Maine authorities search for missing Bentley University professor

A Bentley University professor is the focus of a missing person search after reportedly going missing in Maine.

Wiley Davi, 57, a professor of English and media studies at the Waltham university, was last seen on Peaks Island off the coast of Portland on Saturday night.

Multiple public safety agencies have been searching for Davi since Sunday, when the Portland Police Department received a call stating that Davi was missing. Portland police, the Maine Warden Service, Maine Marine patrol and others had started the search for Davi shortly after receiving the missing person report. 

The Portland Police Department’s public information officer offered details on the search in a statement to The Waltham Times. “Multiple partner agencies are involved in the search and there is no known threat to the public. The Maine Warden Service is leading the search efforts and will provide any further updates on the search as they become available,” Brad Nadeau, the public information officer, wrote in the statement.

Mark Latti, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife communications director, shared an update on the search efforts happening on Tuesday. “We covered the island yesterday with ground searchers and search dogs. All searchers and dogs are GPS tracked, so we are looking at the data to make sure there are not any areas that we may have missed. If there is, we will focus on searching those areas. Portland Police Department is still following up on leads and talking with people, and Maine Marine Patrol continues to search the area with boats and a plane,” Latti wrote in a statement to The Times.

Bentley officials are carefully monitoring news about Davi, calling Davi “a beloved member of our community.” 

“Wiley is a longtime and respected professor and a friend to students, faculty and staff on our campus. Our hearts and minds are with Wiley and their loved ones and we are hoping and praying for Wiley’s safe return,” Bentley’s news and public relations director Helen Henrichs wrote in a statement to The Times. 

Anyone with information regarding Davi is asked to call Portland police at 207-874-8479.