I am writing this in response to comments made by Lt." Steven Xiarhos in the recent article,"Return of couple not yet known" (SN 8/13).

In it, Xiarhos is quoted as calling the expense of the search effort for MSU students a "shame." Perhaps he could better justify the expense if the search effort had ended in tragedy.

I, for one, think this is ridiculous. Regardless of the outcome, one of the functions of the police is to try and find missing persons, which they succeeded in doing.

While it may be true that the students in question did not display the best judgment in taking off without contacting their families, the place is not mine, Xiarhos', or anyone else's to stand in judgment of them, especially since we do not yet know the reasons behind their decision.

Xiarhos' comment that the resolution reason behind the students' disappearance could "either be something real bad or something stupid" shows a callous and judgmental attitude that is wholly unprofessional and uncalled for.

The police did their duty and should be commended for their efforts, and I think it is wrong for one of their spokesmen to go on record saying it is a "shame" that things turned out for the better on this, the one rare occasion that it did.

Comments like Xiarhos' seem to indicate feelings of disappointment that the two were found alive, and that is the real shame.

Geoffrey Johns
English senior