Maryland

Maryland High School Student Found Dead May Have Been Drinking: Police

His father says police did little to find the teen

A Maryland high school student who was found dead in a wooded area Sunday may have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of his disappearance, police say. 

Navid Nicholas Sepehri's body was found in Bethesda after he never got home Saturday night. He was 17 and a senior at Walt Whitman High School.

The teen's father, Frank Sepehri, located his body in a small pool of water. 

"I found him," Sepehri said, his voice full of emotion. 

Sepehri was last seen about 11:30 Saturday, Montgomery County police said. He went to a party on Elgin Lane that was broken up by police after someone told police they suspected teens were drinking. 

Some of the juveniles ran from the home as the officers approached. A teen who police later learned was Sepehri spoke with police. 

"Officers recognized that Sepehri may have been under the influence and confirmed with the juveniles that Sepehri would leave when the juveniles left," police said in statement issued Tuesday night. 

Sepehri's friends offered to call him an Uber. But he said he was OK and disappeared on foot, sources said. 

He never arrived home. 

His father said he went to the Bethesda police station about 3 a.m. Sunday to talk with an officer. He said the officer told him to wait. 

"She told me that kids, this happened. Just wait until tomorrow morning. 10, 11 o'clock. I'm sure he'll show up," he said the officer told him. 

Police say they searched for Sepehri. Then, his father found his body near nightfall, on the 6500 block of Laverock Lane. The family lived less than three miles away.

Police believe the teen's tragic death was an accident. A medical examiner will determine the manner and cause of his death. 

Frank Sepehri said police did not help his family. 

"Police didn't do anything for us. Nothing. Zero," he said. "Sitting in the shopping center, drinking coffee." 

Capt. Paul Starks said officers were looking for Sepehri. 

"When the father cried out, there were other officers nearby in the woods who heard Navid's father exclaim that he had found his son," Starks said. 

The department is reviewing the case. 

At least one teen told police the hosts of the party Sepehri attended told the teens to call their parents and go home after learning uninvited guests brought alcohol to the party. One of the homeowners told police he believed the uninvited teens may have learned about the party on social media. 

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