Princeton University student Lauren Blackburn was found dead at Lake Carnegie on the morning of April 25, according to an email sent by Regan Crotty, Dean of Undergraduate Students.
Blackburn had been missing since April 19, last seen near Firestone Library. A search effort intensified earlier this week after a phone believed to belong to Blackburn was detected near the lake, prompting water rescue teams to begin a targeted search late Monday night.
Blackburn was an English major and a member of New College West. He was recently awarded the 2024 Sam Hutton Fund for the Arts and graduated from a high school in Indiana, according to local media reports.
In response to the news, a gathering will be held at 5 p.m. at the New College West Head of College House. Support staff from the Office of Religious Life, Counseling and Psychological Services, and residential life teams will be available to offer assistance to students and community members.
Blackburn's death marks the third undergraduate death at Princeton in the past two years, and the seventh since 2021. Previous deaths have been ruled suicides, though Crotty's message did not specify a cause of death in Blackburn's case.
