A University of Michigan student has been found dead following a daylong search that began when he left a fraternity party in just a T-shirt and jeans in sub-zero winter weather conditions.
Engineering student Lucas Mattson, 19, was last seen walking without a coat at around 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23, as temperatures plummeted as low as 0 degrees, according to the University of Michigan’s Division of Public Safety and Security.
His body was found Saturday night following a 20-hour search in “extreme cold conditions,” police said.
Authorities said that there are no obvious signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected. The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death.
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Mattson was reported missing to the Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) 15 hours after he was noticed missing at 1 a.m.
The nearly 20-hour search effort to locate him took place in extreme cold conditions and included officers from AAPD and University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security, as well as the University of Michigan Police Department Drone Unit, the agency said.
Authorities said that Mattson was last seen wearing a light colored T-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers when he disappeared from the fraternity party.
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“Please join me in extending our deepest condolences to Lucas’s family, friends, and all who loved him,” University of Michigan interim president Domenico Grasso said in a statement, warning against “misinformation” spreading about his death around the school community.
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Grasso also said he has asked school officials to retrace the events of the night Mattson disappeared “to better understand what transpired and identify possible steps to help prevent similar tragedies in the future.”
“I am grateful for the outpouring of support from so many people worried about Lucas’s welfare, including those who searched for him in extremely difficult weather conditions,” the university president said.
