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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Friends, family to hold prayer vigil Saturday for Wade Steffey

T-shirt sales will collect money for missing student's reward fund

A prayer vigil for missing Purdue student Wade Steffey will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High St., in Bloomington.\nSteffey, a Bloomington resident, was last seen in the early hours of Jan. 13 while attending a Phi Theta Kappa fraternity party at Purdue. He was reported missing three days later, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Ben Buckner, his roommate and childhood friend, came home from Bloomington to find Steffey's laptop still powered on.\nRobert Whitaker, senior pastor at Evangelical Community Church, said his congregation has prayed in prior services several times for Steffey, his family and friends. Whitaker said he hopes the vigil will encourage family and friends to not lose hope in the search for Steffey.\n"I would like for them to receive hope so they can encourage the family and offer their concerns," Whitaker said.\nRoy Hughes, a Bloomington resident and member of the church, is helping to organize the vigil. Guests have not been finalized, Hughes said, but he expects a rabbi to speak and a friend of Steffey to "play a special song."\n"I want the family to be encouraged by the folks in Bloomington," Hughes said. "(I want the vigil) to encourage them to not give up on the battle so they walk out a little more energized -- and I hope it energizes the search as a whole."\nWade's parents, Dale Steffey and Dawn Adams, said they will be attending the vigil and are "really thankful for the community of support."\nA volunteer search effort took place last Saturday in West Lafayette. Searchers looked for clues along the Wabash River and in nearby fields and woods to no avail. Freezing temperatures forced police to end the search efforts earlier than expected. \nIn an effort to raise money for the Wade Steffey Reward Fund, Buckner is selling "Have you seen Wade?" T-shirts for $12. Shirts can be purchased by sending an e-mail to wadeshirt@purdue.edu.

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