In a tragic turn of events, the lifeless body of 18-year-old Akul B. Dhawan, an Indian-American student, was discovered on the porch of a building near the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) last week. Now, his grieving parents have filed a complaint against the school's police department, alleging negligence in their search efforts.

The ordeal began when an acquaintance reported Dhawan missing in the early hours of Saturday at 1:30 am. Authorities launched a nine-hour search and eventually located his body close to the UIUC campus. Autopsy findings suggest that Dhawan had succumbed to hypothermia, likely due to the below-freezing weather that has plagued the Midwestern city in recent weeks.

Preliminary investigations indicate no evidence of foul play, with authorities concluding that the death was accidental. Despite this, Dhawan's parents are questioning the way in which the search for their son was conducted. They argue that based on location-tracking data from his phone, Dhawan was found a mere 400 feet from where he was reported missing.

"This is bizarre that a kid is never found who was just less than a block, like one minute away, sitting there, dead, frozen to death," expressed Dhawan's grief-stricken father. The family has demanded answers from the university's police department, seeking proof that the designated search area was thoroughly explored.

To further understand the university's search policy and potentially prevent future tragedies, Dhawan's parents met with high-ranking university officials during their visit to Illinois this week. Their intention is to shed light on any procedural issues that may have hampered the search efforts.

Dhawan's pursuit of higher education at UIUC was against his parents' wishes, as they hoped he would study closer to home in California. Nevertheless, he enrolled in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a focus on robotics.

As the investigation continues, questions linger regarding the effectiveness of the search operation and potential shortcomings in the university's procedures. The bereaved family, now thousands of miles away in California, remains determined to seek justice for their son and ensure that no other parent experiences the same heart-wrenching loss.