Facebook, Reddit factored in search for Ian Burnet

The family of Ian Burnet, the 22-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University student who went missing in New York City, have appealed to the popular online community Reddit for help in finding him.

Burnet's family, who said he was on a post-Christmas visit to celebrate New Year's Eve in New York, has not heard from him since Dec. 28.

"I received a routine type of text talking about touring in New York," his father, Mark Burnet, told CNN.

The friends with whom Burnet was staying on Riverside Drive in Harlem say they last heard from him on Dec. 30 when he went out in the afternoon, leaving behind his cell phone, wallet, laptop, and iPod.

"Ian was communicating via text with them and the last bit of information that we had was that he was just stepping out to go out for the evening. And we don't have any information other than that," Mark Burnet said, adding that:

Ian, who graduated as valedictorian from New Kent County High School and was on a full scholarship to study engineering, was looking forward to classes starting back at VCU on January 17.

A detailed Facebook page has been set up to assist in the search.

According to New York magazine, Burnet "spent most of his Internet time" on Reddit and left, "through his post history, a detailed account of his moods and interests."

Last week, Burnet's older brother Jamie, also a Reddit user, posted a plea in the "NYC" and "Assistance" sections of the site, and was joined in the comments by Ian's ex-girlfriend and current roommate, the last person who was in contact with him, also a Reddit user. 

In his Reddit posts, Jamie Burnet wrote that: "His last credit transactions were for a $20 Metro card on the 30th and a Burger King transaction we believe was on the 31st," Jamie wrote. "For all we know he got out of town somehow … he could be broke and hitchhiking back down the East Coast to Virginia. I don't know."

Commenters reportedly responded with sympathy and suggestions, including that the family consider that he took his own life.

To which his brother responded:

He has a history of depression, and there have been scares before. But he didn't leave any last messages behind, which would be extremely uncharacteristic …

Burnet's father said he had lived on his own for years, was independent and would have no reason to simply run away.