HEALY, Alaska (KTUU) – According to his friends, Hari Karasani’s decision to take a solo trip to Alaska was a strange and uncharacteristic one.
“He never had any trips or he never went anywhere,” said Surya Teja, who lives with Karasani in Houston, Texas. “I would never imagine that he would travel to Alaska, to be honest.”
Karasani, 25, was listed as a missing person on Jan. 3 after being last seen on New Year’s Eve in Healy.
According to Teja, Karasani grew up in Andhra Pradesh, India, and was living in Houston, Texas, while pursuing his PhD through Trine University.
On Dec. 22, Karasani flew to Fairbanks after informing friends and family that he would be returning on “the fourth or fifth” of January, according to Teja, as well as KP Sompally, an international coordinator for Telugu Association of North America (TANA) who is helping the family search.
“He never revealed why he’s going to Alaska,” Sompally said. “The roommates came to know only after their parents called back from India.”
According to Sompally’s account of the timeline of events, Karasani arrived at the Aurora Denali Lodge in Healy in the morning of Dec. 23 via Lyft due to his inability to drive.
Ravindra Atla, another friend, said he called Karasani in the morning of Dec. 30.
No one has heard from him since, according to Atla, Sompally, and Teja.
“Any details will help,” Sompally said. “There’s too much cold over there, and we are very much worried about that.”
According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Healy in the first few days after contact with Karasani was lost has been frigid, staying steady around 20 to 30-degrees below zero, dipping as low as -43 degrees Fahrenheit on Jan. 4.
“They are really, really worried,” Teja said of Karasani’s parents in India. “Initially when this thing happened, they don’t have any idea about Alaska, how bad the weather would be … so we had to explain them by sending and asking them to see some videos and understand how the weather would be.
“That, in fact, made them worried a little bit more.”
Alaska Department of Public Safety Information Officer John Dougherty said that there was “no indication of any suspicious circumstances regarding Mr. Karasani’s disappearance.”
Anyone with information can call Alaska State Troopers at (907) 451-5100.
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