A 20-year-old American college student who went missing while hiking on South Africa’s Table Mountain this weekend has been found dead, authorities said.
In a statement to USA Today on Monday, the South African National Parks Service (SANParks) confirmed that staff at Table Mountain in Cape Town received an urgent report of a missing hiker on Saturday.
The hiker, identified as 20-year-old Brooke Chevron, had set out on a mountain climb that afternoon. SANParks said her tracking app had not updated since she set off and her friends reported her missing after she failed to return from a solo trip and could not be contacted.
That night, park rangers, Wilderness Search and Rescue personnel, and trail runners were deployed to search on foot. The search resumed the following morning, and a City of Cape Town aircraft eventually found Chevron’s body.
SANParks said her body was found on the slope of a mountain and the cause of death was under investigation.
Brooke Chevron was ‘kind-hearted’ and ‘intelligent’, family and friends say
As originally reported by CBS affiliate WNCN, Chevront, a native of Newland, North Carolina, was a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and was doing an internship at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Chevron’s family took to Facebook on Sunday to ask friends and family to remove posts they had made during the search for Brooke.
“She has recovered. We are heartbroken. God help me and us,” it read.
“Brooke was a bright light to all who met her,” a Facebook post from a family friend read. “She was a wonderful person in every sense of the word. She grew up with my children. This is a loss for all who knew her.”
Other stories about Brooke shared online describe her as “kind,” “selfless,” “gentle,” “funny” and “smart.”
“Grateful to have grown up with such a special person,” one friend said in eulogy.
Mountain Safety
In the wake of this tragedy, SANParks has published a list of safety best practices for hikers. While these were shared specifically by the Table Mountain National Park Authority, the guidelines are useful advice for hikers in general.
Work in groups – Table Mountain management recommends a minimum of four people. Choose your route carefully and stick to it. Leave early and allow plenty of time. Tell someone your route and what time you plan to return. Always wear waterproof clothing and walking shoes or hiking boots. Save the relevant emergency number (in this case the Table Mountain National Park emergency number) in your phone before you set off.
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