Harsha Maddula (
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The Long Island family of the college freshman who vanished after a party and was later found drowned say he was a strong swimmer and they suspect foul play.
The claim came at an emotional wake for Harsha Maddula, 18, today at a New Hyde Park funeral home after the youth was found drowned in a harbor near chicago in what Illinois police say was an accident.
“It’s unexpected. We were hoping to find him,” said his uncle Vasu Kakollu at the wake. “There’s no way he would have drowned like that.”
He said cops “are still trying to put some pieces together.” Maddula was last seen in Evanston, Illinois on September 18 and his body was recovered on September 27.
Northwestern University chaplain Tim Stevens told the grieving relatives and friends that “our hearts are broken and our thoughts and prayers go out to you.”
After the wake, his sobbing parents and twin brothers cried out the dead teen’s name as his wooden casket was placed into a hearse for the trip to a Queens crematorium.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday in Queens.