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The body of Misrach Ewunetie, 20, from Ohio, was found on Princeton’s campus on Thursday, six days after she vanished. Police do not suspect foul play
A Princeton student who was found dead on Thursday near her campus had her cell phone on her, police said – despite her family saying it ‘pinged’ on Sunday away from the university.
Misrach Ewunetie, 20, from Ohio, was last seen on October 14 at around 3am near Princeton University’s Scully Hall, the residential building where she lived.
Her body was located near the university’s tennis courts on Thursday, according to multiple law enforcement sources who spoke to NBC 4.
Ewunetie’s family, who immigrated from Ethiopia in 2008, raised the alarm on Sunday, and said that they used the Find My Phone app to determine that the phone ‘pinged’ near Montgomery Township – a district several miles from the campus.
The ping was located at a New Jersey housing complex near Penns Neck.
The student’s phone was found near her body, police said on Thursday, according to Fox News, and they do not believe it was planted.
It is not yet known whether the phone ‘ping’ was inaccurate, or whether Ewunetie went to the site and came back.
Police do not believe she was involved in a struggle.
‘Her death does not appear suspicious or criminal in nature,’ said Mercer County Prosecutors Office.
No further details on a cause of death have been shared, and an autopsy will now be performed.
Misrach Ewunetie, 20, was last seen on October 14 at around 3am near Princeton University’s Scully Hall, the residential building where she lived
Ewunetie was found in this relatively remote area of Princeton campus
It sits behind its tennis courts and the school’s Recreation Department facilities
Officials are pictured near the scene, which lies on the northwest edge of the campus
The young student’s remains were found in a remote area of the Ivy League campus, which is only open to authorized badge holders.
She had volunteered at Princeton’s Terrace Club for a live music event the night she was last seen.
It had been a last minute arrangement, after another person who was meant to be working the event dropped out.
Her body was located 1.5 miles from her dwelling, in an area near State Road by the university’s Recreation Department which houses a walking trail, community pool and sports facilities.
Ewunetie’s disappearance triggered a multi-day hunt for her whereabouts that resulted in drones, helicopters and watercraft vehicles being deployed around the Ivy League university.
W. Rochelle Calhoun, Princeton’s vice president for campus life, called Ewunetie’s death an ‘unthinkable tragedy.’
‘Our hearts go out to her family, her friends and the many others who knew and loved her,’ she said in a statement.
‘We are planning an opportunity for students to join together and remember Misrach.
‘Information about the gathering will be shared separately when details are known.’
Several helicopters and drones were also deployed to try and find the missing 20-year-old
Misrach had volunteered at Princeton’s Terrace Club for a live music event the night she was last seen
Campus police had visited Ewunetie’s housing estate three times and conducted a search with dogs, but were unable to enter any properties due to a lack of search warrants.
Earlier this week, Ewunetie’s brother, Universe, claimed his family had not been getting the full details from police about their search.
‘There’s no constant update or interaction with us,’ Universe told CNN. ‘We’re really kept in the dark.’
Police officials had told Universe that the investigation was going to take time.
‘That’s one thing we don’t have,’ he said. ‘We don’t have time.’
Misrach Ewunetie is pictured with her brother Universe. He said the family were desperately seeking answers
Universe Ewunetie, Misrach’s brother, says the family has been ‘kept in the dark’ by police in their search for the undergraduate who vanished
Pictured: Scully Hall on Princeton’s campus where Misrach was last seen
Terrace Club is one of the non-private clubs at Princeton, requiring members to only sign up for membership, and is not associated with the university.
The clubs are for upperclassmen at the school to eat lunches and participate in various activities.
Other clubs require prospective members to apply for membership.
She was a member on ‘duty’ — performing housekeeping tasks during a live music performance at the club.
That night, the club was hosting Raavi with Jackie Marchal, according to its Instagram page.
After the club had closed and all of the responsibilities had been fulfilled, Misrach, together with other members on duty, left for the night.
Following the event ‘she went back to her dorm at 3am’ her brother said.
‘Her roommates said they saw her at 3am. Then another roommate of hers said she didn’t see her after 4am, and then after that no one has seen her.
‘Her housemates didn’t look for her because they assumed she went home.
‘With the pandemic, the first year they were not on campus, so that was difficult for her and for a lot of people,’ Universe explained.
‘But this year she’s been trying to get in this Terrace Club, and that was her way of making friends.’
Pictured: The advertisement for Terrace Club’s event on October 13, the night Misrach volunteered
Ewunetie was a 2020 graduate of the Minds Matter Cleveland program, which works to help high-achieving low-income students.
Sara Elagad, executive director of the nonprofit told CNN that her former student’s disappearance was very out of character.
‘It is not at all in character for her to purposely go off the radar or be out of touch with family,’ Elagad said.
Ewunetie was valedictorian of her high school and was majoring in sociology with a minor in computer science at Princeton, according to Planet Princeton.
Her family said her disappearance was all the more unsettling after she missed a meeting regarding a citizenship application the following day.
‘She is the gem of the house, [my parents’] only daughter and the youngest,’ Universe said.
‘She is very loved.’
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