Friend Withheld Info About UI Student Found Dead Outside: Police

URBANA, IL — New information released by University of Illinois police details what transpired during the nearly 10-hour period between when an 18-year-old student was reported missing and when he was found dead about a block from a club he had visited the night before.

Akul Dhawan was discovered by a university employee around 11 a.m. Jan. 20 lying on the concrete steps of a building in the 1200 block of West Nevada Street, police said. A friend told authorities Dhawan was missing about 1:30 a.m., but withheld details regarding his whereabouts earlier that night, according to police.

“Information collected so far supports the initial belief that the death was accidental, and no foul play occurred,” police said in a news release.

The friend reported Dhawan was not in his room in Presby Hall and that he had had contact with Dhawan about an hour earlier at Busey-Evans Residence Hall, according to police. The friend also said Dhawan could have been with friends and intoxicated, according to police.

Around 2 a.m., a university officer searched the area between the two residence halls, police said. Roughly an hour later, the friend told the officer he still had not been able to reach Dhawan, and, about two hours after that, the officer confirmed Dhawan wasn’t at two area hospitals, according to police.

The night before he disappeared, Dhawan was drinking with friends at multiple locations before being denied entry around 11:30 p.m. to the Canopy Club and declining two rideshare vehicles called to pick him up about midnight, despite the urging of club staff and a passerby, police said. He did not respond to calls and texts after that, according to police.

The friend had been with Dhawan at the club but did not tell police either was there, authorities said.

The location where Dhawan was found is about a block from the Canopy Club.

Officials are reviewing a citizen complaint about the police response to the report that Dhawan was missing, according to authorities.

Anyone with information about Dhawan’s death is encouraged to contact police at 217-333-1216. Witnesses who wish to remain anonymous can do so by contacting Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477, at 373tips.com or via the P3 Tips mobile app.