The bodies of an elementary school student and the teacher who tried to save him were recovered from a reservoir after tragedy struck during a field trip.
The bodies of Ahmed Osman, 10, and Hannah Jorgensen, 24, were both recovered after the trip to the Macbride Nature Recreation Area, The Gazette reported. The trip was part of the School of the Wild, sponsored by the University of Iowa, designed to get kids into nature.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were first alerted to “subjects in the water at Lake Macbride State Park near the Coralville Reservoir spillway,” at 12:10 p.m. local time on Sept. 22, according to the newspaper.
Jorgenson’s body was found on Tuesday about half an hour later, the sheriff said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
First responders searched the water for Ahmed but had to stop overnight and resumed early Wednesday morning.
Ahmed’s body was found on Wednesday in the reservoir.
She was a fifth-grade teacher at Borlaug Elementary School in Coralville, Iowa. He was a student there.
“Hannah and Ahmed were deeply valued members of our school district community, and their loss is being felt throughout Borlaug and across our district,” the Iowa City Community School District said in a statement, according to ABC News. “Our hearts are with their families and loved ones, as well as Hannah’s colleagues and students, Ahmed’s classmates and friends, and everyone who knew and cared for them.”
The sheriff said in a Facebook news release that the investigation continues into their deaths.
KCRG reported they’re still trying to determine how Jorgenson and Ahmed initially got into the water.
The University of Iowa has suspended the School of the Wild program, the Iowa City Press-Citizen, KWWL and KCRG reported.
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