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PRINCETON, N.J. (WJW) — Authorities back in October located the body of 20-year-old Misrach Ewunetie, a Princeton University student from Euclid who was reported missing earlier that week.

Ewunetie’s body was discovered outside on the university’s facilities grounds behind tennis courts, according to a news release from the Mercer County, New Jersey, prosecutor’s office.

On Dec. 28, the Mercer County prosecutor said in a statement her death was ruled a suicide.

The search for Ewunetie lasted for days.

A family member shared this message just before learning of her death: “We love you. You’re loved. Everybody — your mom, your dad, your brothers — we miss you. We love you.”

Ewunetie’s family told the university they had not heard from her in several days, according to a Wednesday letter from the university’s Vice President for Campus Life Rochelle Calhoun. The university issued a missing student alert on Monday, Oct. 17.

Ewunetie’s sudden disappearance was out-of-character for the hard-working student, said Sara Elaqad, executive director of Minds Matter Cleveland, a nonprofit that works with bright students from low-income families, who spoke to FOX 8 before learning of Ewunetie’s death.

“Everyone is living a nightmare right now. It’s really difficult to wake up and remember that this is what’s going on,” she said.

Ewunetie was an Ethiopian immigrant who came to the U.S. as a child. She disappeared just one day before her U.S. citizenship interview, according to Elaqad.

“We’re very proud. She has a lot to be proud of. She worked hard and she did everything she could to get where she is today at Princeton,” she said, adding that Ewunetie was “a kind girl” yet “very serious and mature.”

She graduated top of her class from Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School.

FOX 8 previously reached out to the Cleveland Catholic Diocese for a statement. Here is their response:

The Villa St. Angela – St. Joseph High School community learned Tuesday of a report that Misrach Ewunetie, a 2020 honors graduate, was missing from the Princeton University campus. We are praying for her swift and safe return.

Cleveland Catholic Diocese

Prosecutor Angelo Onofri “expressed his deepest condolences” to Ewunetie’s family, and thanked the numerous agencies involved in the search, which escalated to involve a helicopter, drones and watercraft.