US student drowns in Kunene River

A STUDENT from the United States, who was on a three-month wildlife ecology programme in Namibia, drowned in the Kunene River over the Easter weekend.

Thad Hammon Owens (27), a student at the University of Florida, went missing on Thursday near the Epupa falls in the Kunene Region.He was last seen trying to swim across the Kunene River, which is flowing fast after a good rainy season.Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu of the Police public relations department confirmed Owens’s death yesterday. ‘I spoke to the Police Regional Commander, Mandume Shufanono, who said the body of thestudent was found on Sunday after an intensive search,’ Hamufungu said.The search involved local villagers, Namibian Police and the Namibia Defence Force, Angolan officials, private search-and-rescue teams, a helicopter and staff of the US Embassy in Namibia.Owens was part of a group of nine senior students from the US who came to Namibia in January for their three-month ecological studies. A statement from Owens’s family, which was posted on the Internet on Sunday, said their son had been caught in the current while swimming and was swept downstream. ‘An intensive search effort was mobilised in hopes of finding and rescuing Thad, but unfortunately his body was found on the river. We are forever grateful to the many people who participated in the search effort,’ the statement said.Since their son had been a passionate ecologist and conservationist, the family asked that in lieu of flower wreaths, donations should be made to the Thad H Owens Wildlife Ecology Fund at the University of Florida Foundation.The University of Florida said on its website: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with Thad’s family. The University and Thad’s many friends in the university community are devastated by the loss of this talented young man.’