A missing Kansas elementary school teacher was found dead in the snow, about 300 yards from the spot where surveillance cameras last captured her on Friday, as a powerful winter storm battered much of the country.
The body of Rebecca Rauber, 28, was found on Sunday in a snow-covered, wooded area of Emporia, near where she was last seen leaving a bar several days earlier. Authorities said the search ended when K-9 Daisy, a dog with K-9 Search and Rescue Kansas, helped locate her. "Not the outcome that we had all hoped and prayed for, but our thoughts and prayers are with that family," Emporia Police Chief Edward Owens said.
Tragic Death
"Just wish we could have found her a little sooner," he added. Rauber, a second-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School, is believed to have succumbed to hypothermia just hours after she went missing. Police said her family has been informed of the heartbreaking news, and an autopsy will be conducted to confirm the exact cause of death.
She was reported missing early Saturday after she left the Town Royal bar on foot, without her purse, phone, or even a jacket. Surveillance video later showed her walking away from the bar at about 11:37 p.m., right as a fierce winter storm was raging through the area.
At the time she is believed to have left the bar, temperatures were hovering around just 3 degrees, with wind chills plunging to minus 13, creating brutally dangerous conditions.
Police thanked locals and volunteers for their overwhelming care and support shown throughout the search. The Emporia Public School District also shared that the loss of the much-loved teacher has been felt deeply by students, staff, and families across the entire district.
"Our hearts are with Ms. Rauber's family, friends, students, and all who were touched by her life and dedication to education. She was a valued member of our school community, and her loss is felt deeply across our district," the district said in a press release, according to KVOE .
"At this time, we are focused on supporting our students and staff as they process this difficult news. Counselors and district support teams will be available at our schools to provide care and assistance for anyone who may need it."
Snowstorm Victim
Rauber's death is one of the growing number of lives lost to the powerful national snowstorm known as Winter Storm Fern. The massive storm has already claimed at least 13 lives and left millions of people without electricity, after blanketing 34 states with snow and ice on Sunday.
The brutal cold proved deadly in other parts of the country as well. In Louisiana, at least two men died from hypothermia linked to the storm, according to the state Department of Health.
In New York, five people were found dead on Saturday as temperatures plunged, even before the snow began to fall. Meanwhile, in Michigan, authorities confirmed the recovery of 19-year-old University of Michigan student Lucas Mattson, who had last been seen around 1 a.m. Friday, walking alone without a coat, Ann Arbor police said.
As snow and sleet blanketed more than two-thirds of the country, travel and daily life ground to a halt. By Sunday evening, over 11,600 flights had been canceled, leaving thousands of travelers stranded, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
More than 1 million customers were without power on Sunday, PowerOutage.us data showed. Tennessee was hit hard, with over 300,000 outage reports, while Mississippi and Louisiana each saw more than 140,000 homes and businesses go dark.
