Miami Restaurant Entrepeneur Missing In India
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Miami entrepreneur who helped create and open a string of successful restaurants is missing after an act of bravery in India.
On Monday, March 17th, Hector Rolotti, founding partner of the Novecento Group, his wife and a group of friends were visiting the northern area of the Ganges River, about 16 miles east of the city of Rishikesh.
During the visit, the group of more than 30 people was standing at the banks of the River when they noticed a member of the group had been pulled in by the current and was calling for help.
Rolotti, 47, and five other men immediately jumped into the river to save her. Fighting the strong pull of the river, the other five men and the woman were able to safely get back on land. Rolotti, however, was pulled in further by the current.
As of late Thursday afternoon, he was still missing.
The Novecento Group said currently there is a relentless search for Rolotti on both in the Ganges River and along its banks.
"It is Rolotti's entrepreneurial spirit, inner strength and great physical condition that give hope to his family, friends and employees during this difficult time," the company said in a statement.
Rolotti opened his first restaurant in New York in 1991, Novecento New York Soho, with the objective of bringing New Yorkers the authentic taste of Argentine cuisine. In 1996, he established another restaurant in the Cañitas, Buenos Aires.
The company quickly grew with restaurant openings in Miami, Uruguay and Argentina.
In 2007, Rolotti and his partners formed the Novecento Group Holding LLC. Under this new name, the Group inaugurated Novecento Coral Gables in 2008 and Novecento Key Biscayne in 2009.