The Providence police claim that a body recovered from the Providence River Tuesday, might be that of Brown University student Sunil Tripathi, who has been missing since March 16.
The body, which was found in the river behind Wyndham Garden Providence Hotel at about 6 p.m. by the coach of Brown's rowing team, is described that of a male in his 20s.
In addition, the police claim that the body might have been in the water for more than a couple of days.
Providence police Lieutenant Joseph Donnelly said that "it's very, very possible" that the body could be of Sunil Tripathi, but it is still unconfirmed.
The Rhode Island medical examiner's office is yet to confirm it. Currently, an autopsy is being conducted on the body, but so far no positive indication has been made.
The office will also find out the cause of death - whether it was by an accident, suicide, or foul play.
Tripathi, 22, was in the news last week, when Reddit and Twitter misidentified him as one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.
On Monday, Reddit general manager Erik Martin, apologized for reporting a resemblance between the alleged suspect and Tripathi that instigated widespread speculation.
"The Reddit staff and the millions of people on Reddit around the world deeply regret that this happened," Martin told abc."We all need to look at what happened and make sure that in the future we do everything we can to help and not hinder crisis situations."
Tripathi was last seen in the campus late night wearing blue jeans, a black Eastern Mountain Sports ski jacket, glasses and a Philadelphia Eagles wool hat on March 16. He is about 6 feet tall, 130 pounds with short dark hair.
He was on an approved leave vacation from the university, at the time.
According to the police, Tripathi, a philosophy major and musician left his apartment alone without carrying his ID and credit cards, wallet or cell phone.
Sangeeta Tripathi, Sunil's sister, said that it was unlike him to disappear without contacting anyone.
