Teacher, 24, and Fifth-Grade Student, 10, Found Dead After Iowa School Field Trip
A fifth-grade teacher and one of her students were found dead this week after going missing during a school field trip to a nature recreation area outside Iowa City. Hannah Jorgensen, 24, and Ahmed Osman, 10, both of Borlaug Elementary School, were recovered from the Coralville Reservoir on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Iowa City Community School District and Iowa’s governor expressed condolences as an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths continued.
A Field Trip to MacBride Nature Recreation Area
On Tuesday, September 22, students from Borlaug Elementary participated in the School of the Wild program, an outdoor education experience organized through the University of Iowa at MacBride Nature Recreation Area. The site sits roughly 8.5 miles north of Iowa City along the Coralville Reservoir, a popular destination for nature education and outdoor activities. Students are brought to the natural landscape for hands-on learning away from the classroom.
Around noon, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency call reporting two people in the water near the reservoir spillway. Emergency responders arrived and located Jorgensen, who was pronounced dead at the scene that Tuesday afternoon.
A Nightlong Search
Ahmed was initially reported missing after Jorgensen’s body was recovered, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office coordinated a search of the reservoir through the night and into the following morning. His body was found Wednesday, September 23, completing a two-day search. The Sheriff’s Office officially confirmed both identities that Wednesday.
Authorities have not explained how either Jorgensen or Osman came to be in the water near the spillway. The Sheriff’s Office said it is actively investigating the circumstances. An autopsy is being conducted by the Medical Examiner’s office to determine the exact cause and manner of death. Officials classified the incident as a tragic accident, though no formal conclusions had been released at the time of publication.
About the Victims
Hannah Jorgensen was 24 years old and had been teaching fifth grade at Borlaug Elementary. Ahmed Osman was a 10-year-old student in her class. The school is part of the Iowa City Community School District, which serves communities in and around Iowa City and Coralville.
Friends and colleagues described both as valued members of the Borlaug school community. The swift loss of a young teacher and a child on what was intended to be an educational outing left many in the school struggling to make sense of what had happened. Jorgensen’s death follows other sudden losses of educators; a Georgia teacher also died unexpectedly earlier this year after a prank on school grounds went wrong.
School and Community Respond
The Iowa City Community School District released a formal statement expressing sorrow over the two deaths. “Hannah and Ahmed were deeply valued members of our school district community, and their loss is being felt throughout Borlaug and across our district,” the statement read. The district deployed grief counselors and mental health support staff to Borlaug Elementary immediately to assist students and staff processing the sudden loss. When tragedy strikes a school community, access to support for grief can be critical for those left behind.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds offered condolences, describing the event as an “unimaginable loss” and thanking first responders for their efforts. The governor expressed sympathy to the Osman and Jorgensen families and to the broader Borlaug community.
School of the Wild Program Suspended
Following the deaths, the University of Iowa cancelled all future School of the Wild field trips. The program had been an established part of the outdoor education experience for elementary students in the region, bringing classes to the MacBride Nature Recreation Area to explore the natural landscape around the reservoir.
The incident prompted questions about supervision protocols and safety planning at organized outdoor outings. Schools across the country have faced difficult moments in recent years involving students and staff, from a school shooting that killed two children in Minneapolis to accidents during supervised activities. Districts have grappled with how to balance meaningful off-campus experiences with adequate safety measures.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office investigation remains open. Officials have given no timeline for when their findings will be released, and no charges have been filed in connection with the deaths. State and university officials had not announced whether a formal review of the School of the Wild program’s safety protocols would follow the cancellation of future trips. The Osman and Jorgensen families had not released public statements at the time of publication.
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