Honoring the loss of 18-year-old freshman Joseph Dado, weeping students, flickering candles and bouquets of flowers lined the sidewalk between the Steidle Building and Hosler Building Monday night.
Throughout the evening and into the late night, groups of students gathered at the makeshift memorial to pay their respects to Dado.
Many of the students present said they had never met Dado or even heard of him until the news broke about his disappearance. Some had planned to join the search party yesterday evening; others arrived to mourn the loss of a peer.
Dado had last been seen at about 3 a.m. Sunday, when he was leaving the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house. His parents drove from Pittsburgh to join his sister Natalie, a Penn State senior, in the search. Police, search dogs and a state police helicopter were all involved in the search.
At around 6 p.m. on Monday, university maintenance workers found Dado’s body at the bottom of a stairwell, near a mechanical room outside the Hosler Building. Police said Dado fell 15 feet onto the concrete, sustaining head trauma.
While no medical reports have been announced, police could not confirm whether alcohol was involved in the incident, and they do not suspect foul play.
“This is unreal. This is our backyard. We walk these streets every single day. It’s something you see on TV but never think can really happen,” said Kimi Yudt, a freshman psychology major.
While the area between the Steidle Building and Hosler Building was cordoned off, an impromptu candlelight vigil took place on both sides of the street. A large number of tea candles beneath the police tape outside burned just bright enough to see the bouquets that had been placed nearby.
Students sat on the opposite sidewalk holding glowing candles, some visibly upset, some in a stunned silence. A group of friends who said they were close to Dado consoled one another, holding hands as they walked away from the scene.
“It’s something that you think can never happen to you, but it does. It just shows you how life really is. It can be taken away from you so fast,” said Jessica Von Essen, a freshman in the division of undergraduate studies.
