A 21-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology student has been found dead days after he was reported missing, with authorities saying he may have last been in the Niagara Falls area. Maximilian Cardone was last heard from around 11 a.m. on Oct. 21, and his disappearance set off a multi-day search before the grim discovery was confirmed this week.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office issued a missing-person alert for Cardone on Oct. 22, saying he may have been in the Niagara Falls area, according to rochesterfirst.com. RIT confirmed that Cardone, who was reported missing on Oct. 23, had been found dead, according to 13WHAM-TV.
Coverage of Cardone's hometown has varied. One report described him as being from Albany, New York, per the station's reporting, while another account from the same outlet referred to him as a missing man from Henrietta. Hoodline could not independently verify which description is accurate, and the discrepancy remains unresolved in available reporting.
A Cybersecurity Student in His Final Year
Cardone joined RIT in fall 2023 to pursue a degree in cybersecurity, the same account notes. He was a fourth-year student in the university's Department of Computing and Information Sciences, according to a separate report from WHEC.
No cause of death or additional circumstances surrounding how or where Cardone was found have been released. The timeline so far spans just over a week: he was last in contact on Oct. 21, the sheriff's office put out its alert the following day, and the university confirmed his death this week.
University Response and Support Resources
RIT Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Services Sandra Johnson expressed the university's sympathies to Cardone's family, friends, and classmates. Johnson said support resources are available to students and faculty following the news, per the same account, though information regarding services was not yet available and would be shared as appropriate.
RIT has not released further information beyond confirming Cardone's death and offering support resources to its campus community. The university's statement came as the story continued to develop this week, with no additional details yet made public about the circumstances of his death.
