Police are looking into whether hazing played a role in the death of a Dartmouth College student whose body was found in a river over the weekend.
Won Jang, a member of the class of 2026, was reported missing on Sunday afternoon after last being seen at a social gathering the night before, at docks near the Connecticut River. Police searched the area with the help of a dive team, fish and game officers, and marine patrol. Several hours later, they found Jang’s body in the river approximately 65 feet offshore, according to a media release from the Hanover Police Department in New Hampshire.
Jang, 20, was a biomedical engineering major from Middletown, Delaware, who “enthusiastically took part in the Dartmouth community,” said Dartmouth’s Dean of the College Scott Brown, in a statement offering condolences to the community.
Two friends of Jang wrote in an email to The Dartmouth, the college’s student newspaper, that Jang had attended a joint event the night of July 6 between his fraternity, Beta Alpha Omega, and Alpha Phi, a sorority. The event had involved alcohol, the two friends said.
Police Chief Charles Dennis told WMUR-TV that they would be looking into the involvement of hazing.
“There is some evidence of alcohol involved, certainly from witnesses and talking with things like that,” he told the ABC affiliated news station. “Again, that’s all part of our investigation. We did receive an anonymous email this morning through the college that there may be some hazing involved, so we certainly will look into that aspect, too.”
A spokesperson for the college said in a statement Tuesday that Beta Alpha Omega and Alpha Phi were suspended amid the investigation.
Last fall, Dartmouth’s college newspaper reported that an unnamed incident led to the suspension of Beta Alpha Omega through the 2024 summer term, which began in June and will run until August. The same reporting found that Alpha Phi was put on alcohol probation last winter.
Police said that a cause of death for Jang has not been determined, but foul play is not suspected after an initial investigation.
Beta Alpha Omega and Alpha Phi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
