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PrintPortland police search for missing Harvard student
Posted: 05/21/12 at 10:05 am Updated: 05/22/12 at 7:26 am
Tags: Nathan Bihlmaier Harvard Law School Missing man Maine
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PORTLAND, Maine (WHDH) -- A man days away from graduating from Harvard Business School disappeared in Maine over the weekend.
Nathan Bihlmaier, 31, was with two friends celebrating their graduation when he was asked to leave a bar because he was visibly intoxicated late Saturday night. He was reported missing the following morning.
There are fears Bihlmaier may have drowned. Divers, along with the Coast Guard and Portland harbormaster, have been searching the harbor waters for two days. State police used a sonar system to assist their underwater search.
“We’ve also located an article of clothing in Casco Bay. Another thing that is certainly concerning us as we move forward,” said Chief Michael Sauschuck of the Portland, Maine police department.
It is thought that after leaving the bar, Bihlmaier apparently got lost and called his friends inside the bar.
“He was asked to leave [Ri Ra's Irish Pub and Restaurant] about 12:20 in the morning for having a little bit too much to drink. At that point he left the bar very cooperative, there were no altercations,” Sauschuck.
Cell phone records show that about 1 a.m. his phone was no longer operable.
Representatives of the Harvard Business School travelled to Maine to assist in the search, including some of Bihlmaier’s friends and his pregnant wife, who is expecting their first child.
“I was with his wife a little bit earlier. She’s really being very strong about the whole thing, being helpful about it. The friends that have come up to be with them have really been a great support network. The school has sent people so we have some faculty that know Nate that have come up. The dean is very supportive as well,” said Brian Kenny of the Harvard Business School.
Bihlmaier and his friends are set to graduate on Thursday.
Police are not ruling out foul play, but they said considering the fact they found a piece of Bihlmaier’s clothing in the bay on Sunday it is the most likely scenario that he may have ended up in the water.
