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Arsalan Serajian ’04

Arsalan Serajian ’04, December 22, 2007, in New Mexico. Arsalan had been missing for two months before his body was discovered in a snowy canyon in the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in December 2007. He died of a shotgun wound, according to local authorities; searchers found two sawn-off shotguns and a pistol next to the body. Arsalan's undergraduate work began at Reed and continued in Boulder, Colorado; he had enrolled in a master's program in computer science in Santa Barbara, California, but failed to show up for classes. Arsalan was last seen alive on a Motel 6 security camera in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. His car was later discovered in the parking lot of the visitor center at the Gila Cliff Dwellings; its license plates had been removed and VIN numbers destroyed, but the keys and expensive new camping equipment remained inside. Arsalan's parents stated that he had been reading Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, before he left for New Mexico. The unusual circumstances of Arsalan's death led friends and family to suspect foul play, but New Mexico State Police ruled it suicide.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2004

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