Law enforcement in South Africa has released a tragic update on the status of a missing American hiker. News 24 reported.
Brook Cheuvront, a 20-year-old from North Carolina, went missing in Cape Town on September 21 at around noon local time. She had been climbing Devil's Peak, the steep mountain that forms the backdrop of Cape Town. Her father, Steve, took to Facebook that day to spread the news of his missing daughter. “Please, please let her be found,” he wrote. “It will be daylight there in 90 minutes. Search and rescue. US ambassador aware. All resources being sent. I can fly out tomorrow [Sunday].”
Unfortunately, Cheuvront was found before his father could make the trip. A search party found the hiker dead around 1:00 a.m. on September 22, after apparently passing out on one of the trails. “The body of the missing hiker was found in an area that is part of Devil's Peak and was recovered by the EMS helicopter,” police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie reported. “An autopsy will be performed to determine the possible cause of death.”
On Sunday, Cheuvront's father shared a heartbreaking update on Facebook. “Please remove all posts looking for Brook. He is recovering. We are devastated. God help me and us,” he wrote.
Cheuvront was an avid hiker and explorer. He moved to South Africa last month after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was working with a local program that educated young men about gender-based violence and empowered young children in communities affected by gang violence. “I believe that great passion facilitates great learning,” he wrote on LinkedIn, “and I am an advocate for introducing complex issues at a level that brings all voices to the table.”