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Michigan Doctor Missing Since Saturday

TOLEDO-- It's been more than two days now, and still, there is no sign of 26-year-old Shankar Palaniappan. The medical intern from Michigan was last seen at Gumbo's at the Docks in east Toledo late Saturday.

Toledo police say Palaniappan left the bar around 1 a.m., and he hasn't been heard from since. They say this is all very "suspicious," and from everything they've heard about this young man, for him to just disappear, out of the blue, is out of character for him.

"My son is a very hard-working, sincere, dedicated young man," said Ramanathan Palaniappan. With tears in his eyes, he went on, "I hope he's okay, and if he's out there, please give us a call." It's every parent's worst fear, and Shankar's mother and father are extremely concerned something has happened to their only son.

"We've been trying to reach him on his cell phone, and there's no answer," said Ramanathan. "He usually checks in with his family, he usually checks in with work, and at 1:04 in the morning, Saturday night, or Sunday morning, no one has heard from him since. We consider that very serious," said Sgt. Tim Noble with Toledo Police.

Shankar is a medical intern at St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. Police say he came to Toledo Saturday night to visit a friend, and surveillance video at Gumbo's shows him coming and going. Sgt. Noble said, "it (video) shows him arriving some time in the area around ten o'clock and it appears as if he's leaving at about 1:04 in the morning."

Police say it appears Shankar left the bar alone. Trying to hold it all together, Ramanathan Palaniappan, with his wife by his side, pleaded for the public's help. He said, "please, anybody with any information, please let us know.. it would be eternally grateful."

Toledo Police have been searching the entire area around Gumbo's, along The Docks. They have a number of investigators working this case. Harbor Patrol teams have also gone up and down the river, and still, no sign of Shankar Palaniappan.

Posted by aroman