Tragic update for Princeton University student who vanished from campus a week ago
The body of a Princeton University student has been found in a lake nearly one week after he mysteriously vanished from campus.
Lauren Blackburn, a 23-year-old junior from Indiana, was last seen at Princeton's main library, Firestone Library, around 6pm last Saturday before he seemingly disappeared, setting off a six-day extensive search effort, according to a university alert.
On Friday morning, authorities tragically found his body at Lake Carnegie - just a few short miles from where he was last seen.
'I am deeply saddened to share with you that the body of Lauren Blackburn '26 was found at Lake Carnegie this morning,' Regan Crotty, the university's dean of undergraduate students, said in a statement.
'It is during these difficult times that we must draw strength and support from one another and from those in our community who are available to us for counsel and care.'
On April 19, Blackburn was last seen near Firestone library, wearing ripped blue jeans, a yellow t-shirt, a black zip-up hoodie and blue, flat bottom shoes, according to the alert.
Search efforts began late Monday night into Tuesday, with teams focusing on Lake Carnegie after Blackburn's phone last pinged near the body of water, 6 ABC News reported.
Residents in the area were alarmed by the early morning search, as sonar units, drones and K-9 teams were deployed to scour the waters of the man-made lake.
'It's the scale of it,' resident Elizabeth Sheldon told 6 ABC about the massive search.
'Usually at 1.30 in the morning, this is a quiet parking lot and there's no activity,' she added. 'So it was highly unusual.'
However, Princeton announced on Friday morning that the 23-year-old's body was tragically found at the nearby lake.
His cause of death remains unknown.
Lake Carnegie, which is nine-feet deep and 35-feet from the shoreline, was constructed specifically for Princeton's rowing team back in 1906, according to the university.
Blackburn was described by those who knew him as being an extremely intelligent and kind young man.
'I have never, ever once heard him ever speak a bad word,' Karen York, Blackburn's high school science teacher, told WAVE News.
Kate Robinson, an English teacher at his former high school in Corydon, Indiana, said: 'He can read a book and know everything in it. I'm pretty sure he has a photographic memory.'
Before beginning his college career at Princeton, Blackburn was recognized as a National Merit Scholar in 2019, scoring a 1550 on his first SAT test and a 1580 out of 1600 on his second attempt.
In the spring of 2019, he was one of 300 people in the country accepted for the Gates Scholarship, which covers tuition, room, board and books - all to attend one of the world's most elite schools, WAVE reported.
'He's just so deserving, he is,' York told the outlet at the time of Blackburn's acceptance.
Blackburn toured several Ivy League universities before landing on Princeton.
'Princeton was my favorite because of the focus they put on their undergraduates,' Blackburn told the outlet at the time.
'I'm just very grateful that I don't have to worry about that and it's given me the opportunity to go to Princeton and receive a world-class education. I'm very grateful and feel very blessed,' he added.
'Princeton will allow me to study anything and get a world class education in anything.'
Though unsure of what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, Blackburn's educators had never doubted his chance of success.
'I know that he says he's not sure what he wants to do, but whatever he does, it's going to be amazing,' Robinson told WAVE in 2019. 'He's a pretty great kid.'
Princeton University held a gathering on Friday evening in the New College West Head of College House, where dozens of counselors were made available to heartbroken students and staff, The Daily Princetonian reported.
Blackburn's death is the third Princeton undergraduate death in two years and the seventh since 2021, according to the outlet.
All six previous deaths were ruled as suicides.
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Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control
Ben's mum was lured into the cult and gave her son up to be part of a 'master race' CULT OF BLONDE My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control BEN Shenton was just 18 months old when his mother gave him up to a well-spoken blonde woman who swore she'd give him the best life possible. Little did she know her decision would put Ben through years of abuse at the hands of a woman who believed she was Jesus Christ reborn. 9 Ben Shenton was handed over to a cult leader Credit: BBC 9 Anne Hamilton-Bryne's 'children' were forced to bleach their hair and wear matching clothes Credit: BBC Handout 9 Anne believed she was Jesus Christ reborn and became the leader of the notorious Australian cult Images of Ben show a happy young boy, but the reality was entirely different - as the youngster was forced to become part of a notorious cult known as 'The Family'. Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who Ben would grow up to know as his mother, became the leader of the cult based in Australia, which drugged and beat him. He had no idea of his life before Anne, as she went to great lengths to keep his adoption a secret, even bleaching his hair platinum blond like hers and his new 'siblings'. Despite abusing more than 20 children, including Ben, Anne and her husband and cult co-leader, Bill Hamilton-Byrne, never faced justice. Now, over four decades on from the abuse, Ben shares his story of growing up in the "Kai Lama" compound, where children were locked in with barbed wire and tortured. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Anne first started out as a yoga teacher before turning to a more 'spiritual life' and eventually believing she was Jesus Christ reincarnated. She was born with the name Evelyn and had three marriages in total - the first coming to an end when her husband died in a car crash, which led to her 'spiritual awakening.' She met English physicist Dr Raynor Johnson in 1963 and the following year, they set up a group dedicated to spreading a surreal combination of Christianity and Hinduism, with Hamilton-Byrne at its centre. Her final husband, Bill, became the person who led the doomsday cult with her in the 1960s, when the world faced existential threats like nuclear warfare, the Vietnam War and the spread of communism. Anne was able to rope people into the cult through yoga lessons, meetings at her house once a week, and then three times a week, until she built the compound on land near her house for them to move into. Inside a 'mind-controlling' CULT which 'forced mum and daughter to hit each other' and chose Fiji as the 'promised land' Anne came across as beautiful, well-spoken and nurturing, so it's no surprise Ben's mum was easily convinced he'd have a better life with her. Ben said Anne manipulated his mother into giving him up in 1970, convincing her that 'only she could give me the best life possible'. The pair consistently preyed on vulnerable people like Ben's mum, Joy, who had suffered a back injury and felt she could not look after him anymore. They also started recruiting people into their cult by approaching patients from Newhaven Hospital in Kew, a private psychiatric facility run and operated by various members of The Family, who targeted vulnerable patients, subjecting them to heavy doses of LSD and electroshock therapy. She and husband Hamilton-Byrne took children through illegal adoptions, allowing the cult to grow in numbers before imprisoning them in a strict home-schooling environment at a rural property near Eildon in Victoria. 9 At one point, Anne had 28 children in her care Credit: Label Distribution 9 She convinced parents to give her their children Using lawyers, social workers, and doctors to forgo official channels, they were able to forge birth documents and raise over a dozen children to believe they were the birth children of the Hamilton-Byrnes. When children were born inside the compound to cult members, they were raised to believe their birth mothers were instead among a handful of 'aunts', who gave out brutal punishments for whatever they saw fit. PICTURE PERFECT FAMILY From the outside, the family looked picture-perfect as they lived on their compound in Victoria, Australia. Life at Kai Lama seemed healthy and even advanced for its years; it featured yoga, exercise, vegetarian meals, meditation and education. Ben lived on the remote property and was raised alongside dozens of other children for 13 years and recalls living with 28 other kids at one point. "Growing up, it was Anne and Bill, they were mum and dad; and then there were foster kids, and they were kids of other sect members, who would either come up on weekends or stay there for stints of a couple of years," Ben, told the BBC. "The greatest amount of kids at any given stage was 28," he added. Anne and Bill brought up the children as their own, even dressing them in matching outfits and dying their hair bleach blond to appear like a real family. I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. Anne Hamilton-Byrne "We were her children. We were different ages. We'd line up von Trapp style (like) The Sound of Music, which we'd watch, dressed in outfits that matched and that was just what we were asked to do," he told the True Crimes Conversation podcast. "You look back on that and you see it's choreographed. "It crafted a belief that she had these children, which she didn't. We were all either adopted or handed over." In an interview years after the children were finally taken from her, Anne said: 'I wanted them to look like brothers and sisters - I must admit this. 'I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. It was beautiful - it was lovely to see.' Asked why she imprisoned 28 children over two decades, she responded: 'I love children.' 9 Ben Shenton pictured after being removed from the cult Credit: Ben Shenton 9 Ben (pictured front right) and his 'silbings' were the targets of abuse for years Credit: BBC UNDER WRAPS But in reality, the children were subjected to years of beatings, mind games, isolation, and forced to take drugs by the cult leader, who had convinced more than 500 people she was Jesus Christ. The couple had convinced their followers they were making a 'master race' while teaching a mixture of Christianity and Hinduism. Ben recalls one form of torture Anne liked to perform on the children was waterboarding. It's a method of torture that creates such horrific psychological pain that its use has even been banned in the US military. "We were all lined up. We were belted. Our head held under the bucket of water, interrogated," he said. "Held there until you thought you were suffocating, brought back out again. "Horrendous experience. It caused nightmares. "These things shape your personality." Ben recalls seeing his siblings being beaten with a belt, and says they were given LSD 'as part of an initiation ritual.' 'I was watching her being belted with a buckle and she's being beaten to the point where she's wriggling out of her clothes,' he said of his sister, Sarah. 'Hearing her body smash across the balustrades - it was horrendous to know they had the power to do that and would do it,' he told the MailOnline. She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative. Ben Shenton Ben says Anne's most effective tactic was to keep the children from forming bonds with each other to keep them all in line. To weed out misdeeds in the children, Anne would perform group interrogations by beating them until someone came clean. Ben said he stayed compliant to avoid punishment. "This was the evil genius of her. She understood that if she could separate us, isolate us, make it so that we couldn't build relationships with one another and punish us, then she could control us," he said. "Anyone who's lived under domestic violence will know the living with fear, the walking on eggshells, the currying favour of those in authority, or the absolute rejection of them, the hatred of them, the love-hate relationship. "It's domestic abuse on steroids," he said. Now, Ben believes Anne was a sociopath or psychopath. "She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative," he said. 'The Family' Cult Timeline 1968 The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. 1974 An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. 1978 Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. 1983 Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. 1987 (14 August) Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. The children are removed from the sect and placed into care. 1987 (Oct/Nov) Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. 1987 (12 December) Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. 1989 (about June) Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. 1989 (11 December) Operation Forest Task Force commences. Operation Forest Task Force commences. 1993 (4 June) Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. 1993 (17 August) Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. 1993 (31 August) Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. 1994 In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. 2001 Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. 2019 At 97, Anne lives in the dementia wing of a suburban Melbourne nursing home. CAUGHT IN THE ACT It wasn't until 1987 that the cult was finally searched by 100 police officers and the children were rescued. At the time, a 15-year-old Ben was doing his scheduled yoga class when police stormed in. His sister, Sarah Moore, had managed to escape the cult at 17 and headed straight to the police to tell them what was going on. Not taking any chances, police stormed the property and rescued six children, including Ben. While he was reluctant to go with them at first, he soon realised this was his path to freedom. He recalls: 'I think I got this epiphanal moment, realising this is the ticket out of here. So I just I let go, and I went with them." It was only then that Ben found out he was not their biological son and was handed over by his mother Joy, who stayed in the cult as an 'aunt'. At the time, Anne was in Hawaii while Bill stayed on the compound, but he wasn't arrested. Later, he went to New York to meet Anne before the pair were arrested and extradited back to Australia. While many of the children came forward with claims of abuse, both Anne and Bill were only charged with conspiracy to defraud and perjury by falsely registering the birth of triplets. The pair were spared jail and fined just £2,300 each for the crime. Detective Lex de Man, who investigated the case, says evidence of abuse was unable to be taken to court despite multiple victims coming forward. Justice was not done. Ben Shenton Detective de Man recently told The Age: 'My only regret is she was never held totally to account for the misery she caused to the former cult children. 'I have no sympathy for the woman I consider the most evil person I ever met in my police career.' LIFE NOW Ben moved into foster care when he left the cult, and while lying on his bunk bed with fresh pyjamas and a meal in his tummy, he realised he'd never go back to The Family again "I realised then I (didn't) have to do this anymore, I'm free. I don't need to go back," he said. "That, to me, was when I shut the door." Four decades on, Ben is a proud husband to Rajes and a dad to Ellie and Callum, who live in Perth, Australia. He has written a book on his time in the cult, Life Behind the Wire, and runs the organisation, Rescue The Family, to raise awareness on cult manipulation. In 2019, Anne passed away while in a Melbourne care home at the age of 98 and Ben has reconnected with his biological mother. "What Anne did was evil. She used the name of Christ to give herself validity. She used a belief system," Ben said. "Justice was not done." 9 Now Ben educates others on manipulation after his own experience Credit: SBS Productions
Glasgow Times
9 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Israel says it has recovered the bodies of two hostages from Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai had been recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. 'Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the dear families. Our hearts ache for the most terrible loss. May their memory be blessed,' he said in a statement. Kibbutz Nir Oz announced the deaths of Ms Weinstein, 70, and Mr Haggai, 72, both of whom had Israeli and US citizenship, in December 2023. The military said they were killed in the October 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. The army said it recovered the remains of Ms Weinstein and Mr Haggai overnight into Thursday from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The couple were taking an early morning walk near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of October 7 when Hamas militants burst across the border into Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. In the early hours of the morning, Ms Weinstein was able to call emergency services and let them know that both she and her husband had been shot and send a message to her family. The couple were survived by two sons and two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said. Ms Weinstein was born in New York and taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety as a result of rocket fire from Gaza. Mr Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician. 'My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty,' their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and US governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages. Hamas-led militants are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement on Thursday (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File) At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis overnight, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. It was not immediately clear if the strikes were related to the recovery mission. In Gaza City, three local reporters were killed and six people were wounded in a strike on the courtyard of the al-Ahli Hospital, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It did not immediately identify the journalists or say which outlets they worked for. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports on the strike at al-Ahli. The army says it targets only militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is embedded in populated areas. More than 180 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the vast majority of them in Gaza, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has said many of those killed in its strikes were militants posing as reporters. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly two million Palestinians. The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker another ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended an earlier truce in March and imposed a blockade that has raised fears of famine, despite being eased in recent weeks. But the talks appear to be deadlocked. Hamas says it will release the remaining hostages only in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It has offered to hand over power to a politically independent Palestinian committee. Mr Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will only agree to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the return of hostages. He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. He has said Israel will maintain control over Gaza indefinitely and will facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries. The Palestinians and much of the international community have rejected such plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion that could violate international law.
Edinburgh Live
10 hours ago
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh motorbike owner warns 'tourists will stop coming' unless thefts tackled
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A motorbike owner is fighting for Edinburgh Council to install ground anchors in the city centre to deter heartless thieves. Alan Shepherd, a geologist from Warriston, started the petition after he visited Westminster where the local London council introduced sunken ground anchors for riders to use. He claimed this has been important in tackling motorbike theft in the English capital and he would like to see something similar in Scotland. Alan has himself had two bikes stolen in the past 30 years and he believes one of those thefts could have been prevented if ground anchor infrastructure was in place in the city centre. The 54-year-old added the measure is low cost but could have a massive impact on not only domestic riders but tourists who often travel from Europe to Edinburgh on bike tours only to be targeted by bike stealing gangs. 'I've been riding bikes ever since I passed my test back in 1997,' Alan said. 'I've had two bikes stolen in that time, one on McDonald Road but another outside my office five years ago in the city centre. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sentstraight to your messages. 'A bike anchor could have prevented this as the thieves essentially just picked up the bike with a lock attached and put it into the back of a van. Locals are obviously targeted but on the Stolen Motorbikes facebook page you often see tourists in Edinburgh who park their bike up in the New Town only to find it has been stolen when they wake up the next day. 'I was in London at the tail end of last year and Westminster have put in sunken ground anchors which gives riders a fixed point to secure their bike, preventing vehicles from being lifted into the back of vans.' Alan's bike which was stolen five years ago was a classic 1970 bike which he put hundreds of hours into modifying and restoring. He said the insurance value of the bike did not come close to balancing out the time and effort put into it. 'Motobikes are not just a utility,' he added. 'They are something you invest time and love into. 'I was absolutely gutted when my old classic bike was stolen. It felt disgusting as that is someone who has helped themselves to your property. 'I worked hard to build the bike up from the ground. And I have a lot of sympathy for tourists who come to the capital on modified bikes they've spent hundreds of hours working on. 'Sometimes when they arrive in Edinburgh they are half way round Europe on a trip and are left with no transport when their bike is stolen. They could have ten hotels booked across Scotland with no means of getting to them. 'These are people who come to our city and country with money and boost our economy. I fear they may think the city is becoming too unsafe for motorbike tourists and they might not bother coming at all. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox 'It is hard to tell if the problem is getting worse or if more people are active about the issue but it does feel like it is worse than it has ever been. I was sat in Morningside and seen three youths on bikes with no helmets or license plates doing wheelies about the place. 'All well relying on police stopping them but the bike anchors are a practical cost effective way to prevent thefts.' The council have been approached for comment. You can support his petition here.
