Boston, Massachusetts: Police Ask for Help Finding Missing UMass Boston Student Sreeja Koya, Last Seen in Dorchester

Boston police are asking the public for help finding a missing 23 year old student who was last seen leaving her home in Dorchester on Monday night.

Sreeja Koya was last seen at about 9:45 p.m. on Monday, November 2, leaving her residence in the area of Edison Green in Dorchester, according to the Boston Police Department. She was reported missing on Tuesday, November 3, and the department issued a public missing person alert on Wednesday, November 4.

The description police released

Police describe Koya as an Indian female, 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 5 inches in height, with a thin build and black hair. She was last seen wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

The department says she may be in the area of Carson Beach or Harbor Point, two waterfront areas a short distance from Dorchester. Officers have given no reason for her disappearance, and no source relied on for this report says she has been found.

Who she is

Koya is a student in a master degree program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, according to reports by Times Now and Connected to India. Those reports say she is from Shabdullapuram village in the Nalgonda district of Telangana, India, and moved to the United States about a year ago to study.

Her family in Telangana is seeking assistance, and a Telangana minister has also sought help in the case, according to the same reports. Coverage of the search spread through Indian and diaspora outlets on November 6 and November 7, five days after she was last seen, while the Boston alert remains active.

How to give information

The Boston Police Department says it is actively working to locate Koya. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or contact District C-11 (Dorchester) Detectives at (617) 343-4335.

Tips can also be given anonymously through the CrimeStoppers Tip Line by phone at 1-800-494-TIPS, or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463). Police say photos and videos related to the investigation may also be submitted anonymously, and that the identities of people who wish to stay confidential will be strictly safeguarded.

This report names Koya and gives her description for one reason: police released both in a public appeal for help finding her, and finding her is the point of the appeal.