Missing Princeton student found dead on campus, university says

A Princeton undergraduate whose disappearance late last week sparked a massive search was found dead on the edge of campus Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

A facilities employee discovered Misrach Ewunetie's body near the university's tennis courts around 1 p.m. Thursday, Mercer County prosecutor Angelo Onofri and Kenneth Strother Jr., Princeton's vice president for public safety, said in a statement.

There were "no obvious signs of injury and her death does not appear suspicious or criminal in nature," they said, adding that an autopsy has been ordered to determine the 20-year-old student's cause of death.

"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," the university's vice president for campus life, W. Rochelle Calhoun, said in a statement.

Ewunetie, 20, vanished a week ago after she was last seen brushing her teeth and heading into her dorm room on the elite Ivy League college’s New Jersey campus in the early hours of Friday.

The tennis courts are near where officials said Ewunetie was last seen around 3 a.m. Friday, in the vicinity of the Scully Hall student residence building. Her family asked Princeton to check on her Sunday night after not hearing from her for several days, the school said.

On Monday evening, university officials issued an alert that she was missing and asked for the campus community's help in locating her.

The evening before, Ewunetie, a junior, volunteered during a music event at the Terrace Club, one of Princeton's 11 eating clubs, according to the Daily Princetonian.

Many upperclassmen at the university socialize and eat their meals at the off-campus clubs. After the Terrace closed, she and other members on duty "left for the night," the club's student officers told the newspaper.

The school said Tuesday that authorities were using a helicopter, drones and watercraft in the search, and stepped up its law enforcement presence on campus as the efforts to find Ewunetie continued.

Ewunetie's brother, Universe Ewunetie, described her to NBC News as "a very smart, empathetic person who cares for people."

"She's loved and cared for, and we're missing her," he said.

The family is originally from Ethiopia, he told the outlet. Ewunetie grew up in Euclid, Ohio, and Princeton is her only connection to New Jersey, he said. He added that her phone appeared to lose connection Sunday.

In an interview with CNN, Sara Elagad, executive director of Minds Matter Cleveland, said Ewunetie graduated in 2020 from the nonprofit program, which is designed to prepare low-income, high-achieving students for success in college.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) sent a message of condolence via Twitter on Thursday, saying he was "heartbroken" by the news.

"Our hearts go out to her family, friends, and fellow students who knew and loved her," Murphy said in the tweet.

Princeton said the university is planning a memorial for Ewunetie and will announce details at a later time.

Ewunetie, 20, vanished a week ago after she was last seen brushing her teeth and heading into her dorm room on the elite Ivy League college’s New Jersey campus in the early hours of Friday.