Feb. 10--A Cal State Fullerton engineering graduate student from India who had been missing for a week was identified Wednesday morning as the man whose body was found floating about 1,000 feet off the Newport Pier the day before.
Cal State Fullerton police think that Praveen Galla, 23, took an Uber ride from his off-campus apartment in Fullerton to the university just after 5 p.m. Feb. 1. It is unclear how Galla ended up in Newport Beach, but a friend thinks he might have taken a bus to Newport that night, police said.
The friend, who reported Galla missing Feb. 2, said he received a notification that Galla "checked in" on social media in Newport Beach but that he hadn't seen him since the day before.
He told police that Galla, who was in his second year of graduate studies, had been depressed lately about the status of his student visa, said Capt. Scot Willey of the Cal State Fullerton Police Department.
"From what I understand, he was struggling with his studies and was worried about his status in the country," Willey said. "His friends said he wasn't suicidal, but was depressed about it."
Huntington Beach lifeguards who were traveling to Newport Harbor to have their boat repaired saw Galla's body in the water at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. It is not clear how long the body had been in the ocean.
Orange County coroner's officials will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of Galla's death.
"Praveen was a bright young mind and a valued member of our campus," Cal State Fullerton President Mildred Garcia wrote in an email to the campus community. "While we are still learning details of the circumstances surrounding his death, we do know that he will be missed. The entire Titan family offers our support to his family, friends and classmates during this trying time."
