Boston Bombing Suspect Not Missing Radnor Alum

It broke out on Facebook, Twitter and even Radnor Patch Thursday night— that one of the suspects in Monday's Boston Marathon bombing looked like missing Radnor High School alum Sunil Tripathi.

However, authorities on Friday identified one of the suspects as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, of Cambridge, Mass. He was arrested Friday night, according to Watertown Patch. The other suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a violent spree earlier in the day.

A tweet to Radnor Patch and comments on Radnor Patch about what some thought was a resemblance between the bombing suspect and Tripathi, who was last seen on March 16 in Providence, R.I., had disappeared by Friday morning.

Scanners and Twitter

A Radnor Township resident staying at a hotel very close to Monday's Boston Marathon bombing said that the name of missing Radnor High School alum was mentioned numerous times over Boston police scanners Thursday night.

The resident, who did not want his name published, said the false reports that Tripathi, who has been missing from Providence, Rhode Island since March 16, even made it to the national level on Twitter (see photos).

Tripathi's name was heard by this resident on a police scanne phone app.

It was not just a small Internet rumor, the man said. "A fair amount of people conjecturing on it," said the resident.

Apology

On Friday an apology appeared on the website Reddit.com:

I'd like to extend the deepest apologies to the family of Sunil Tripathi for any part we may have had in relaying what has turned out to be faulty information. We cannot begin to know what you're going through and for that we are truly sorry. Several users, twitter users, and other sources had heard him identified as the suspect and believed it to be confirmed. We were mistaken.

This event shows exactly why the no personal information until confirmation rule is in place. Out of respect for Tripathi and his family, I ask that users here please remove any and all links about him. Thank you. 

From Sunil's Family

On Friday morning thhis message was posted on the Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi Facebook page:

A tremendous and painful amount of attention has been cast on our beloved Sunil Tripathi in the past twelve hours.

We have known unequivocally all along that neither individual suspected as responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings was Sunil.

We are grateful to all of you who have followed us on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit—supporting us over the recent hours.

Now more than ever our greatest strength comes from your enduring support. We thank all of you who have reached out to our family and ask that you continue to raise awareness and to help us find our gentle, loving, and thoughtful Sunil.