ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: A search is underway for Heikki Rantakari, a missing MIT professor who was last seen in Rochester, New York.
The economist was scheduled to teach a class at the University of Rochester's Simon School of Business on the morning of Saturday, October 21, but he did not show up.
It worried his family and colleagues enough to trigger a missing person alert from the Rochester Police Department.
He was last seen a week ago on Friday, October 20, 2023, according to his family and police.
More about Heikki Rantakari
Rantakari is a visiting professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
He is also an associate professor at the University of Rochester Simon Business School.
Democrat & Chronicle reported that Rantakari lives in the Boston area but regularly commutes to Rochester.
He has worked at the University of Rochester since 2015, according to university officials.
Police and the professor’s family told the newspaper that Rantakari arrived at his rental on Exchange Street in Rochester on Friday evening.
However, he did not show up for a class he was scheduled to teach in game theory on Saturday, an incident that they claimed to be extremely out of character for the professor.
Florian Ederer, a classmate of Rantakari’s and an economist at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, told the Democrat & Chronicle, “He’s incredibly reliable. He’s someone who never turns up late; he’s extremely conscientious. His disappearance is therefore particularly worrying.”
Ederer revealed his friend is 44 years old, stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and weighs approximately 180 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He is a Finnish citizen and speaks with a Finnish accent.
He further added that Rantakari specializes in organizational economics, or the study of non-economic transactions within entities. He is known mostly for his work on delegation or questions about who has authority in organizations and how they communicate.
According to MIT's website, Rantakari holds a BSc in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a PhD in economics from MIT.
What did the police say?
On Tuesday, October 25, Rochester NY Police said that the 44-year-old professor was last seen in Rochester on Friday.
He was reported missing over the weekend and was last seen wearing dark pants, a light-colored shirt, and a light-colored jacket.
They urged anyone with information about Rantakari’s whereabouts to call 911.
“We believe that he may be in danger,” they further stated.
