Missing New York College Student Reportedly Struggles To Make Friends in France Before Disappearance

An American college student who purportedly vanished while studying abroad in France is being sought for by his family.

The fall semester of Ken DeLand's senior year was spent at the Université Grenoble Alpes, a large university located about 90 minutes outside of Lyon. Ken was 21 years old.

American Student Reported Missing in France

According to a website made by his family, DeLand was staying with a host family. He last spoke with his family via WhatsApp on November 27. The relatives of DeLand claimed to have spoken with the authorities. He has been listed as missing in France, and if he tries to exit the country by train, his passport will sound the alert.

The inquiry into DeLand's disappearance has also been launched, according to Eric Vaillant, the public prosecutor in Grenoble, following "a report by students" on November 29.

Per CBS News, DeLand attended Rochester, New York's St. John Fisher University. According to his family, his foreign studies are scheduled to complete on December 17 and his visa permitting him to remain in France would expire on January 20, 2023.

Vaillant claimed to have knowledge of DeLand's desire to travel to Marseille, France, before leaving the nation.
According to reports, DeLand was taking the train from the home of his host family to Valence, France, which is roughly 60 miles away from the institution where he was enrolled.

Vaillant said DeLand "seems to have left Grenoble freely," and the student was spotted on December 3 in a Decathlon store in Montélimar, a town located about 87 miles from Grenoble.

According to the prosecutor's statement, DeLand was scheduled to depart France on December 15. The family said a missing person's report has been submitted, and according to bank records, DeLand last made a transaction on December 3.

Missing American Student Has Difficulty Making Friends

His family claims that no information concerning his location since then has surfaced. DeLand, Sr., the missing college student's father, claimed he was unaware of his son's "difficulty making friends."

He said that he had been seeing pals from the study abroad program. According to his parents, it has been challenging to obtain information from authorities both domestically and overseas.

In addition to the difficulty of the language barrier, DeLand's father mentioned a French privacy law that had blocked the disclosure of certain information. He claims he has been contacting the officials at the embassy and in France but hasn't had much success.

A department spokesman told CNN on Monday that the US State Department is "aware of allegations of a US citizen missing in France." They didn't offer any more information.

Deland's family has set up a website where people may offer tips and information in an effort to find him. DeLand, Sr. told CNN on Monday that he has received tips and has forwarded them to the FBI and the embassy, but he hasn't heard whether any of them have turned out to be accurate. Deland Jr. was a former intern of New York State Senator Pam Helming, who described his disappearance as "worrisome."

He "brought a great attitude with him every day" throughout his two-year internship from 2019 to 2020. I hope he gets located safely and soon makes it back to his house to be with his family," Helming said in a statement. Clifton Springs, a town in upstate New York, turned out for a prayer vigil for Kenny on Saturday at the United Methodist Church.

"What we hope his family receives from this is that we don't want their hope to die," the Rev. Brian Fellows said. I firmly believe that everything is holy and sacred wherever he may be, and that it provides him comfort and peace.

Officials at St. John Fisher University said the institution is doing everything it can to support national and international investigators, including the FBI, in their work, NY Post reported.