A Missing Princeton Student Is Found Dead

Misrach Ewunetie hadn't been seen since last week
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2022 1:00 AM CDT
Updated Oct 20, 2022 3:54 PM CDT
A Princeton University Student Disappeared Last Week
A missing poster for Misrach Ewunetie.   (Black & Missing Foundation)

Update: A Princeton student who went missing last week has been found dead, reports the AP. The body of 20-year-old Misrach Ewunetie, an Ohio native, was discovered behind tennis courts on the New Jersey campus Thursday afternoon, authorities say. Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri says there are no obvious signs of foul play, but the medical examiner has yet to determine the cause of death. Our story from earlier Thursday follows:

On Thursday night, Misrach Ewunetie offered to step in when someone couldn't make it to their volunteer shift doing housekeeping "duty" at one of Princeton University's 11 eating clubs. The 20-year-old student carried out the shift during a live music performance at the club, CNN reports. "After the club had closed and all of the duty responsibilities had been fulfilled, Misrach—as well as the other members on duty—left for the night," Terrace Club President Alexander Maravcsik tells the Daily Princetonian. Ewunetie's brother tells NBC News she returned to her dorm around 3am Friday and her roommates saw her, but after around 4am that morning, she was not seen again. Her roommates assumed she'd gone home for the weekend, and it was not until Sunday that her family realized she was missing and contacted police.

Ewunetie hasn't contacted her family since she was last seen, and she missed an interview regarding her application for US citizenship that had been scheduled for Saturday, the Sun reports. Officials at the New Jersey school say they are intensifying their search, and are coordinating with local and state law enforcement offices, according to a message sent to students. Friends and family say it would not be in Ewunetie's character to disappear like this, and they are concerned for her safety. Her family is originally from Ethiopia and Ewunetie grew up in Ohio, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class and earned a full scholarship to Princeton. (More Princeton University stories.)

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