Submission 2,430

Overview

The Disappearance of Ken DeLand refers to the vanishing of 22-year-old American student Kenneth DeLand who was studying abroad at the Université Grenoble-Alpes in Grenoble, France before he was reported missing at the start of December 2022. Efforts to find DeLand by his parents have been complicated by the Privacy Act, which prevents the university, as well as French and American authorities, from disclosing details about DeLand's possible whereabouts and doings. However, both governments have confirmed they are looking for a missing person. In early December 2022, DeLand's disappearance became a viral topic online after users on social media platforms like TikTok began looking into the case and speculating about what happened.

Background

DeLand, a student at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, New York, came to the Université Grenoble-Alpes with AIFS to study French. According to the French prosecutor charged with his case, DeLand reportedly said he was having difficulty connecting and making friends.^[1] He was set to return to the United States on December 17th, according to a missing person notice (seen below).^[2] Claiming that he wished to visit Marseille, DeLand left his host family and stopped responding to calls and texts on November 27th. Friends in France then reported him missing to French authorities on November 29th.^[3]

Since then, his concerned parents in the United States have struggled to get information during the search for him. They notably started a website called findkendeland.com,^[4] which seeks to circulate descriptions of DeLand and spread the word in both French and English.

DeLand, an Eagle Scout, interned for a Republican state senator in upstate New York from 2019 to 2020, and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York has reportedly opened a Congressional investigation into the disappearance.^[5] On December 12th, 2022, Tenney then tweeted a link to the site and a statement seeking information on DeLand, receiving nearly 50 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Rep. Claudia Tenney @RepTenney My team is doing everything we can to assist the DeLand family during what I know is a very difficult time. If you have any information regarding Ken's whereabouts, please contact your local authorities. You can also visit the website below. findkendeland.com Find Ken DeLand Help Us Find Ken DeLand 3:24 PM Dec 12, 2022 . 8 Retweets 18 Likes :

Online Reactions

Significant mainstream media coverage picked up on December 12th, 2022, with several outlets reporting the story of the disappearance. Online, posters also wished for DeLand's safe return and spread details about his case across social media.

On TikTok, many posts described DeLand's situation and urged people to search for him. For example, on December 11th, TikToker janielou7 posted a CapCut video with DeLand's head superimposed on a bald eagle flying through a scenic valley, which received nearly 900 views and 32 likes in a day (seen below, left).^[7] On December 10th, TikToker youngmom29, claiming to be from DeLand's hometown, posted a TikTok collecting publications relating to the missing person announcement (seen below, right).^[8]