A Korean American college student, enrolled in a prestigious university in the United States, was found dead a day after going missing, prompting a police investigation.
The police are investigating the possibility of an alcohol-related accident based on reports that the student attended an “informal social gathering at docks” the day before he went missing.
According to the Hanover Police Department in New Hampshire, Dartmouth College undergraduate Won Jang (20) was found dead near the Connecticut River, not far from the school, on July 7.
Jang was last seen at an unofficial social gathering held at the Dartmouth boathouse near the campus around 9:30 p.m. on July 6. He went missing after that and was reported missing the next day when he did not show up for another event he was supposed to attend.
The Hanover Police Department, along with the Fire Department, New Hampshire Fish and Game, and other agencies, immediately launched a search operation around the area where Jang was last seen.
Divers, drones, and underwater cameras were used in the search. Authorities reported finding Jang’s personal items near the dock during the search. Jang’s body was discovered around 7:30 p.m. on the same day, approximately 65 feet away from shore.
Authorities have stated that the cause of Jang’s death is currently unknown but does not appear to be a homicide. “So we have received some emails that were forwarded to us from the College that were sent anonymously listing some of those concerns that hazing or potentially alcohol may be involved so that will certainly be part of our investigation as we move forward through this process,” Hanover Police Chief Charles Dennis said.
BY SUAH JANG, YOUNGNAM KIM [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
