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Desperate Search After Connecticut College Student Vanishes Near Rochester

CHARLOTTE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A desperate search was under way Friday for a college student from southwest Connecticut who vanished in Western New York.

Max Maisel, 21, is a junior at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester. Classmates last saw him leaving his campus apartment in upstate Henrietta on Sunday. Police found his car Monday, parked at a pier near Lake Ontario in upstate Charlotte.

Maisel's family, from Fairfield, Connecticut, has joined the search in Rochester.

"We don't know where Max is, and that's very hard to deal with," said Max Maisel's father, Ivan Maisel. "We have a lot more questions than we do answers."

Max Maisel's sister, Elizabeth Maisel, was tearful as she talked to officers.

"It's really hard not knowing where he is, and we just want him to come back," she said.

Family members said they were not aware of anyone who would want to hurt Max, and said he does not have a history of mental illness.

Speaking to CBS affiliate WROC-TV, Rochester, Ivan Maisel said his son was quiet and a fan of movies and Broadway plays, anime and photography.

The search was called off for the day around 4 p.m., WROC reported.

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