Princeton University junior Lauren Blackburn, who had been missing for nearly a week, was found dead on Friday morning (local time) at Lake Carnegie, near the New Jersey campus, Princeton’s Department of Public Safety confirmed.
“I am deeply saddened to share with you that the body of Lauren Blackburn ’26 was found at Lake Carnegie this morning. Our hearts are heavy and we share our deepest condolences with Lauren’s family and friends,” Dean of Undergraduate Students Regan Crotty wrote in a letter to the school community.
The cause of death has not yet been released. Blackburn, 23, was last seen near Firestone Library at around 6 pm on April 19, according to the university. His phone was later pinged near the man-made lake, prompting authorities to begin a water search on the night of April 21.
Lake Carnegie, a 263-acre reservoir donated by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie at a cost equivalent to about $9.5 million today, sits just south of campus near Princeton’s athletic complex, about a mile from the library where Blackburn was last seen.
According to the Daily Princetonian, Blackburn had been a former features writer for the student newspaper and recently won the 2024 Sam Hutton Fund for the Arts, an award supporting summer study, travel, and independent research through the Lewis Center for the Arts.
Originally from Corydon, Indiana, Blackburn graduated from Corydon Central High School. As a high school senior in 2019, he received both a National Merit Scholarship and a Gates Scholarship, making headlines locally. Teachers described him as a student with an extraordinary memory and a kind personality. “He can read a book and know everything in it,” English teacher Kate Robinson told WAVE then. Science teacher Karen York added, “I have never, ever once heard him ever speak a bad word.”
Blackburn’s death marks the seventh undergraduate death at Princeton since 2021, with the Daily Princetonian noting that all previous six deaths were ruled suicides.
TODAY.com reported that the Department of Public Safety led the search with support from regional law enforcement agencies, and authorities had earlier warned the campus community of an increased police presence during the search.
NBC News, citing a prior interview, also shared footage from Blackburn’s high school days, highlighting his full scholarship to Princeton and the praise he received from his teachers.
Authorities have not provided further details, and TODAY.com has reached out to officials for additional comment.
