Body of Missing Student Lauren Blackburn ’26 Found at Lake Carnegie

Update: A report released by the Middlesex Country Medical Examiner on June 10 said that Blackburn died by suicide. 

If you or someone you know may have suicidal thoughts, you can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat online at 988lifeline.org. 

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Lauren Blackburn ’26

The body of a student who was reported missing on Tuesday was found at Lake Carnegie Friday morning, Princeton’s dean of undergraduate students told the campus community in an email Friday afternoon. 

Lauren Blackburn ’26, who went to high school in Indiana, was last seen on Saturday near Firestone Library. Crews have been searching the campus this week. A cause of death was not immediately released.

“We know that every member of our community joins us in sending our condolences to Lauren’s family, friends, and loved ones and in wishing them strength in this most difficult time,” Regan Crotty ’00 wrote in the email.

Blackburn is the ninth Princeton student to die since 2021. Three reportedly died by suicide and two were attributed to mental health struggles. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, student mental health became a greater topic of conversation on campus, and the Undergraduate Student Government’s mental health taskforce pushed for reforms, including the implementation of the Counseling and Psychological Services’ Cares line.