Thank you very much for all your help, your good wishes, and prayers to help find Kiran.
I am sorry we do not have any good news.
Kiran's body has been found by Yosemite Search and Rescue in the boulder-field on Tuesday May 29 at 3pm. Positive identification was made by the family on Wednesday May 30. As Kiran's family requested, we did not put this tragic news on this blog till the family had had time to deal with this terrible situation.
Now that the tragic news has already appeared in newspaper and TV reports in both India and USA over the last couple of days, we are reporting this here for the numerous friends of Kiran from all over the world who have been anxiously hoping and praying for him for the past two weeks.
Thanks a lot to the numerous people who immediately responded to our appeals for help and did everything they could to help find Kiran. Thank you very much.
There are certain plans being made to do something good for society in Kiran's name to keep his memory alive. Further details will be posted here as soon as they become available. These plans will need your help to reach their full potential. Please check this blog again. Thank you very much for your help.
Related links:
http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=kiran+yellajyosula&date=2007-6-2&sa=N
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jun22007/national200706025211.asp?section=updatenews
Missing Indian found dead in California
Silicon Valley, PTI:
The body has been identified as that of 27-year-old Kiran Yellajyosula, a computer engineer, who fell into the Merced River nearly two weeks ago.
A body found in a river in the Yosemite National Park, California, has been identified as that of a 27-year-old Indian who fell into the Merced River nearly two weeks ago, a park ranger said.
Kiran Yellajyosula, a computer engineer, was hiking with three friends up to Vernal Fall on May 19 when he clambered about 10 yards off the trail onto a rock below the falls. His friends said he leaned over, apparently to feel the water, lost his balance and then slipped into the fast-moving current.
Yellajyosula's body was spotted on Tuesday by members of the Yosemite search and rescue team, Ranger Adrienne Freeman said, adding it was spotted between two large rocks several hundred feet below the bridge, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today.
It was visible, she said, because the water level had dropped since the accident.
It took the search and rescue team three-and-a-half hours to secure a high line across the water and haul the body out of the raging river, Freeman said. It was positively identified as Yellajyosula on Wednesday afternoon.
Yellajyosula is survived by his mother, father and a sister, who all live in India.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
On that morning
This photograph was taken earlier in the morning, before Kiran set out with his friends on that fateful hike. He was in this attire, carrying an additional backpack. We are hoping these clothes can act as markers.Saturday, May 26, 2007
Thank you for all the help so far
We are very grateful for all the help we got from everybody so far. Thank you very much.
Looking for Camera
We are looking for a high-resolution under-water camera with a remote display screen. Any leads will be much appreciated.
The camera must have a remote screen, so that we can see what is being photographed under-water, WHILE the camera is still under-water, photographing. This is a crucial requirement, so that we can maneuver the camera under-water among rocks and cavities and ledges without having to do it blind (not seeing what is being photographed).
The camera must have a light source built-in.
The camera must be able to work in fast-moving water.
The camera must have a remote screen, so that we can see what is being photographed under-water, WHILE the camera is still under-water, photographing. This is a crucial requirement, so that we can maneuver the camera under-water among rocks and cavities and ledges without having to do it blind (not seeing what is being photographed).
The camera must have a light source built-in.
The camera must be able to work in fast-moving water.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Requesting Help: Any Technology that can Help Find Kiran
Based on a visit to Yosemite by Shengyue, one of Kiran’'s friends, and Srihari, a volunteer in this search, we believe that the Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) is doing everything possible to find Kiran. And, our best option at this time is to find a technology solution that is able to detect human body signature in and around fast flowing river water.
Our hope of finding Kiran alive rests on the belief that he somehow is on the river side and unconscious.
We also hope that with the coming long weekend and increased number of tourists/hikers there will be increased chance of spotting Kiran along the river banks. This is in addition to YOSAR'’s search. Shengyue and Srihari also did a visual reconnaissance today of most of the relevant lower Merced section. Based on the terrain we recommend leaving this search to the trained and skilled YOSAR team.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you know some technology solution that could be quickly deployed in Yosemite .
Please also pray for Kiran.
Our hope of finding Kiran alive rests on the belief that he somehow is on the river side and unconscious.
We also hope that with the coming long weekend and increased number of tourists/hikers there will be increased chance of spotting Kiran along the river banks. This is in addition to YOSAR'’s search. Shengyue and Srihari also did a visual reconnaissance today of most of the relevant lower Merced section. Based on the terrain we recommend leaving this search to the trained and skilled YOSAR team.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you know some technology solution that could be quickly deployed in Yosemite .
Please also pray for Kiran.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A Caring and Hardworking Guy
Kiran is a caring and hard working individual who is always willing to help his friends. He always spoke fondly of his family and missed being with them.
Even though I was acquainted with Kiran for almost 9 years, I had come to know him better over the last 9 months, about the time he moved into an industry position at nVidia.
Initial interaction with him may lead someone into believing that he is a tad eccentric, but once familiarity set in, he was the proverbial teddy bear. Keen on fun, adventure and a passion for enjoying life, Kiran invests his time in basketball, dancing and hiking. As an avid basketball fan he enjoys watching the games and then analyzing them with some of us. He also likes to talk about his car (a 2007 Lexus, he calls "her" “Lisa”) and enjoys boasting about "her" features! We often reminisced over the good old days from Kharagpur and those shared experiences always brought a smile to our faces.
I fervently hope and pray that we get him back.
-- Praveen Bhojwani
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
I have known Kiran since the IIT days (1997-2001). I met him again more recently in the Bay Area (2006-2007). He was always a very soft spoken and friendly person. Although having an imposing physical structure and standing taller than most people at more than 6 feet (we also called him godzilla and yescus), he would easily put people at ease with his benevolent nature and disarming smile. He was always a pleasant company.
I met him many times during my stay in Bay Area and we discussed a lot of things. More recently, we went to see Lake Tahoe with a couple of our friends (only a month back). Nothing in the elements suggested that we would be seeing this day and dealing with the possibility of his loss. To me, he always represented optimism and energy and hope. A couple of us CS guys in the Bay Area would meet once in a while, and he would be very much present in those get-togethers. To me, he now symolizes life, a life that we sometimes take granted for and a life that we believe will never end, but more importantly a life that doesn't have to end just now.
Someone up there works in mysterious ways, in ways that our minds can barely comprehend. All we can do is hope, that there is somehow a rationale behind all this that someday we will be able to make sense of and be able to accept that things always happen for some good purpose. And no time more than this, we would like to believe that miracles do happen.....
-- Jacob Rajkumar Minz
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
Even though I was acquainted with Kiran for almost 9 years, I had come to know him better over the last 9 months, about the time he moved into an industry position at nVidia.
Initial interaction with him may lead someone into believing that he is a tad eccentric, but once familiarity set in, he was the proverbial teddy bear. Keen on fun, adventure and a passion for enjoying life, Kiran invests his time in basketball, dancing and hiking. As an avid basketball fan he enjoys watching the games and then analyzing them with some of us. He also likes to talk about his car (a 2007 Lexus, he calls "her" “Lisa”) and enjoys boasting about "her" features! We often reminisced over the good old days from Kharagpur and those shared experiences always brought a smile to our faces.
I fervently hope and pray that we get him back.
-- Praveen Bhojwani
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
I have known Kiran since the IIT days (1997-2001). I met him again more recently in the Bay Area (2006-2007). He was always a very soft spoken and friendly person. Although having an imposing physical structure and standing taller than most people at more than 6 feet (we also called him godzilla and yescus), he would easily put people at ease with his benevolent nature and disarming smile. He was always a pleasant company.
I met him many times during my stay in Bay Area and we discussed a lot of things. More recently, we went to see Lake Tahoe with a couple of our friends (only a month back). Nothing in the elements suggested that we would be seeing this day and dealing with the possibility of his loss. To me, he always represented optimism and energy and hope. A couple of us CS guys in the Bay Area would meet once in a while, and he would be very much present in those get-togethers. To me, he now symolizes life, a life that we sometimes take granted for and a life that we believe will never end, but more importantly a life that doesn't have to end just now.
Someone up there works in mysterious ways, in ways that our minds can barely comprehend. All we can do is hope, that there is somehow a rationale behind all this that someday we will be able to make sense of and be able to accept that things always happen for some good purpose. And no time more than this, we would like to believe that miracles do happen.....
-- Jacob Rajkumar Minz
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Contact for support
Thank you all for all the support we have received until now. We have been overwhelmed by all the emails and phone calls offering help for the search effort and to Kiran's family.
If you are in the Bay Area and want to help out, please contact us.
If you are in the Bay Area and want to help out, please contact us.
A Friend in Need
Kiran grew up Vizag in India. After coming to the US in he lived in West Virginia and then Minneapolis and now Santa Clara.
He is a very good friend who is always there in times of need...
His latest passion is dancing. He is always taking classes in salsa/tango etc. He also likes cars. He loves reading and is always reading a lot of books ranging from Harry Porter(J.K. Rowling) to Angels and Demons ( Dan Brown ).
He loves watching basketball and follows it religiously on TV. He is almost obssessed with working out and it can be said that the gym is his second home..He likes hiking and other outdoor activities...
There are many more things I can mention like he likes Starbucks coffee and tries to eat healthy food but would almost always falls off that wagon.
Dunno what else I can write..
Rabita
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
I remember Kiran as a very soft spoken and cheerful person. In our Hall of Residence (dorm) he was elected to office where his responsibilities were to provide coverage of various sports and cultural events, by way of pictures and articles on the dorm's website. He performed his duties very well. His cheerful face, friendliness, and helpful nature made him very popular in the Hall.
Yella as he was sometimes known could be seen around the campus toting a camera, or in the wee hours of the night sharing a cup of tea with friends in the cafeteria.
--Narayanan
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
He is a very good friend who is always there in times of need...
His latest passion is dancing. He is always taking classes in salsa/tango etc. He also likes cars. He loves reading and is always reading a lot of books ranging from Harry Porter(J.K. Rowling) to Angels and Demons ( Dan Brown ).
He loves watching basketball and follows it religiously on TV. He is almost obssessed with working out and it can be said that the gym is his second home..He likes hiking and other outdoor activities...
There are many more things I can mention like he likes Starbucks coffee and tries to eat healthy food but would almost always falls off that wagon.
Dunno what else I can write..
Rabita
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
I remember Kiran as a very soft spoken and cheerful person. In our Hall of Residence (dorm) he was elected to office where his responsibilities were to provide coverage of various sports and cultural events, by way of pictures and articles on the dorm's website. He performed his duties very well. His cheerful face, friendliness, and helpful nature made him very popular in the Hall.
Yella as he was sometimes known could be seen around the campus toting a camera, or in the wee hours of the night sharing a cup of tea with friends in the cafeteria.
--Narayanan
Class of 2001, IIT Kharagpur
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Latest update on the search for Kiran
Kiran's parents are in India US
According to eye witness reports Kiran slipped while trying to reach for an object in the River Merced, upstream from the Vernal Falls Yosemite National Park Saturday, May 19, 2007 .
Kiran’s friends and family would like to enhance the search and rescue operations, extend the search to locations downstream and continue full-day searches longer than currently planned. He may be weak and injured and lying unconscious along the riverbed downstream. We must reach him quickly.
Kiran got his B.Tech. (Hons.) in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in
nVidia Corporation has been providing all possible assistance for the search and rescue efforts and assisting the family in these trying times.
The search and rescue efforts are being led by Mr. Jeffery Sullivan of the National Park Service, US Department of Interior.
For additional information, questions or suggestions please contact us.
Request for volunteers
Thank you very much for all the help we have received so far in the efforts to find Kiran.
We urgently need more help.
Here is the latest update:
Kiran's father is arriving in the US at 12:30pm today (Tuesday). Two of Kiran's cousins who were working with rescue officers in Yosemite had to come back to the Bay Area to receive him. Kiran's friends can play a very helpful role in sharing with Kiran's cousins the task of giving moral support to Kiran's father.
Secondly, Kiran's cousins are not from California; they are both from the East Coast. They are not familiar with the Yosemite area. People familiar with the Yosemite area can help Kiran's cousins a great deal. There are 15 trained search and rescue personnel and 6 teams of sniffer dogs looking for Kiran. Volunteers will not be doing anything life-threatening; we will just need their help in co-ordinating with rescue officers to make sure that lines of communication between Kiran's family and friends on one hand, the the rescue officers on the other, are constantly maintained.
We need volunteers very urgently. If you can help, please contact us.
We urgently need more help.
Here is the latest update:
Kiran's father is arriving in the US at 12:30pm today (Tuesday). Two of Kiran's cousins who were working with rescue officers in Yosemite had to come back to the Bay Area to receive him. Kiran's friends can play a very helpful role in sharing with Kiran's cousins the task of giving moral support to Kiran's father.
Secondly, Kiran's cousins are not from California; they are both from the East Coast. They are not familiar with the Yosemite area. People familiar with the Yosemite area can help Kiran's cousins a great deal. There are 15 trained search and rescue personnel and 6 teams of sniffer dogs looking for Kiran. Volunteers will not be doing anything life-threatening; we will just need their help in co-ordinating with rescue officers to make sure that lines of communication between Kiran's family and friends on one hand, the the rescue officers on the other, are constantly maintained.
We need volunteers very urgently. If you can help, please contact us.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Searching for Kiran
YSSKS Kiran has been missing in Yosemite since 12:00 noon on Saturday May 19, 2007.
Kiran's parents are in India and have been notified of this accident. His father is making arrangements to come to the US immediately. His cousin has been working with a large team of search and rescue officials looking for him since Saturday. Kiran's employer, NVidia Corporation, has also been providing all possible assistance.
Kiran got his B.Tech. (Hons.) in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in India in 2001. He got his M.S. in Computer Science from the West Virginia University in 2003, and has since been pursuing his Ph.D. in Computer Science as a part-time student at the University of Minnesota while working for NVidia in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Updates on the effort to find Kiran will be posted here as soon as they become available.
Kiran's parents are in India and have been notified of this accident. His father is making arrangements to come to the US immediately. His cousin has been working with a large team of search and rescue officials looking for him since Saturday. Kiran's employer, NVidia Corporation, has also been providing all possible assistance.
Kiran got his B.Tech. (Hons.) in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in India in 2001. He got his M.S. in Computer Science from the West Virginia University in 2003, and has since been pursuing his Ph.D. in Computer Science as a part-time student at the University of Minnesota while working for NVidia in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Updates on the effort to find Kiran will be posted here as soon as they become available.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
