Teacher, Student Found Dead After Iowa School Trip Water Incident
By Andrew Powell (/journals/andrew-powell)
An Iowa elementary school teacher and one of her 10-year-old students died after a water incident during a fifth-grade field trip at Lake Macbride State Park, authorities said. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Hannah Jorgensen, 24, of Tiffin, and Ahmed Osman, 10, of Iowa City, according to Fox News. Both were members of the Borlaug Elementary School community. Deputies responded shortly after noon Tuesday to a report of people in the water near the Coralville Reservoir spillway. First responders recovered an adult from the reservoir at about 12:43 p.m., and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities continued searching for a missing juvenile throughout Tuesday evening before suspending the recovery operation overnight. Crews resumed the search Wednesday and recovered the child from the water at approximately 1:24 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. The Iowa City Community School District said the incident occurred during a “School of the Wild” field trip at the MacBride Nature Recreation Area. Jorgensen was a fifth-grade teacher at Borlaug, while Osman was a fifth-grade student there. The district said it was “heartbroken” over the deaths and said the loss was being felt throughout Borlaug Elementary and the broader school district. Counselors and additional support personnel were made available at the school as students and staff dealt with the deaths. The district said its thoughts were with the victims’ families, classmates, colleagues, friends and other members of the school community. More than a dozen agencies took part in the search and recovery operation. The responding organizations included the Johnson County Metro Dive Team, local fire departments, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and medical personnel. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds also expressed condolences to the school community, saying the loss affected the Borlaug Elementary community and Iowa City Community School District. Jorgensen previously worked at Garner Elementary, where she served as a paraeducator for several school years and completed her practicum and student teaching. The school described her as a caring educator who was willing to go above and beyond for students. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said the incident remains under investigation. Authorities have not released additional details about what led to the two deaths. Watch the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEiIN02sr6o