BY ASHIA TROIANO and JEFF DAVIDSON

In print | Published March 5, 2009 — Updated March 09, 2009 20:26

The following reporting was done this past week before Matthew Baldwin was found safe in a state park. According to an email from Martin Warner, Baldwin is with his family and the college believes he will continue with classes soon.

The Swarthmore Borough Police has issued a report declaring Matthew Baldwin ’10 as a missing person. In an email update to the campus, Dean of Students Jim Larimore said that Baldwin was last seen at 6 a.m. Monday morning. He may have had a sleeping bag and camping equipment with him.

Baldwin has long brown hair, a mustache and goatee and wears glasses. He is 21 years old. In an email sent out to the campus Wednesday morning, Larimore said that Baldwin may have been wearing a green parka and black leather boots.

The Dean’s Office, Public Safety and the Swarthmore Borough Police are working together closely to locate Baldwin.

“Primarily we’re exploring various leads – [we have heard of] a few ‘possible sightings’ but mostly background information that might indicate his current off-campus interests or destinations,” director of Public Safety Owen Redgrave said in an email Friday afternoon.

According to Chief of Borough Police Craig, he has been in contact with Redgrave “every two or three hours the last couple days to exchange information. When we find something that’s pertinent, we share that information.”

Craig has received roughly a dozen tips, but events and information are still unfolding.

“Talking with family, friends, faculty and everything else it appears as if he may have made a decision just to take a break and clear his head for a while,” Craig said Thursday morning. “We’re just concerned with his safety, we just want to locate him and make sure he’s okay.”

Redgrave said that at this point though it is very difficult to draw any conclusions as to where Baldwin may have gone.

On Thursday a tracker dog was taken through the woods to search for Baldwin’s scent. But Craig said that nothing was picked up. Campus security and the police continue to search for Baldwin in any way possible.

“Right now his name is entered into a national database so that in the event he comes in contact with any other police departments, we would be notified,” Craig said. “Otherwise it’s a waiting game. We’re talking to people to see what his movements may have been.”

At the time of publication, little information had been released concerning any leads in the location of Baldwin. “We will provide updates as the situation warrants, balancing the community’s need to know with consideration of the student’s privacy,” Larimore said in an email to The Phoenix.

The college encourages students to report any information they may have concerning Baldwin. “I would simply like to thank the students and others who have been so helpful in sharing information that has allowed us to look for Matthew in local places he was known to visit … I want to encourage students to make use of the campus support systems, such as RAs, the deans, CAPS and our Religious Life Advisors that might be helpful to them.”

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