Search continues for missing US student

Authorities are searching for a 22-year-old exchange student from San Diego, California who disappeared last week and hasn't been in touch with any of his friends or family since.

Austin Taylor Bice, a San Diego State University student who is studying at Madrid's Universidad Carlos III, reportedly hasn't been seen since Friday, when he was refused entry to the La Riviera nightclub in Madrid by bouncers.

"He was a little bit drunk," says his roommate Kiria Costa of the last time she saw Bice.

The young man left his apartment without any identification but had his two cellphones with him. He then went to a friend's house where he had a few drinks before heading to the club. One of his friends, Alexander Fleming, an Australian, was the last person to see him. According to a press officer at Universidad Carlos III, Fleming stayed outside the club with Bice until he decided to leave by himself.

Costa reported him missing on Saturday and, along with friends, began putting up missing posters around Madrid.

Bice's father, Larry, arrived in Madrid on Wednesday to join the search. "He really wanted to come to Spain badly," said the elder Bice, who added that his son is an international business major. The two regularly spoke by telephone, at least twice a week.

Austin arrived in Spain in January and, according to his roommate, he spoke Spanish well, "with a slight accent, but he understood it perfectly."

"We made plans to see a basketball game on Saturday, and we thought he was still sleeping in his room" Costa says. It was then when she realized that he had not come home all night.

Bice has not answered either of his phones since, while Costa and his friends have combed the hospitals. "We personally visited them all and showed his photos to the staff."

The student had left his passport and his university identification card at home and his friends believe he had no other identification with him.

Gina Jacobs, an SDSU spokeswoman, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that university officials in California have contacted the US State Department.

Bice is 1.95 meters tall and weighs approximately 100 kilos. He was sporting a five-o'clock shadow and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt the last time he was seen.

Bice's father says that he has not used his credit cards or cellphones since the day before he disappeared. The last time he wrote an email was at 4.30pm on Friday.

Police have declined to comment on the investigation but Madrid university officials say that his description has been registered in all databases.