American hiker found dead on South Africa's Table Mountain

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An American woman who went missing while hiking on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, has died and her body has been recovered, authorities said Monday.

The woman was identified as a 20-year-old North Carolina student named Brook Cheuvront.

Cheuvront was reported missing on Saturday after a tracking app she used stopped updating and friends could not reach her, SANParks spokesman JP Louw said.

Management at SANParks, which manages Table Mountain and other national parks, said the cause of death was still unclear and an investigation into her death had been launched.

The initial search was conducted by rangers, wilderness rescue members and trail runners until it was virtually impossible to continue late Saturday night, Louw said. The next day, the search was assisted by an aircraft that helped locate the body.

The South African authorities are urging the population to avoid hiking on their own and recommend doing so in groups of at least four people.