Found Deceased NY - Heikki Rantakari, 44, University of Rochester Professor, believed to be in danger, 20 Oct 2023

[RickshawFan]

I agree. The wording ”police believe he may be in danger” is striking to me as well.

If he has got some (known) health issues I’d think LE had put it along the lines of ”needs regular medication”, ”may be in vulnerable state” etc. - unless trying to protect his privacy more carefully (as a professor as well).

I can only imagine the academic pressure in his field so unfortunately self-harm is always an option, too. JMO.

Praying for the best and thinking about his family, friends and students.

He might have had a stalker, threatening mail, another person at the BnB with a record, suspicious car in the area….

It doesn’t sound as though this is random.

 

[LemonMint]

The crime map of Rochester:

City of Rochester | Rochester Crime Mapping - Rochester Police Department

Data shown in the map includes Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Part I Crimes which include Homicide, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Larceny and Motor Vehicle Theft.

www.cityofrochester.gov

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Are they formally searching the river?

 

[LemonMint]

Are they formally searching the river?

Genesee river being so close worries me highly, too.

I’m also wondering if there are any CCTVs on the bridge/along the river.

Does anyone know…?

 

[Curiousobserver]

Genesee river being so close worries me highly, too.

I’m also wondering if there are any CCTVs on the bridge/along the river.

Does anyone know…?

It’s not dense with cameras along the trail but there are some cameras in the area. The area is well-used by pedestrians, especially on the weekend.

 

[Inthedetails]

The economist was scheduled to teach a class in game theory at the University of Rochester Simon School of Business the morning of Saturday, Oct. 21

Rantakari specializes in organizational economics, or the study of non-economic transactions within entities. He is particularly well known for his work on delegation, or questions about who has authority in organizations and how they communicate, said Florian Ederer, a classmate from graduate school who is an economist at Boston University's Questrom School of Business.

Search continues for missing UR professor. Who is Heikki Rantakari?

"We have no additional information to offer other than that it’s very troubling because Heikki is not just fantastic professor but also a wonderful human being."

www.democratandchronicle.com

View attachment 455798
They said that he was last seen on the evening of October 20 around 1062 Exchange St. (14608) and may have been walking in that area or its surroundings

Police Fear Missing University of Rochester Professor Heikki Rantakari 'May Be in Danger'

Police say that missing University of Rochester professor Heikki Rantakari may be in danger, after he didn't show up for a scheduled class

themessenger.com

If he went to the rental room around 9pm and then was seen walking around the neighborhood when he has to teach at 8am the next morning, and LE seem confident he's in danger, my hunch is he was walking with a specific purpose and that purpose lead to his disappearance.

I have a Finnish parent and Finnish relatives here in the states, and going for a walk is totally part of life, even a night-time stroll. That doesn't seem odd to me to want to stretch legs and get fresh air after a flight and before bed. But to jump to "in danger" suggest to me he wasn't just stretching his legs.

myopinion

 

[Curiousobserver]

If he went to the rental room around 9pm and then was seen walking around the neighborhood when he has to teach at 8am the next morning, and LE seem confident he's in danger, my hunch is he was walking with a specific purpose and that purpose lead to his disappearance.

I have a Finnish parent and Finnish relatives here in the states, and going for a walk is totally part of life, even a night-time stroll. That doesn't seem odd to me to want to stretch legs and get fresh air after a flight and before bed. But to jump to "in danger" suggest to me he wasn't just stretching his legs.

myopinion

The rather quick jump to in-danger, the the lack of "urgency" or other information by RPD in the public statements does suggest there is information we are missing. If he did walk across the bridge there is an enormous cemetery just on the other side of the university where it would be very difficult to find someone. Its also well traveled by pedestrians, especially this week with very warm weather, but there are lots of little areas where a person could be. The cemetery wasn't closed yesterday but the river trail was.

 

[RickshawFan]

If he went to the rental room around 9pm and then was seen walking around the neighborhood when he has to teach at 8am the next morning, and LE seem confident he's in danger, my hunch is he was walking with a specific purpose and that purpose lead to his disappearance.

I have a Finnish parent and Finnish relatives here in the states, and going for a walk is totally part of life, even a night-time stroll. That doesn't seem odd to me to want to stretch legs and get fresh air after a flight and before bed. But to jump to "in danger" suggest to me he wasn't just stretching his legs.

myopinion

This, exactly. As I read it, for LE to reference "danger" there would be a specific threat, not some random "he went for a walk in a bad neighborhood".

 

[LemonMint]

If he went to the rental room around 9pm and then was seen walking around the neighborhood when he has to teach at 8am the next morning, and LE seem confident he's in danger, my hunch is he was walking with a specific purpose and that purpose lead to his disappearance.

I have a Finnish parent and Finnish relatives here in the states, and going for a walk is totally part of life, even a night-time stroll. That doesn't seem odd to me to want to stretch legs and get fresh air after a flight and before bed. But to jump to "in danger" suggest to me he wasn't just stretching his legs.

myopinion

A pleasure to meet a fellow Finn (or a half as you put it yourself) on WS - despite of these sad circumstances

Yes, walking/having strolls alone to enjoy the solitude is at least my thing as a Finn.

 

[LemonMint]

Any further local news regarding the possible search efforts….?

@Angleterre, if you don’t mind I’d like to invite you over to this thread (outside of UK), please.

 

[Curiousobserver]

dbm

 

[Falling Down]

The rather quick jump to in-danger, the the lack of "urgency" or other information by RPD in the public statements does suggest there is information we are missing. If he did walk across the bridge there is an enormous cemetery just on the other side of the university where it would be very difficult to find someone. Its also well traveled by pedestrians, especially this week with very warm weather, but there are lots of little areas where a person could be. The cemetery wasn't closed yesterday but the river trail was.

It may strike some as odd, but the cemetery is a local attraction. I've been there a bunch of times, folks go there to walk, hang out, look for famous people, eat lunch, run, etc.

I doubt he crossed the river, but who knows at this point. Only vehicle entry/exit is at the front of the cemetery, and it is locked after it closes. Lots of UofR and URMC folks visit the cemetery on a regular basis.

 

[Snoopster]

If his Airbnb was at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Exchange, then the shortest route to the pedestrian bridge is to walk along Exchange and turn down Flint to get to the river & trail. In the early news items police mentioned that he was staying in the stretch between Mount Pleasant and Flint, when really he was staying at one end of that stretch. This makes me think they thought he might have been headed to Flint and then down to the trail. Flint looks a bit spooky to me, particularly in the evening, as it is a mix of old warehouses and overgrown empty lots. There is a large abandoned building at the end of it right by the stairs to the trail. Is it possible LE found an personal item of Heikki's somewhere along the route to the trail?

This is the end of Flint St.


Here is a link to the location of Exchange and Flint. You can do a streetview stroll down Flint to get a feel.
Flint & Exchange - google maps

 

[Inthedetails]

If his Airbnb was at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Exchange, then the shortest route to the pedestrian bridge is to walk along Exchange and turn down Flint to get to the river & trail. In the early news items police mentioned that he was staying in the stretch between Mount Pleasant and Flint, when really he was staying at one end of that stretch. This makes me think they thought he might have been headed to Flint and then down to the trail. Flint looks a bit spooky to me, particularly in the evening, as it is a mix of old warehouses and overgrown empty lots. There is a large abandoned building at the end of it right by the stairs to the trail. Is it possible LE found an personal item of Heikki's somewhere along the route to the trail?

This is the end of Flint St.
View attachment 456147

Here is a link to the location of Exchange and Flint. You can do a streetview stroll down Flint to get a feel.
Flint & Exchange - google maps

Hmmm...good thinking. Perhaps LE say he's in danger because of something they found - blood, dropped possession, etc. I hadn't thought of that.

jmo

 

[Curiousobserver]

If his Airbnb was at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Exchange, then the shortest route to the pedestrian bridge is to walk along Exchange and turn down Flint to get to the river & trail. In the early news items police mentioned that he was staying in the stretch between Mount Pleasant and Flint, when really he was staying at one end of that stretch. This makes me think they thought he might have been headed to Flint and then down to the trail. Flint looks a bit spooky to me, particularly in the evening, as it is a mix of old warehouses and overgrown empty lots. There is a large abandoned building at the end of it right by the stairs to the trail. Is it possible LE found an personal item of Heikki's somewhere along the route to the trail?

This is the end of Flint St.
View attachment 456147

Here is a link to the location of Exchange and Flint. You can do a streetview stroll down Flint to get a feel.
Flint & Exchange - google maps

You're being kind with this picture- I went down there yesterday as well and there is much worse.

What I didn't see were any people searching the trail, no RPD cars, no campus police, no boats in the water, and no missing persons signs anywhere. I didn't go on campus. There was a lot of foot traffic on the south end of the trail toward GV park.

 

[LemonMint]

You're being kind with this picture- I went down there yesterday as well and there is much worse.

What I didn't see were any people searching the trail, no RPD cars, no campus police, no boats in the water, and no missing persons signs anywhere. I didn't go on campus. There was a lot of foot traffic on the south end of the trail toward GV park.

I’m very sorry to hear you didn’t see anyone searching and that there were no missing person signs around

No new news updates, either. I’m really wondering what’s going on at LE’s end…

 

[RickshawFan]

Dbm

 

[RickshawFan]

I’m very sorry to hear you didn’t see anyone searching and that there were no missing person signs around

No new news updates, either. I’m really wondering what’s going on at LE’s end…

LE never said anything about the “danger” being in that location, though they easily could have if location was the issue. So, it doesn’t surprise me at all that they’re not out there scouring bushes and wheely bins.

 

[Curiousobserver]

LE never said anything about the “danger” being in that location, though they easily could have if location was the issue. So, it doesn’t surprise me at all that they’re not out there scouring bushes and wheely bins.

Agree- I can't see or know what they are doing or where they are looking. Just observing what they weren't visibly doing yesterday.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The University of Rochester shared a statement with 13WHAM Friday that indicated Rantakari is presumed to have drowned.

We learned today that Simon Business School Professor Heikki Rantakari, who has been missing, is presumed to have accidently drowned in the Genesee River early Saturday morning, October 21 based on video footage. There’s no evidence of foul play. The Rochester Police Department (RPD) is continuing its recovery efforts. This is devastating news for us all and our hearts go out to his wife, family, friends, colleagues, and students. We are grateful to the University’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) which has worked diligently on this case since Heikki was reported missing, and the RPD, leading both investigative and recovery efforts.

Police: Missing U of R professor fell off pedestrian bridge into Genesee River

Rochester, N.Y. Police confirmed Friday that a scuba team has been searching the Genesee River for a missing University of Rochester professor.

13wham.com