A Princeton University undergraduate student reported missing earlier this week was found dead Thursday on campus, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office announced in a news release.
Misrach Ewunetie, 20, was found by an employee who discovered her body outside on the facilities grounds behind the tennis courts near a remote area accessible to authorized vehicles only at approximately 1:00 p.m.
“There were no obvious signs of injury, and her death does not appear suspicious or criminal in nature,” Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.
A spokesperson for the school told NBC News that officials currently have no additional information to share.
The Department of Public Safety is seeking information on the whereabouts of an undergraduate student, Misrach Ewunetie, who has been reported missing.
Anyone with information on Ewunetie’s whereabouts should contact the Department of Public Safety at (609) 258-1000. pic.twitter.com/5p6401md3x
— Princeton University (@Princeton) October 18, 2022
Ewunetie was reported missing on Oct. 16 by her family to the university’s Department of Public Safety.
The Daily Princetonian reports Ewunetie was last seen Friday around 3 a.m. near Scully Hall. Earlier that night, the student was volunteering at Terrace Club, one of the university’s eating clubs, performing housekeeping tasks while live music played at the club.
Universe Ewunetie, Misrach’s brother, told NBC News she went back to her dorm around 3 a.m., which her roommates confirmed.
“Then another roommate of hers said she didn’t see her after 4, and then after that that no one has seen her,” Universe said, adding that he had been texting with her earlier.
Universe told The U.S. Sun that family members became particularly alarmed when Ewunetie, originally from Ethiopia, missed her citizenship meeting on Saturday. The family came to the U.S. from Ethiopia in 2008 and raised the children in Ohio.
He told CNN that authorities had kept the family in the dark,” adding the investigation would take time.
“That’s one thing we don’t have — we don’t have time,” he said.
By Tuesday, law enforcement increased its presence on and around campus, using helicopters, drones, and watercraft.
Sara Elagad, executive director of the non-profit Minds Matter Cleveland, which Ewunetie was a 2020 graduate of the program, told CNN that Ewunetie purposely going off the radar and remaining out of touch with her family was “not at all in [her] character.”
Tiruedil Kassa, Ewunetie’s mother, told an NBC affiliate her daughter was a quiet, reserved, and kind girl.
“She’s such a trusting person, just a lovely person,” she said.
Ewunetie was a junior pursuing a sociology degree with a computer applications certificate, according to her LinkedIn page.
She was set to graduate from Princeton University in 2024.
