Missing Indian origin professor traced

A meteorology professor of Indian origin at the San Jose State University in California, who had been missing since late December, was found in the Poconos region of eastern Pennsylvania on January 26.

It was an employee at the Pocono Lakes Region Comfort Inn in Lake Ariel, PA, who recognized Dr Vinod Kumar Saxena, 61, after reading a San Jose Mercury News article online, University police Sergeant Robert Noriega said.

Nobody knows why Saxena was in Pennsylvania. The professor had been staying at the hotel for about a month.

Inquiries about him revealed that Saxena had an appointment for a therapy on January 19 for which he did not turn up. Soon, officials found that the key card to his university apartment had not been used since December 29. Saxena was scheduled to teach a course on Weather and Climate starting January 26.

He was teaching in San Jose State University since August 2005. Earlier, he taught at the North Carolina State University.