Vitor Coneglia Franchito, an engineering student, has been missing since Feb. 5. The Raleigh Police Department said there is no reason to suspect foul play is involved. Franchito was last seen buying cigarettes and withdrawing $200 from his bank account, but police say they have no other traces. The last reported verbal contact anyone had with him was Saturday morning.

“This is a person who has been very reliable in terms of going to class and otherwise being on a schedule and being at home, and now for some reason he is none of those things,” Jim Sughrue, public information officer for the Raleigh Police Department, said.

Authorities organized a search party Sunday at Lake Johnson because Franchito’s fiancée, Rafaela Santos, told police he likes to relax close to water. Searches at Lakes Johnson, Crabtree and Raleigh found nothing.

Police sent out a release asking for assistance after detectives followed all possible leads and found no trace. Franchito’s car and cell phone are reported to still be at his place of residence, West Grove Tower Apartments. His wallet was also found, with nothing missing, in a box where he keeps letters and various items from his fiancée.

“We have no current leads,” Holly Rinaldo, detective for the police department, said. Franchito’s father, Jose Ricardo, is coming from Brazil on Tuesday to help with the investigation. Rinaldo said the plan now is to continue investigating and talking with people, as well as have Franchito’s phone and laptop analyzed.

Rodrigo Lourenco, a friend of Franchito’s, said one possibility of Franchito’s whereabouts is Washington, D.C. because that was the last trip he took with Santos.

According to friend Heloisa Portela Myers, Franchito was depressed because Santos went back to Brazil on Jan. 5. Rinaldo and Lourenco said Franchito and Santos were talking about getting married and living in the U.S.

“[Franchito] is just a normal, regular guy,” Lourenco said. “But one day, maybe he just went crazy … disappeared.” Lourenco first reported Franchito missing on Feb. 7, and when no one heard from him by Feb. 8, he was sure something had happened.

Franchito is a “front-row student,” and is very involved in the Brazilian community, Myers said. Franchito helped form a club, “Brasileirinho,” with Myers and came to the United States from Brazil in October 2002.

“Sometimes people just want to get away for a while for various reasons. Obviously it’s not against the law to do that,” Sughrue said. “It’s not that he’s wanted for anything, we’re just trying to locate him so we can check on his well-being.”

Lourenco, a graduate student who has been friends with Franchito for one year, said people need to pray.

“We have to do a physical and spiritual search,” Lourenco said. Lourenco met Franchito when he overheard him speaking in Portuguese. Both are from Brazil, and Lourenco said Franchito never accepted a handshake, instead bringing him in for a hug, as is common in Brazil.

Rinaldo said disappearances like this aren’t unusual, when people walk away because of mental illness, stress or depression. She also said people need to be aware of what campus has to offer for depression and for foreign students. Lourenco added family and friends have a lot of impact on the actions of others.

“We felt that he was feeling depressed but we didn’t think it was that bad,” Lourenco said.

Student Health Services offers a counseling center, with most services available at no extra cost to students. The counseling center can be reached at (919) 515-2423.

“Sometimes I feel sad and I lose hope,” Lourenco said. “But I still have hope that he’s walking around.”