JUNE 3, 8:33 P.M. – John Pike, drummer for Ra Ra Riot, a band composed of SU alumni, was found dead this afternoon, according to U.K. music magazine NME’s Web site.

Pike, a 2006 Syracuse University graduate, was reported missing late Friday night after leaving a house party at about 3 a.m. in Fairhaven, Mass. His body was found Sunday in Buzzard’s Bay, located near the house.

Fairhaven Police Department officials contacted by The Daily Orange were unavailable for comment Sunday.

Pike, 23, attended the party after playing a show in Providence, R.I., the first of a 17-city tour that was scheduled to end Aug. 12 in Cambridge, Mass. Ra Ra Riot was also planned to perform at Monolith Festival on Sept. 14 with The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, Spoon and other bands.

The status of the band’s tour and festival performance were unknown at presstime.

A search began Saturday afternoon, led by Fairhaven police, Fairhaven Fire Department, other local departments, the U.S. Coast Guard and state police, according to The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass.

The band posted about Pike’s disappearance on its MySpace page Saturday at 10:04 p.m., urging those near the Fairhaven area to aid in the search.

Pike and the band had just completed a series of shows in London and at the South by Southwest Music Festival earlier this year. Its most recent performance at SU was in Schine Student Center’s Underground on March 21.

Published on June 21, 2007 at 12:00 pm