Mom of US student whose body was found in reservoir says he was 'a wonderful kid'

BOSTON - A dive team pulled the body of a missing Boston College student from a reservoir near the campus Wednesday, weeks after he was last seen, authorities told his family.

Franco Garcia, a 21-year-old who was studying chemistry, disappeared Feb. 22 after leaving a bar popular with college students. His body was found in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, family friend Genoveva Tavera told The Associated Press.

Garcia lived at home in Newton with his parents, Luzmila and Jose, who emigrated more than two decades ago from Lima, Peru, where worried relatives have been following the case.

The reservoir is between the neighbourhood the bar is in and the Boston College campus, where Garcia planned to stay in a friend's dorm the night he vanished.

Garcia, who played clarinet in the school's symphony band, was "a wonderful kid," Luzmila Garcia, told the AP. Speaking through tears, she said she couldn't comment further and wanted only to be with family.

Authorities have not yet said whether they suspect foul play. Divers had already searched the reservoir several times but did not find him.

The case drew the attention of singer Bruce Springsteen, whose son attends Boston College. He posted a missing person poster on both Twitter and Facebook.

Garcia had gone to the college hangout Mary Ann's with friends from Boston College's Symphonic Band but spent part of the night with friends from high school he met inside.

At closing time, his college friends couldn't find him. Police got involved a day later, when his parents returned in a panic from a vacation to New York City after not being able to reach him. His Volvo station wagon was parked where he left it, his clarinet inside. There was no new activity on his credit card and no one had used his cellphone since it pinged off a tower near the reservoir at 1:15 a.m.

In addition to taking classes, Garcia worked full-time as a pharmacy technician at CVS.