Ball State University senior Derek Brewington has not been seen since Saturday morning, but university officials say they have a strong lead on where he might have gone.
Family and friends became concerned this week when they did not hear from him. Brewington's father called the University Police Department at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday to ask for help because he had not heard from his son since Saturday, the police report said.
Since then, police discovered 22-year-old Brewington sold his car, a white Buick Century with Missouri license plates, to an Indianapolis dealer. Someone at the dealership then gave him a ride to the train station, where he bought a train ticket to New York, university officials said. Whether Brewington boarded the train is unknown.
"There is no indication at this time that he was not acting on his own or that he was under any kind of duress," Kay Bales, vice president for Student Affairs, said. "We will continue to follow up on any leads that we find. Obviously we are always concerned about the health and safety of our students."
University Police notified all local and state law enforcement agencies, requesting assistance from them, Bales said. Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications, said the university had an idea earlier today that Brewington might have left to go somewhere on his own.
"Clearly, had we been concerned about his immediate safety, we would have handled the situation very differently," Proudfoot said.
His roommate, Mike Boles, said he last saw Brewington in their room at FIJI fraternity house, 900 W. Riverside Ave.
Boles said that last week Brewington mentioned wanting to take a train to New York during Spring Break.
Boles said he called Brewington's parents Monday night after he didn't return. His parents also have not heard from him, and his mother, Marta Brewington, said they are concerned.
Boles woke up Saturday morning around 11 a.m., heard Derek Brewington in the shower and then went back to sleep, he said. When he woke up at noon, he said, Brewington was gone. Brewington took his razor, new CD player, laptop and some clothes. He did not take his cell phone charger or toothbrush, Boles said.
"He didn't say anything to me at all, just left," Boles said, "and he didn't try to wake me up."
Brewington, who is originally from Wildwood, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, has been unreachable by his cell phone, his friends said. When called, it goes straight to voicemail.
"Nobody's really sure where he's at," said junior Alex Greimann, a close friend of Brewington. "I've talked to his brother and a couple friends back at his high school, and nobody's seen him."
Greimann said he last saw Brewington Friday night.
"We were at a friend's house drinking," Greimann said, "and we didn't come together and we didn't leave together. I just saw him there."
Boles said Brewington must have slept at his friend's house because he didn't sleep in their room.
"No one really knows what happened to him or where he went," Boles said. "Pretty much our biggest theory is that he just left."
It wasn't unusual for Derek Brewington to just leave and not tell anyone, friends said; however, usually he came back in time for classes. He always told his parents when he went places, his mother said.
Brewington's friends have started a Facebook group, "Where the Hell is Derek Brewington?" which says if anyone has heard anything to contact his friends and family immediately.
FIJI President Shawn Meier said his previous trips were the reason it took people almost half a week to realize Brewington was gone.
"I'm hoping it's just another Derek Brewington episode, where he's just taken off for a few days to do his thing," Meier said.
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