Duncan yesterday criticized several newspaper accounts of Webster's plight, which he said described her as "naive."

"She had spent two years in New York City and she is streetwise," Duncan said. "If something happened to her, it was not her fault."

While in New York, Webster developed a taste for Broadway theater, friends said, adding that she has continued to frequent the Boston theater circuit. Though design school course work occupied most of her time, Webster participated in a wide variety of sports and also engaged in an active social life.

"She had two or three fellows she was interested in," George Webster said, adding that his daughter was "too damn busy" to become seriously involved with any one of them.

The elder Webster said his daughter was intent on getting married and having children, but only after establishing an architectural career in her own firm.

A student in Webster's adopted family in Perkins Hall said that as an adviser, "you always knew you were welcome to go and see her because, literally, her door was always opened."

On Joan Webster's door, shut tight now for more than a week, is a list of emergency numbers for students, highlighted with the number for the Harvard police.

And there is a hand-written message: "I am usually here every evening (7:00-12:00) if you need to see me!