Missing student found safe but hungry in Estes
Nepalese woman spent two weeks in mountains
A missing Nepalese exchange student found Monday after disappearing for more than two weeks never left Estes Park, police said Monday, hours after finding Pratistha Budhathoki alive and well.
The 20-year-old Nepalese exchange student told police she had spent most of the time on Prospect Mountain since disappearing from town on June 18.
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29 June 2006
Missing woman's clothing found on Estes Park's Prospect Mountain
By PAT FERRIER - click here for the rest of the article
The search for a missing Nepalese exchange student has taken a worrisome turn for Estes Park Police who today found a Subway uniform on top of Prospect Mountain.
Pratistha Budhathoki, 20, of Nepal, has been missing since June 18 when she failed to show up for her shift at the Munchin House in Estes Park, where she worked in the morning. She worked at Sub-way Sandwiches in the afternoon, said Estes Park Police Com-mander Wes Kufeld.
Budhathoki’s credit card was used June 22 to buy about $10 in food on the mountain, at the top of the Estes Park Aerial Tramway.
Kufield said police found pants and a T-shirt on a rock outcropping on the mountain.
29 June 2006
ESTES PARK, Colo. Colorado investigators were pursuing new leads Wednesday night as they searched for a missing woman from Nepal.
Pratistha Budhathoki, 20, was working in Estes Park for the summer to help pay for her studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, police said.
She was last seen when she left for work on June 18 but never arrived at work.
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27 June 2006
Police: Missing Woman's Phone Used Days After Disappearance
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ESTES PARK, Colo. -- Someone used a cell phone belonging to a missing exchange student two days after she was last seen, but investigators said Monday they had no other clues and did not know where she was.
Pratistha Budhathoki, , PRAT, 20, of Nepal was working in this town near Rocky Mountain National Park for the summer to help pay for her studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, police said.
She was last seen when she left for work on June 18, but she did not arrive at her job, police Cmdr. Wes Kufeld said.
Kufeld said someone used Budhathoki's cell phone in Denver at 8:26 a.m. June 20 to check her voice mail. He said investigators checked with airlines at Denver International Airport but no one recalled seeing her.
Kufeld said investigators also checked with hospitals around the state with no luck.
He said Estes Park has 17 sworn officers and all are working on the case. Estes Park is about 50 miles northwest of Denver.
An uncle of Budhathoki's is trying to travel to Estes Park but has been unable to leave Nepal because of visa problems, Kufeld said.
Police have said Budhathoki does not own a car and left her passport at home. She was not a hiker or mountain biker, police said.
Nepalese student missing from Estes Park
Woman last seen almost a week ago leaving for work
Steven R. Nickerson - click here for link
ESTES PARK - A Nepalese college student working here for the summer has been missing for nearly a week.
At this point, police have no evidence to suspect foul play in the disappearance of Pratistha Budhathoki, but they're asking the public for help in finding her.
The 20-year-old was last seen about 9:30 a.m. Sunday as she left for a new job at the Munchin' House, an ice cream parlor on the main drag of this tourist town.
Budhathoki headed out of her apartment door wearing a white Munchin' House T-shirt, jeans and white shoes.
The woman, who doesn't own a car and was walking, was carrying a black backpack, police said. But she left other valuables, such as her passport, at home, friends said.
Family members and friends said it is extremely uncharacteristic for Budhathoki to disappear without telling someone where she was going. Friends reported her missing Monday after becoming increasingly worried when she didn't return home Sunday night.
"We thought she might have gone to Denver or something," Nepali friend Sandhya Khakurel, 21, said.
But then they plastered the town with flyers.
"She's the kind of girl, if she's late to work five minutes, she'll give me a call," said Ashwin Pandey, another Nepali friend and her boss at the Subway sandwich shop where Budhathoki has worked for the past two summers.
Khakurel said she last saw her friend about 2 a.m. Sunday when the two shared a cigarette at Budhathoki's apartment. She said it didn't seem like Budhathoki was depressed.
"I have no clue" what happened to her, Khakurel said. "She has never talked about anything bugging her."
Friends said they were unaware if she had a boyfriend or any known enemies.
"We're not getting any information to make us believe there's any foul play," police Cmdr. Wes Kufeld said. "We're hoping somebody will have some information to lead us in a certain direction."
During the academic year, Budhathoki, nicknamed "Prat," studies finance at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Friends said she was very happy to land a second job at the Munchin' House to make money for school.
"The jobs pay good, and you could work 90 hours a week," Pandey said. "Work was all she did."
But Khakurel said her friend liked to socialize with all of the other Nepalese college students working in Estes. She said the group of friends would spend time at Pandey's place playing Xbox and watching movies and TV.
"We can just hope she's fine," Khakurel said. "We can do nothing. We tried to do anything we could."
Police said that Budhathoki was likely carrying her cell phone and Subway uniform in her pack. Frantic calls to the cell phone from concerned family and friends have gone unanswered.
Kufeld said that investigators have not yet accessed Budhathoki's cell-phone records. He said Pandey was attempting to do so but had not been successful. Kufeld also said that investigators were still reviewing her bank records.
Budhathoki's parents in Kathmandu are worried and requesting constant updates from their niece, Sworupa Khadka, 28, of New York City.
Khadka said that her cousin stayed with her in New York two winters ago and made fast friends. She fears Budhathoki may be too naive when it comes to making friends in a foreign land.
"She'll talk to anybody," Khadka said.
Khadka said she's contacted the Nepalese Embassy in Washington, D.C., about her missing cousin. "Everybody is really concerned," said Khadka, an operations manager at a computer consulting firm.
Budhathoki is described as 5-foot-3, about 130 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
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ESTES PARK, Colo. (AP) - Pratistha Budhathoki friends call her
"Prat," and her cousin says she will talk to anybody.
The 20-year-old from Nepal studies finance at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. She was working two summer jobs in this town near Rocky Mountain National Park to help pay for school. Her friends liked to gather to play Xbox or watch movies and TV.
The last time any of her friends saw her was June 18.
She was wearing a white Munchin' House T-shirt, jeans and white shoes as she left for her job at the Munchin' House ice cream parlor.
Friends say it is extremely unusual for her to leave without telling someone. Police have asked the public for help finding her.
"We can just hope she's fine," said Nepali friend Sandhya Khakurel, 21. "We can do nothing. We tried to do anything we could."
Budhathoki does not own a car and had left valuables, like her passport, at home, friends said. She was not a hiker or mountain biker, police said.
Police Cmdr. Wes Kufeld said Friday there was no indication yet of an abduction. Police said there was no new information Saturday.
Friends said they did not know if she had a boyfriend or enemies. Police were reviewing phone and bank records and were checking whether she returned to school.
Sworupa Khadka, 28, of New York, said she fears Budhathoki may be too naive when it comes to meeting new people in a foreign country.
"She'll talk to anybody," Khadka said.
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