US Student, 20, Found Dead on South African Mountain

An American college student who disappeared on a hike in South Africa has been found dead on a Cape Town mountain. Brook Cheuvront, 20, was a University of North Carolina sophomore in South Africa for an internship at the University of Cape Town, CBS 17 reports. A friend says Cheuvront, a cross-country runner, was an avid hiker. She set out alone Saturday afternoon, and friends reported her missing after she didn't return and they couldn't reach her USA Today reports. Reports vary on where she was hiking, but some reports say it was Devil's Peak, which is in Table Mountain National Park. She was found dead on a hiking trail Sunday, News24 reports. Her cause of death is under investigation.

"She's such a beautiful soul, and it's horrible that we won't see who she'll be in the future," says a friend, echoing the many comments being made by those mourning Cheuvront. "I always thought if anyone could change the world, she could. ... She was just so passionate about the environment, and nature, and just learning." Cheuvront was the valedictorian of her high school's graduating class, and was a Morehead-Cain Scholar. "She worked her butt off on everything that she did, including getting into Chapel Hill and getting the Morehead-Cain," says one of her teachers. (More South Africa stories.)