Officials report that a 20-year-old American student from North Carolina has been discovered deceased after going missing while hiking on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.
The body of Brook Cheuvront, a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was found on Sunday. According to SANParks spokesman JP Louw, Cheuvront was reported missing on Saturday when a tracking app she was using ceased to update, and her friends were unable to contact her.
She has made a recovery, yet we are heartbroken. “God help me and us,” Steve Cheuvront, who was identified by WCNC as her father, expressed in a Facebook post.
The reason behind Cheuvront’s death remains uncertain. The sophomore interned at the University of Cape Town and, in addition to being a Morehead-Cain scholar, was the 2022 valedictorian at Avery County High School, where her mother teaches, as reported by WNCN.
“Today, one of our teachers experienced the tragic loss of a loved one,” wrote the high school’s principal, Jennifer O’Briant, on Facebook. Tomorrow at school, counselors and pastors will be available for students seeking support. If students are inclined, please wear blue to show support for the Cheuvront family.
Rangers, wilderness search and rescue members, and trail runners conducted an initial search until late Saturday evening, at which point it became impractical to continue, Louw informed The Associated Press.
The following day, an aircraft joined the search and assisted in locating the body.
South African authorities have advised individuals to refrain from hiking alone, recommending that it be undertaken in groups of no fewer than four people.
SANParks management, responsible for Table Mountain and various national parks, announced that an investigation into Cheuvront’s death is currently underway.
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