The body of Rebeka (28) was found covered in snow in a wooded area of Emporia on Sunday, near the place where she was last seen leaving a bar.
“This is not the outcome we all expected and prayed for, but our prayers are with her family. I wish we had found her a little earlier,” said Emporia Police Chief Edward Owens.
It is believed that Rebeka, a second-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School, died of hypothermia just a few hours after she went missing.
Police said that the young teacher’s family has been notified and that an autopsy is expected to determine the cause of her death. Rebeka’s disappearance was reported early Saturday after she left the “Town Royal” bar on foot without her purse, phone, or jacket.
She was last seen on surveillance camera footage leaving the bar during a severe winter storm around 11:37 p.m.
Temperatures were around -13, with icy winds, at the time she left the bar.
The Emporia School District said the death of the beloved teacher “deeply affected everyone across our district.”
“Our hearts are with the family, friends, Ms. Rauber’s students, and everyone whose life was touched by her dedication to education. She was a valued member of our school community, and her loss is deeply felt throughout our district,” the statement said.
The death of this teacher is the second death in Kansas linked to the deadly winter storm in America, which has been named “Fern.”
At least 13 people have died, and millions of others were left without power after the storm hit 34 states with snow and ice on Sunday.
Five New Yorkers were found dead on Saturday due to extreme cold before the snow even fell.
The powerful storm also caused major power outages in the affected areas, leaving more than one million customers without electricity on Sunday.
Other states that experienced widespread power outages include Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, and Alabama.
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Source: Kurir, Foto: Charlie Riedel / AP; Društvene mreže