Florida Student Found Dead in African River

GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 12, 2009 -- The body of an American student who was swept away while swimming in a river in southwest Africa has been found.

University of Florida student Thad Owens, 27, went missing April 9 on the Kunene River, which borders Namibia and Angola, University of Florida spokesman Steve Orlando said.

"They were at an area next to a river, and he decided to go swimming," said Orlando.

Owens, of Orlando, Fla., was caught in the current and swept downstream.

An intensive search effort was mobilized, which included local villagers, the Namibian police, the Namibian military, Angolan officials, private search and rescue teams and the U.S. Embassy.

His body was found on the river Saturday, according to a statement released Sunday by the University of Florida.

"The University and Thad's many friends in the university community are devastated by the loss of this talented young man," the statement read.

William Dippel, an attorney and spokesman for Owens' family, said the family is "grief-stricken" over his death.

Owens, a senior, was one of nine students participating in a semester-long wildlife ecology and conservation study program in Namibia. Orlando said the group has been in Africa since January.

Owens' friends have have been mourning his death on Facebook.

One post on Owens' Facebook wall read, "You touched the lives of everyone you knew with your huge, open heart and boundless sense of adventure. Your memory will live on with all of us, and we will NOT forget you Thad."

Dippel said a memorial assembly is scheduled for Monday afternoon on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.