Princeton student missing for days as possible key clue leads police to lake

Princeton University and its Department of Public Safety are currently on the lookout for a 23-year-old student who disappeared on April 19 after he was last spotted near a campus library.

Lauren Blackburn, 23, of Indiana, was spotted near the Firestone Library around 6 p.m. Saturday before his disappearance. 

The student is a former staff writer for the university’s newspaper, The Daily Princetonian.

The Vice President for Student Life, W. Rochelle Calhoun, stated in an email to students that she will provide an update as soon as more information becomes available and urged everyone to keep Lauren in their thoughts as efforts are made to find him, as reported by the student newspaper.

Lauren Blackburn's headshot

Princeton University student Lauren Blackburn has been missing from campus since Saturday, April 19. (Princeton University)

Blackburn, who had been known as an outstanding high school student, was selected as one of 2,500 students for the National Merit Scholarship in 2019 before commencing his studies at Princeton, as noted in a report by WAVE.

“He can read a book and know everything in it,” Kate Robinson, an English teacher at Corydon Central High School, told the outlet at the time. “I’m pretty sure he has a photographic memory.”

Blackburn seen in a yellow-orange t-shirt on surveillance footage

Blackburn was last seen “in the vicinity of Firestone Library wearing blue jeans with torn knees, a yellow t-shirt with a black, zippered hooded sweatshirt, and blue, flat bottom shoes,” Princeton said. (Princeton University)

Authorities reportedly began searching near Lake Carnegie in Princeton, saying a missing person’s phone was pinging in the area, according to WPVI.

Blackburn is 6-foot-2, weighs 170 pounds, and was last seen wearing blue jeans with tears in the knees, a yellow T-shirt and a black, zippered hooded sweatshirt. He has brown eyes and black hair.

Birds-eye view of Princeton University's campus

Princeton University authorities are searching near Lake Carnegie, saying a missing person’s phone was pinging in the area, according to WPVI. (iStock)

Authorities are asking anyone with information about Blackburn’s whereabouts to contact the Department of Public Safety at (609) 258-1000.

Fox News Digital reached out to Princeton University for updates in the search on Wednesday morning.

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