Death of Dartmouth fraternity member triggers hazing investigation

(HANOVER, NH) — The death of a student and fraternity member at Dartmouth College has sparked a hazing investigation, police said.

Won Jang, 20, was reported missing Sunday afternoon after last being seen the night before at the Connecticut River docks on the school’s New Hampshire campus.

Search and rescue teams found his body off the coast on Sunday evening.

The cause of death has not yet been determined, but the police do not suspect foul play.

Hanover Police Chief Charles Dennis said in an interview with New Hampshire ABC affiliate WMUR that they were investigating whether hazing played a role in the student’s death.

“There is evidence that alcohol was involved, at least from witnesses and conversations with such people. That is all part of our investigation,” Dennis said. “We received an anonymous email from the college this morning that there may have been hazing involved, so we will definitely be looking into that aspect as well.”

Friends of Jang said he attended a riverside event hosted by his fraternity and a sorority that night, and alcohol was involved, the student newspaper The Dartmouth reported.

Jang, a biomedical engineering student from Middletown, Delaware, was a member of Beta Alpha Omega, according to the fraternity’s website.

In January, Beta Alpha Omega was disciplined for an unspecified incident, The Dartmouth reported.

Spokespeople for the college and fraternity did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

One of Jang’s friends, Kledian Marinaj, told WMUR that he was an “incredible guy” who always had “a smile on his face.”

“I had just spoken to him to arrange to go out to dinner sometime,” Marinaj said. “Of course I was very excited when I got the news, so I met up with friends around here and we went for a walk and talked about all the great things about Won, about how he cracks jokes and makes people laugh.”

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