An American college student who went missing while hiking South Africa’s Table Mountain has been found dead, authorities said Monday.
Brook Cheuvront, 20, left Saturday around noon to hike up Devil’s Peak in Table Mountain National Park and never returned, prompting friends to report her missing, People reported. Her tracking device stopped updating once she left her residence, so they could not reach her, SANParks spokesman JP Louw said.
Trail runners, SANParks rangers and Wilderness Search and Rescue members scoured the mountain’s trails “until late that evening when it was no longer practical to continue,” SANParks said in a statement, but they didn’t find her. The search resumed Sunday, aided by aircraft from the City of Cape Town, which led them to Cheuvront’s body “on the slopes of the mountain,” SANParks said.
Cheuvront was found about 2 p.m. Sunday on the slopes of Devil’s Peak, police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie told local news outlet The Citizen. Though her death did not appear to involve foul play, an inquest would be opened, he said.
The University of North Carolina student and athlete had been valedictorian of her 2022 graduating class at Avery County High School and ran with the school’s track team. She was in South Africa on an internship. Cheuvront’s mother teaches at the high school, where sporting events were canceled Monday.
“She was recovered, we are devastated. God help me and us,” her father, Steve Cheuvront, wrote on Facebook Monday afternoon, adding later, “She illuminated our lives and left a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing her. She brought joy, laughter, kindness, and helpfulness to our lives and the lives of everyone she encountered.”
With News Wire Services
