Albuquerque, N.M. ? The FBI said Sunday it had joined the search for a missing Baylor basketball player, even as fears grew among the athlete’s friends that he may be dead.

Patrick James Dennehy, 21, hasn’t been heard from in more than two weeks, and police suspect he was killed in the Waco area. His sport utility vehicle, its license plates missing, was found abandoned in a mall parking lot in Virginia last week.

Dennehy’s girlfriend, 20-year-old Jessica De La Rosa, said Sunday at a news conference in Albuquerque, N.M., she last spoke with him the night of June 11.

“It was a typical conversation,” she said. “He was just fine. He told me he just needed to go and would call me the next day.”

Asked whether Dennehy was concerned about his safety, or had problems with teammates or others, De La Rosa said: “I can’t say anything about any problems because that’s part of the investigation right now.”

Senque Carey, a former roommate and longtime friend at New Mexico, said Dennehy was not the type to disappear for days without calling someone, or the sort to put himself in danger.

“I just remember Pat as being always to himself. He wasn’t like a person who would cause trouble for no reason,” said Carey, who played basketball with Dennehy at New Mexico before Dennehy transferred to Baylor his junior year.

Waco police say Dennehy’s teammates and others have been questioned about the disappearance of the 6-foot-10, 230-pound center and junior speech communications major from Santa Clara, Calif. Police declined to comment Sunday.

Rene Salinas, a spokesman in the FBI’s San Antonio office, said Sunday that the FBI was helping Waco police in the investigation. He declined further comment.

Dennehy’s stepfather, Brian Brabazon, told the Waco Tribune-Herald someone recently had stolen money from his stepson and that Dennehy had told Baylor coaches he was scared.

Waco police apparently are investigating reports that Dennehy was threatened by a teammate and that he recently had argued with at least two players, the newspaper reported.