First responders recovered the 10-year-old who had been missing following Tuesday’s water emergency at Lake Macbride.
An Iowa City elementary school teacher and student died following Tuesday’s water emergency at Lake Macbride, the Iowa City Community School District confirmed Wednesday.
The district identified the victims as Hannah Jorgensen, 24, a fifth-grade teacher at Borlaug Elementary, and Ahmed Osman, 10, a fifth-grade student at the school.
The incident happened Tuesday during a Borlaug Elementary fifth-grade School of the Wild field trip at the MacBride Nature Recreation Area.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office responded around 12:10 p.m. Tuesday to a report of people in the water near the Coralville Reservoir spillway.
First responders recovered Jorgensen from the reservoir about half an hour later. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crews continued searching for Osman into Tuesday evening before suspending recovery efforts overnight. The search resumed Wednesday, and responders recovered Osman from the water at 1:24 p.m.
“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 district said in a statement Wednesday.
The district said counselors and additional support personnel will remain available at Borlaug Elementary in the days ahead as students and staff grieve.
“We know grief looks different for every person, and our focus will be on caring for our students and staff and giving them the time, space, and support they need,” the district said.
The district also thanked the first responders and agencies involved in the search and recovery efforts.
Numerous agencies assisted, including the Johnson County Metro Dive Team, Johnson County Emergency Management, several area fire departments, Johnson County Ambulance Service, University of Iowa Police, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol, UI Air Care and the Johnson County Medical Examiner. The Story County Sheriff’s Office also assisted Wednesday.
The district previously canceled School of the Wild field trips for the foreseeable future.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the incident.
