College student found dead in river after friends gather near docks, NH officials say
A 20-year-old Dartmouth College student’s body was found nearly a day after he met with friends near docks along the Connecticut River, New Hampshire officials said.
Won Jang’s friends last saw him when they gathered near the university’s boathouse along the river around 9:30 p.m. July 6 in Hanover, according to a July 8 New Hampshire Fish and Game news release.
He was considered missing in the late afternoon of July 7, when he “did not show up for an engagement,” officials said.
Jang’s body was found in the river, about 65 feet offshore around 7:30 p.m. that day, after police, local fire departments and New Hampshire Fish and Game searched the water, police said in a July 7 news release.
Authorities do not believe foul play was involved in Jang’s death, according to authorities. An investigation is underway, they said.
Jang was an undergraduate student majoring in biomedical engineering. He was highly involved in academic and extracurricular activities at Dartmouth College, according to a campus-wide email from Scott Brown, the university’s dean, The Dartmouth reported.
“Won wholeheartedly embraced opportunities at Dartmouth to pursue his academic and personal passions,” Brown said, according to the student newspaper. “He enthusiastically took part in the Dartmouth community.”
Jang was on the university’s snowboarding team, was in a fraternity and started a band, according to Dartmouth College, WMUR-TV reported.
After Jang was reported missing on July 7, first responders began searching for him around 3:15 p.m at the Connecticut River, which flows through Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut, police said.
“Items found near the dock indicated that Jang hadn’t left the river area,” New Hampshire Fish and Game said in the news release.
The department’s marine patrol unit located Jang’s body with an underwater camera, according to officials. The search efforts also involved divers, a boat and drone.
Jang’s cause of death is unknown, according to police, who said the medical examiner’s office responded after his body was found.
Anyone who may have information about Jang’s death can call the Hanover Police Department at 603-643-2222.
Dartmouth College is about a 130-mile drive northwest from Boston.
This story was originally published July 8, 2024 at 10:26 AM with the headline "College student found dead in river after friends gather near docks, NH officials say."
.jpg)