GC grapples with tragic student loss

Milledgeville police officers responded to The Grove building 14 on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 6 to the apartment of Georgia College student Cho Rok Chung after friends reported she hanged herself.

Police found Chung, senior management major, lying unresponsive on her bed after being moved by friends.*

“It appeared that she had been in that state for some amount of time and had already been deceased before (her friends) entered the apartment,” Major Reggie Hill, the officer handling the case, said.

Concern for Chung arose after her friends couldn’t make contact with or locate her for 24 hours.

“We’ve learned certain facts that she might have been depressed in some fashion for a period of time,” Hill said. “That may be a possible motive, but we really don’t know at this time.”

There were no signs of struggle or substance abuse found.

The incident is being investigated as a suicide. Rumors spread of a girl jumping from a window, but were ungrounded and no similar incident was reported.

“We are ruling out any other possibilities other than what this tragic incident is – a suicide.” Hill said.

The body was turned over to Baldwin County coroner’s office for autopsy and identification. Chung was from Anyang City, South Korea, but had family in Georgia.

The Grove is working with officers to gather details of the incident and issued a statement concerning the event.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the individual’s family and friends during this difficult time,” Emily Rend, marketing director for the Grove, said.

The university sent an email early this morning to inform students of the incident and offer support.

“The Georgia College community extends our most heartfelt condolences to Cho Rok Chung’s family members and friends. On a close-knit campus such as ours, a tragic loss such as this often impacts many members of the campus community,” Bruce Harshbarger, vice president of student affairs, said.

The university is offering counseling for any students impacted by this event or who would like to talk about the incident. Call Counseling Services at (478) 445-5331.

*Content removed by the editor due to its sensitive nature
**Reporting contributed by news editor Nick Widener 

Posted by Mark Watkins on Sep 7 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.