Advertisement Bates College student missing in Rome John Durkin of Rye, NH, missing for two days Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Bates College student John Durkin, of Rye, N.H., is missing in Rome.Bates' Associate Vice President of Communications Meg Kimmel said Durkin is among six students that are part of an exchange program.The group is studying abroad for the semester.The students left for Rome in January through a program at Trinity College, which has a campus in Rome.Click here to watch the report.Friends traveling with the group said Durkin has not been seen for two days. They said he went out to a bar and never returned.Kimmel said Bates College is trying to find out more information.The college has been in touch with Durkin's parents and said Durkin's father is on his way to Italy to assist in the search."I can't think of a nicer young man. This is something that is very scary, but we certainly feel like we are going to bring him home safe," said Spence Lockhart, a family friend.Durkin is a member of the Bates College football team. He is a junior and attended high school at the Governor's Academy in Byfield, Mass.Friends traveling with Durkin said they have searched hospitals and the American Consulate and have not found him."We don't know where he went. His cellphone has not been used. The Visa card has not been used. We checked all of that," Lockhart said.Friends gathered at Durkin's New Hampshire home Friday night to support his mother and his 16-year-old dog, Rex, who are devastated by his disappearance."It's terrifying, and so when you get the news, it's something that knocks the wind out of you, and then you figure out how you're going to put the pieces back together, and that's what we're doing now," Lockhart said.Bates College released a statement and called the situation deeply distressing."We are very concerned. We wish we could pick up the phone and find out more, so it is hard to get information," the statement indicated."We're really relying on someone over there that might have seen him go somewhere, walking out. Was he with a group of people or anything like that that might track down? At this point, our effort is to get that info out and bring him back home safe," Lockhart said.9234908