Techie from Maha drowns in US, had called mom earlier

A 26-year-old Indian IT professional working in California drowned in the famous Glacier National Park in the US state of Montana while on vacation with friends, according to park authorities.

The victim has been identified as Siddhant Vitthal Patil, the National Park Service said in a statement.

Patil, who was a technology professional, was hiking above the gorge on June 6 on Avalanche Lake Trail, where he fell off a large rock into Avalanche Creek.

It is unclear if he slipped on a wet portion of the rock or lost his balance.

Friends who were with him saw Patil go underwater and resurface before being swept up by the current into the gorge.

His body has not been found. Helicopters conducted aerial searches, but officials suspected the body was being held down. Patil is presumed dead, the statement said.

Rangers suspect that the body is being held down by submerged obstacles such as fallen trees or rocks.

Rangers are continuously monitoring the area and are starting to recover personal items that have washed downstream.

The water in the gorge is unsearchable due to depth and turbulence, creating whitewater conditions. Rangers flew a drone to try and determine the location of the body, but the effort was unsuccessful.

Ground search efforts continue from the gorge to the bridge on Trail of the Cedars.

Patil, hailing from Maharashtra, was living and working in California and on vacation with friends.

He texted his mother two hours before the tragic incident, telling her that he would be returning to San Jose, where he worked with Cadence Design Systems, in another three days.

"Last Friday, Siddhant called up his mother Priti from the Park and told her that he has been in the Park for three days with six other Indian friends and is enjoying the trip," his maternal uncle Pritesh Chaudhari told PTI.

His friends got his iPhone IMEI numbers from the phone box in his room and gave them to the Park rangers in Montana and other authorities to help in the search work, Chaudhari said. This hasn't yielded results yet, his maternal uncle Pritesh Chaudhari, who is based in Pune, told PTI.

His mother Priti and father Vitthal, who retired from the Maharashtra government's irrigation department in May, are in shock and not in a position to speak, Chaudhari said.

"Suresh Sharma from the Indian consulate in Seattle called me after the incident as he had given my number as a contact to the US authorities," Chaudhari said.

"I have been in touch with the consulate since Monday," he said.

Leaders from Maharashtra, 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.

Patil went to the US in 2020 to pursue his MS from the University of California, Los Angeles. He joined Cadence in 2023.