Salesians locate missing priest

(Nov. 02, 2011) In India, a Salesian priest missing since October 27, was found on Tuesday
(Nov.1^st ) in Dehradun in Himachal Pradesh, according to the superior of his order.
Fr Francis Fernandez, rector of Don Bosco Church in Tura, went missing while travelling by train to Guwahati, Assam, from Delhi on October 26. He sent word the next day, that he would be arriving soon in Guwahati. However, a text message sent by someone identified only as “a villager” said the priest had died of appendicitis and had been cremated. Fr Joseph Almeida, provincial superior of Guwahati, who was notified Tuesday night by a nephew of Fr Fernandez, that the missing priest had shown up at a house in Dehradun said that as the priest was still in a daze they could not get much details from him.” Fr Almeida added that the missing priest had apparently been drugged by a fellow passenger on the train, and he was found on the road by someone, who recognized him as a priest and gave him food and about 500 rupees to help him reach Dehradun. 57-year-old Fr Francis Fernandez has been admitted to hospital and his parents have left for Dehradun from their home in Kerala, Fr Almeida said. The recovery of the missing priest came after the Salesian community filed a missing persons report after receiving the text message.
Police earlier this week said they had found Fr Fernandez’s belongings abandoned at a railway station. Police also said they had identified the public call booth from which, the text message was sent.