PRINCETON, N.J. — A missing Princeton student from Northeast Ohio has been found dead, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor's office in New Jersey.
Twenty-year-old Misrach Ewuentie’s body was discovered behind tennis courts at Princeton around 1 p.m. by a school employee. The cause of her death is unknown and "does not appear suspicious or criminal in nature."
Ewunetie was last seen around 3 a.m. on Friday morning near a residence hall on campus.
On Sunday, Oct. 16., Ewunetie’s family called the Department of Public Safety at Princeton saying they had not “heard from her in several days.” The next day, the school issued a missing student alert.
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Police used helicopters, drones and watercraft to search for Ewunetie.
Ewunetie was last seen heading into her dorm room at the Ivy League school in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, school officials said. But when her roommate returned to the dorm about 90 minutes later, Ewunetie was not there.
Family and friends said they had not heard from Ewunetie. Appearing Thursday on ABC's “Good Morning America,” her brother, Universe Ewunetie, said his sister's phone last pinged sometime after 3 a.m. Friday at a housing complex that's about a 30-minute walk from her dorm, which he said was out of character for her to be in such a location.
“She’d never been out there. It's pretty far away. And Princeton is a big campus and it's very insular. So it's very odd that her phone would be off campus. Everything is on campus,” Universe Ewunetie said.
He told ABC his sister was responsible, smart and had a bright future ahead of her.
“She was just supposed to be out here changing the world… She was our everything,” he said.
Misrach Ewunetie was the 2020 class valedictorian at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School and was part of a program that prepped local students for college. News 5 featured that program, Minds Matter Cleveland, and talked to Ewunetie in a 2020 story. Watch that story below:
Prior to the announcement about the Princeton student's death, Minds Matter Executive Director Sara Elaqad told News 5 Misrach Ewunetie was among the program's brightest students.
“She’s kind and just a delight to be around. She’s very serious, like she’s mature for her age. She’s always been that way since I first got to know her as a 9th grader when she first applied to be a part of Minds Matter,” Elaqad said.
In a statement to the University community, Princeton Vice President W. Rochelle Calhoun said the Department of Public Safety had been working closely with local and state law enforcement and does not believe there is any related threat to campus or the surrounding area.
"Misrach’s death is an unthinkable tragedy. Our hearts go out to her family, her friends and the many others who knew and loved her," she said.
An autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office will determine Ewunetie's cause and manner of death, however officials said there were no obvious signs of injury and her death does not appear suspicious or criminal in nature.
The University said it's starting to plan a memorial gathering and will share details as they develop.
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