The body of a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student was found Sunday after she went missing the day before in South Africa.

Brook Cheuvront was reported missing Saturday around noon South African Standard Time (SAST) after she left to hike Devils Peak at Table Mountain National Park near Cape Town.

Other WRAL Top Stories

After an extensive search, her body was found Sunday afternoon on the mountain.

Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie of the Western Cape Police said an inquest case has been opened into Cheuvront's death. He said an autopsy will be conducted to determine the possible cause of death.

Her father, Steve Cheuvront, asked people to take down the Facebook posts about his missing daughter – saying her body had been found.

"She was recovered, we are devastated. God help me and us," Steve Cheuvront said on Facebook.

According to Brook Cheuvront's Instagram page, she was in South Africa on a internship with Justice Desk Africa, an organization that work along side several groups, governments and businesses around the world to "challenge and eliminate the root causes of injustice."

The group was founded in 2013 and operates out of several countries in Africa, including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Liberia, Ghana and Kenya.

Timeline 

Saturday 

Noon: Brook Cheuvront leaves to go hike Devils Peak at Table Mountain National Park.

South African National Parks (SANP) said it was reported that she left around noon SAST to go up the mountain.

Afternoon: She is reported missing. The search begins.

SANP said Metro Emergency told the Table Mountain National Park Operations room that a hiker was reported missing on Table Mountain.

According to SANP, it was reported that her friends had not heard from her since she left, and the tracking app never updated after she left her residence.

SANP said an initial search was conducted by park rangers, Wilderness Search and Rescue crews and trail runners until late Saturday evening.

Evening: The search concludes for the day.

Sunday

Morning: The search resumes.

SANP said the search resumed Sunday morning, with crews searching on foot.

Crews still hadn't found her, so the City of Cape Town’s piloted aircraft was deployed to assist with the search, according to SANP.

Afternoon: Brook Cheuvront's body is found.

Around 2 p.m. SAST, local authorities said they found Cheuvront's body on the slopes of the mountain in an area of Devils Peak.

Morehead-Cain scholar remembered as someone who wanted to make a difference in the world

Cheuvront was a recipient of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a merit-based scholarship program that provides a full ride to UNC. The scholarship program also includes funding for internships, independent research, and international study.

Todd Boyette, Director of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, said he met Cheuvront when she was interviewing for the scholarship.

"A very good person, so it was easy for me to say, 'If you come to Carolina, you can work at Morehead, no doubt,'" he said. "She worked at Morehead every week [and] almost every weekend during the school year, so I got to see her quite a bit."

He said she told him how excited she was to travel to South Africa.

"She was excited about the opportunities and the possibilities, and we had no idea, well none of us did, that we wouldn't see her again," he said. "Just tragic. Tragic."

Before attending UNC, Cheuvront was a student at Avery County High School, where she was the captain of the school's cross country team and the valedictorian of her graduating class in 2022.

Dr. Coleman Bailey, who mentored Cheuvront in high school, said he was proud of her receiving the scholarship.

"It was the pinnacle of everything she had put in place so she'd have the resources necessary to truly make a difference in this world," he said. "For the program to have taken her to a different continent and given her those experiences, I'm sure she was was very excited, and it comes as a shock to everyone here."

Bailey said students will wear UNC colors in her honor at school on Monday. Boyette said he was glad to have known Cheuvront for as long as he did.

"I'm awfully glad to have gotten to know her, and I'm glad she found us and we found her," he said. "She had some great days ahead at Morehead."

In wake of this tragedy, Table Mountain National Park Management would like to remind visitors to take note of the following safety tips:

  • Do activities in groups. We recommend four or more.
    • Choose your route carefully and stick to it.
      • Allow yourself enough time – start early.
        • Inform someone of your route and what time you are expected back.
          • Always wear waterproof clothing and walking shoes or hiking boots.
            • Save the Table Mountain National Park emergency number in your phone before setting off:
              • The Table Mountain National Park emergency number is 086-110-6417. To reach Wilderness Search and Rescue, call 021-937-0300 or dial 112.