In a video posted to YouTube Dec. 10, Njoroge's mother pleaded for her son to return home.

Dennis Njoroge, 21, was found in the area of the Arthur Fiedler footbridge at about 10 a.m. Thursday after police, family, and friends had searched for weeks for the missing man.

WORCESTER — The body of a man found in the Charles River on New Year's Eve was that of a Northeastern University student who had been missing since Nov. 29, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation.

"I'm talking to Dennis, my son," said the woman in the video, who identified herself only as Njoroge's mother. "Mom loves you . . . mom loves you and misses you so much. Come home. We're waiting."


Several others called on the public to help in the video and on a Facebook page dedicated to increasing awareness about the search for the missing student.

But their quest would end in heartbreak, as police pulled Njoroge's body from the river 21 days after his mother's plea.

As a matter of policy, the Suffolk district attorney's office declined to release the name of the man found in the river because the death is not being investigated as a homicide, according to a statement released by spokesman Jake Wark.

The man's body showed no outward signs of trauma, and based on the evidence gathered by State Police detectives thus far his death is not believed to be suspicious.

Njoroge was a native of Kenya who graduated from Burncoat High School in Worcester. He was studying media arts at the College of Arts, Media, and Design.

West Yu, 21, said Njoroge was the first person he met during a student orientation when he moved from Los Angeles to Boston to attend Northeastern University.

"Whenever something happened to me, whether it was a funny situation or a sad situation, he was always the first person I'd try to convey my emotions to," Yu said during a phone interview Sunday. "I had so many stories I wanted to tell him face-to-face."


Yu said Njoroge enjoyed school and learning but was concerned about student loans and that the financial burden would fall to his mother. Njoroge initially majored in architecture before finding his passion in filmmaking, Yu said.

Yu said Njoroge's films focused on racism and classism.

Njoroge also enjoyed playing basketball, Yu said, noting, "he couldn't dribble but he loved to shoot."

Northeastern had said previously that Njoroge swiped his school ID to use the gym at the Marino Center on Nov. 28, and that his parents last heard from him the following day.

"He was a familiar face to students at the basketball courts in Marino, and was looking forward to beginning a co-op [job] at a television news station in Boston this month," wrote Northeastern president Joseph E. Aoun in a message to the university's community Saturday. "Over the holidays, we continued to hope for Dennis's safe return, even as we felt his absence. He will be missed greatly."

On Birmingham Road in Worcester, where the family lived several years ago, neighbors described a "nice kid" who was often seen helping his mother and father in the yard.

"He was very nice," said Bill McCarthy, 50, who lives on the block. "My daughter played basketball and sometimes they would come down and shoot around."


Njoroge's death left his friends searching for answers.

"I thought he just needed space," Yu said. "It felt like he was kind of lonely."

Njoroge's family could not be reached for comment Sunday night.

"He was extremely talented, artistic, eccentric," Yu said. "A lot of people think he's weird, but once you get to know him, he's one of the most intelligent people . . . one of the greatest people I've ever met."

Jan Ransom can be reached at jan.ransom@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jan_Ransom.