German Erasmus Student reported missing in Riga

  • 2015-01-29
  • Richard Martyn-Hemphill, RIGA

German Erasmus student Stephan Engelbrecht was reported missing in Riga this week, the University of Stuttgart informs.

Engelbrecht, a 23 year old exchange student from the German town of Villingen-Schwenningen, was last seen six days ago, attending a party in Riga at a student residence on Azenes Iela in the early hours of the morning on Friday, Jan. 23. 

Six days on, Engelbrecht's credit card has not been used since; his Latvian phone and his German phone are out of action; and there has been no sign of Engelbrecht using his Facebook, WhatsApp or any other social media sites.

Police have been informed of Engelbrecht's disappearance. "We are doing all we can do at this moment," informs Dairis Anucins, a spokesman for Latvia's State Police, speaking to The Baltic Times by phone: "We still have very little information about the time when he went missing." 

Engelbrecht started his one semester Erasmus exchange programme at the Riga Technical University earlier this month, where he is studying architecture. Engelbrecht is expected back at the University of Stuttgart upon completion of his Erasmus programme in Riga.

Friends describe him as being between 1.93-1.95 meters tall, with short reddish-brown hair, a red beard and dark brown eyes. He is known for wearing a brown baseball cap with a white and orange bird on the front. He often wears a square shaped watch, all black, with silver roman numerals, his friends inform.

If you receive or have any information about Engelbrecht, or believe you might have seen him over the last six days, please contact:

[email protected]

Or:

The University of Stuttgart
Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Goutrie
Coordinator for the international exchange program
Tel. 0711/685-82762
E-mail:international(at)f01.uni-stuttgart(dot)de