Tragic Update in Case of American Hiker Missing in South Africa

Law enforcement officials in South Africa have issued a tragic update in the case of a missing American hiker, News 24 reported.

Brook Cheuvront, a 20-year-old resident of North Carolina, went missing in Cape Town around noon local time on Sept. 21. She was hiking up Devil’s Peak, the steep mountain which serves as Cape Town’s backdrop. Her father, Steve, took to Facebook that day to spread word of his missing daughter. "Please, please, let her be found,” he wrote. “It will be daylight there in 90 min. Search and rescue. The US ambassador is aware. All resources will be sent. I may be flying over tomorrow [Sunday].”

Tragically, Cheuvront was found before her father made the journey. A search party found the hiker dead at around 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 22 after she had apparently collapsed on one of the trails. "The body of the missing hiker was found in an area which is part of Devil's Peak, and was retrieved by EMS helicopter," police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie reported. "An autopsy will be conducted to determine the possible cause of death.”

On Sunday, Cheuvront’s father posted a heartbreaking update to Facebook. "Please take down all posts looking for Brook. She was recovered. We are devastated. God help me and us,” he wrote.

Cheuvront was an avid hiker and explorer. She relocated to South Africa last month after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was working with a local program which worked to educate young men about gender-based violence and empower young children from communities who suffer from gang-related violence. “I believe that great passion facilitates great learning,” she wrote on LinkedIn, “and I am an advocate for introducing complex issues on a level that brings all voices to the table.”