Reward to find missing UC Berkeley student increased to $100K

EXPOSITION PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A $100,000 reward is being offered for information about the whereabouts of a missing University of California, Berkeley, student who was last seen at a party near the University of Southern California.

Eloi Vasquez, a soccer player for UC Berkeley, drove down to the Southland with friends for a spring break trip Friday night. He was at a party at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at USC.

At around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, the 19-year-old, who had been drinking, told his friends he wanted to go for a walk. About an hour later, he called a friend at Berkeley, saying he was at the beach and needed help. He has not been seen since.

The initial reward was set at $50,000, but family members told Eyewitness News Monday that figure has been doubled.

Friends tried to contact Vasquez the next morning but did not hear back from him. His phone was dead or turned off. Loved ones are desperate to find him.

"It's just scary to not know, to have no word from him at all, to have no idea, and to have no communication or leads or where he could possibly be," said Wendy Margolin, Vasquez's mother.

Margolin says her son had no ID and no money and that this disappearance is completely out of character for him.

"People going to the beach or going to get food and stuff like that is pretty common after a party, so the fact that no one has still heard from him is really concerning," said Raquel Zsupnik, a USC student.

Word about Vasquez's disappearance is spreading across the school with posters plastered on and near campus. Students say the news is troubling.

"The fact that he just went missing out of nowhere, it's kind of a shock. I mean, you've got to think there are some clues out there. But hopefully those can come out, and hopefully we can solve it and find the guy," said Kyle Dunn, another USC student.

Vasquez is described as Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes, standing 6 feet tall and weighing about 175 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red and white baseball T-shirt, gray pants and white tennis shoes.

The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity has not released any statements to the media. Investigators say they will be combing through surveillance footage from the fraternity and surrounding businesses for clues into Vasquez's disappearance.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department, Southwest Division at (213) 485-2582. To remain anonymous, you can call (800) 222-8477.