Authorities have discontinued the water search for missing 21-year old RIT student Max Maisel.
He was last seen February 22nd and his car was later found at the Charlotte Pier.
Police say the investigation into his disappearance is ongoing and they are continuing to follow up on every lead.
The family of Max Maisel issued a statement expressing their "eternal gratitude to the men and women of of the law enforcement agencies who contributed untold hours and resources" to search for their son.
Here are the statements from the Rochester Police Department and Max Maisel’s family:
Chief Ciminelli and the men and women of the Rochester Police Department join the family of Max Maisel in thanking our partner agencies from the Monroe County Sherriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Town of Greece Police, the Massasauga Search and Rescue Team, the Office of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Monroe County Crime Lab and the Rochester Institute of Technology for their invaluable assistance during this investigation.
At this time, we are discontinuing the water search for Max, however, the investigation is ongoing, and we will continue to follow up every lead.
We also ask that you please keep the family of Max Maisel in your thoughts and prayers.
From the family of Max Maisel:
We want to express our eternal gratitude to the men and women of the law enforcement agencies who contributed untold hours and resources to the search for our son Max Maisel. Since the night of Feb. 22, the Rochester Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the
U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs, and the Border Patrol have searched on land, in the lake and the river, and through the air.
They searched when treacherous weather said they shouldn’t. They searched when common sense said they shouldn’t. They combed some sections of the waterfront more than a dozen times. We appreciate their collective effort and the resources that the people of Rochester
and Monroe County have devoted to finding Max.
More than three weeks in, the searchers share our frustration. The evidence suggests that Max went into the water off the Charlotte pier. Max is not where the evidence suggests he should be.
We appreciate the compassion and professionalism of the men and women with whom we have dealt, from the detectives to the scuba team to Police Chief Mike Ciminelli. The sheriff’s office personnel showed the same kind of sensitivity. The RIT community has overcome its own shock
and disbelief to rush to our aid. Administrators, security personnel and Max’s professors have been generous with their time and with the university’s resources. We thank all of you.
As we, all of us, wait for some sign of Max, the caring and concern we have felt in Rochester has made us appreciate this community in a way that we couldn’t have imagined. In this, the darkest hour of our lives, we have seen so much good in people. We will never forget your kindness.
Ivan Maisel and Meg Murray
March 17, 2015