Desperate Search for College Student Ends Tragically After Body Is Found in Hiking Disaster

A North Carolina woman who was studying abroad in South Africa has died after disappearing Saturday while hiking.

The body of Brook Cheuvront, 20,was found Sunday along a hiking trail on Devil’s Peak, Western Cape, police said Sunday according to News 24.

Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie, a police representative, said Cheuvront’s body was found at about 2 p.m., a little more than 24 hours after she was reported missing.

“The body of the missing hiker was found in an area which is part of Devil’s Peak, and was retrieved by EMS helicopter,” Pojie said.

University of North Carolina student Brook Cheuvront found dead after going missing on hike in South Africa: ‘We are devastated’ https://t.co/7JWGOlnBUa pic.twitter.com/UXeIhEWzB4

— New York Post (@nypost) September 23, 2024

“An autopsy will be conducted to determine the possible cause of death,” he said.

Her father had taken to social media to call for help, then posted his realization that his child was dead.

“Plsee take down all post looking for brook,” her father, Steve, posted on Facebook.

“She was recovered. We are devastated. God help me and us,” he wrote on Sunday.

Horrible update. Steve Cheuvront just confirmed his daughter, Brook, was found deceased. No further information.

“She was recovered. We are devastated. God help me and us.” – Steve Cheuvront https://t.co/M1ntklYsFo

— Grant Hughes (@GrantHughesNC) September 22, 2024

Cheuvront was an intern at a program that seeks to educate young boys about gender-based violence, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail noted that the hunt for Cheuvront began Saturday after she was reported missing.

Rangers and wilderness search and rescue teams looked for her Saturday, but she was not found until the next day when an aircraft joined in the search.

Brook Cheuvront, American student who went missing during hike, found dead on South Africa’s Table Mountain https://t.co/twbHLEU58m

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 23, 2024

Cheuvront, of Newland, North Carolina, was a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to WNCN-TV. Her internship in South Africa was through the University of Cape Town.

Cheuvront was the 2022 valedictorian of Avery County High School, where her mother still teaches.

The school canceled all sporting events Monday in honor of Cheuvront, who ran cross-country at the school.

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