15-year-old student from India goes missing in LA

LOS ANGELES – Police Thursday searched for a 15-year-old boy from India who vanished in Los Angeles a week ago after arriving with a group for an educational tour of California.

Five LA detectives flew to San Francisco to interview members of Lovedeep Singh's tour group at the Indian Consulate, Lt. Darnell Davenport said.

Singh, who speaks Hindi and only limited English, was snapping photographs in front of a hotel across the street from the University of Southern California when he vanished on the morning of June 23.

He and his 10-year-old brother were in a group of about 30 people who had just arrived for an educational trip that was to include local tourist spots.

Singh apparently remained outside when the rest of the group went into the Radisson Hotel. His absence was noticed when a head count was taken an hour later and group leaders discovered they were "one body short," said Davenport, commanding officer of detectives in the Police Department's Southwest Division.

The teen has not been heard from since.

A language barrier made it difficult for police to question other members of the tour group, who later continued their trip in San Francisco. They were scheduled to fly home Friday.

There was no sign that Singh met with foul play, but "as each day passes, our concern heightens," Davenport said.

"He doesn't really speak English. Where would he go? Who would he communicate with? Where would he stay every night? He's 15 years old," Davenport said.

"We're concerned that he befriended someone over the Internet, maybe they came and picked him up," Davenport said. "He has a substantial amount of money in his pocket."

The boy was described as 5-foot-8, weighing 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt and tan pants and carrying a red backpack.