Parents of Cornell freshman found dead in nearby gorge after attending frat party still seeking closure as investigation flounders
The family of dead freshman soccer player Antonio Tsialas, who went missing after a frat party at Cornell University and was later found dead at a nearby gorge, is desperately looking for some closure. Tsialas, 18, went to "an unregistered fraternity-sponsored event" or a "dirty rush" party, the University said in a statement on October 24.
After two days, on October 26, his body was found inside the Fall Creek George, in Ithaca, New York, near the campus. "A full investigation of the circumstances of his death is underway; no foul play is suspected," the statement said. Officials are not clear how he died yet, although they are reportedly persuading close to a 100 leads and have conducted 60 interviews, according to the Cornwell Sun.
Tsialas' parents had been visiting him at the time and he had had dinner with his mother before he went to the party hosted by the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. After he failed to return to his dorm that night, his parents reported him missing. His parents are now offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who was at the party and can provide information about what happened. Speaking on 'Good Morning America' they said they know that someone somewhere knows something, but isn't coming forward.
Large quantities of alcohol were served at the party, President Matha E Pollack said in a statement and added that there had been "significant misbehavior" at the party.
"There are people that know what happened and nothing is being said," father John Tsialas said, while his mother Flavia Tomasello added, "We have to really take a closer look at these organizations. At this time, we're just looking for the truth. We're not trying to point fingers at anyone. We just would like the truth."
Pollack also said these events regrettably follow a pattern of misconduct in the Greek-letter system, a pattern that is emblematic of enduring problems that we, as a community, must recommit ourselves to solving." In a statement, she further added that all social mixers between member sororities and Interfraternity Council (IFC) fraternities until the end of the semester have been frozen.
In case of any information please contact the Cornell Police at 607-255-1111 or Tsialas' parents is 607-280-5102.