CAPE TOWN, South Africa (WBTV) – A student at the University of North Carolina was found dead after going on a hike in South Africa over the weekend, according to reports.
CBS News reported that the student, 20-year-old Brook Cheuvront, was hiking at Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town when she was reported missing on Saturday.
A South African National Parks (SANParks) spokesperson told CBS that the search for Cheuvront began after a tracking app she was using stopped updating and her friends were unable to contact her.
SANParks told CBS that her cause of death is unclear and that an investigation has been launched.
Cheuvront was a Morehead-Cain scholar at UNC, according to the scholarship’s website. A brief biography said she graduated from Avery County High School in Newland, where she participated in multiple clubs and sports. CBS reported that she was the valedictorian of her high school class and was in South Africa for an internship.
While officials have not yet released her cause of death, SANParks posted on social media Monday, addressing “reports suggesting that there are growing concerns of crime in Table Mountain National Park.”
SANParks said crime has “drastically decreased” within the past year and that the “unverifiable reports” are “speculative and may cause unnecessary alarm which undermines worthy and successful efforts.”
The parks system’s post did not reference Cheuvront’s case, nor if she is believed to have been the victim of a crime.
Park officials urge visitors to stay in groups of four or more, carefully choose routes and start activities early in the day.
More than 1.7 million people visited Table Mountain National Park last year.
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