Police: New Surveillance Image Shows Missing Grad Student Walking Through Cultural District
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The search for a missing Duquesne University grad student intensified on Tuesday.
Dakota James, 23, of the North Side, hasn't been seen in weeks. He was last spotted in Downtown Pittsburgh on the night of Jan. 25.
On Tuesday evening, Pittsburgh Police released a new surveillance image of James which shows him walking through Katz Plaza in the Cultural District at 11:46 p.m. on the night he disappeared. Prior to that, the last known sighting was reportedly at the Wood Street T Station.
Police say the photo shows the color of James' coat was not olive green as previously thought, but instead dark gray or black.
Investigators also say he may have been walking in the direction of his North Side home.
Earlier on Tuesday, cadaver dogs searching the shoreline on the North Shore picked up a scent near the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
Christine D'Antonio's Report:
"We sent some divers into the water to see if they could find something, and while the visibility is low, they were down there for quite some time searching and could not find anything today," said Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler.
Pittsburgh Police say in addition to scouring through surveillance video and river rescue searches, the Greensburg Bloodhound Team and the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group have joined the search, along with state police helicopters.
In a new statement released Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said: "Our detectives are diligently working every angle. We will find Dakota."
James' family has been in town, desperately searching since his disappearance late last month.
"We love you guys. You helped us out so much, and we just need to finish it. I feel like we've come a long way in the last week and a half. We just need to finish it. We need to bring Cody home," said Jeff James, Dakota father.
There's a $10,000 reward for anyone who has information about where he may be.
Pittsburgh Police are also now asking any city businesses to contact them if they have surveillance video that may have captured James on the night of Jan. 25.
Anyone with information on James' whereabouts is asked to call the Pittsburgh Police Missing Persons Unit at 412-323-7141.
UPDATE (Feb. 8, 2017) --
For the second straight day, search crews were back on the river banks looking for a missing Duquesne University grad student.
And once again, cadaver dogs got a hit near the Roberto Clemente Bridge. They sent divers back into the water, but didn't find anything.
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