Boston University graduate student found dead in Turkey from apparent fall

By Sarah N. Mattero, Globe Correspondent

A third-year Ph.D. student at Boston University working on an archeological survey project in Turkey was found dead Thursday, the university said today.

Chad DiGregorio, 26, of Upton had set out alone on a day off to go hiking about an hour north of the village Tekelioğlu where their project was based. “It’s an area where there’s steep and rugged terrain,” said BU spokesman Colin Riley. “Apparently, he slipped and fell from a height that killed him.”

When DiGregorio did not return for dinner that evening, colleagues grew concerned and reported his disappearance to local authorities, Riley said. They were able to locate DiGregorio by the GPS signal in his phone. A search and rescue team came across his body.

“He was incredible, not just as a student, but as a person,” said DiGregorio’s academic advisor, Curtis Runnels, who has worked with DiGregorio since 2008. “In a 40 year professional career, I have never known a student who had so much academic promise, such intellectual gifts, and who was also such a wonderful person. Everyone who knew him liked, respected, and admired him.”

“The pain of his loss goes far beyond the bounds of his loving family, and is felt by a wide circle of friends, teachers, and colleagues,” Runnels said in an e-mail.

DiGregorio’s family was not willing to comment at this time.