone for several days may mean that he is in danger,” Fowler said.

Krishna Venkatesh is an Indian American male with black hair and brown eyes. He is between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds. He is believed to have been driving his gray Toyota Corolla, with the Washington license plate 759 ZDH. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Seattle Police Department at 206-625-5011.

More here: Search under way for missing Microsoft program manager after car found at Deception Pass