Missing North Carolina student Brook Cheuvront, 20, found dead in South Africa

A 20-year-old American student from North Carolina was found dead after disappearing while hiking on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, officials said.

The body of Brook Cheuvront – a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – was recovered on Sunday. Cheuvront was reported missing on Saturday after a tracking app she used stopped updating and friends were unable to reach her, SANParks spokesman JP Louw told The Associated Press.

“She has been recovered, we are devastated. God help me and us,” Steve Cheuvront, identified by WCNC as her father, wrote in a Facebook post.

Cheuvront's cause of death is unclear. The second-year student was completing an internship at the University of Cape Town and, according to WNCN, was not only a Morehead-Cain scholar but also the valedictorian of 2022 at Avery County High School, where her mother teaches.

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“One of our teachers tragically lost a loved one today,” high school principal Jennifer O'Briant wrote on Facebook. “We will have counselors and pastors at school tomorrow for students who may need support. If students feel led, please wear blue in support of the Cheuvront family.”

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Rangers, wilderness rescue members and trail runners initially conducted a search that lasted until late Saturday evening, when it was virtually impossible to continue, Louw told the Associated Press.

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The next day, an aircraft joined the search and helped find the body.

The South African authorities are urging the population to avoid hiking on their own and recommend doing so in groups of at least four people.

Management at SANParks, which manages Table Mountain and other national parks, said the investigation into Cheuvront's death was ongoing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source of the original article: Missing North Carolina student Brook Cheuvront, 20, found dead in South Africa