Police are investigating whether bullying was linked to the death of a Dartmouth College student whose body was found in a river over the weekend.
Wong Jiang, who is set to graduate in 2026, was reported missing Sunday afternoon after last being seen the night before at a social gathering on a pier near the Connecticut River. Police searched the area with the help of dive teams, Fish and Game officers and marine patrol units. Police found Jiang’s body about 65 feet offshore from the riverbank a few hours later, according to a media release from the Hanover, New Hampshire, Police Department.
Jean, 20, was a biomedical engineering major from Middletown, Delaware, and was “a passionately involved member of the Dartmouth community,” Dartmouth Dean Scott Brown said in a statement, offering condolences to the community.
Two of Jiang’s friends wrote in emails to The Dartmouth Newspaper, the university’s student newspaper, that Jiang had attended a joint event between his fraternity, Beta Alpha Omega, and sorority, Alpha Phi, on the evening of July 6. The event included alcohol, the friends said.
Police Chief Charles Dennis told WMUR-TV the department will investigate whether bullying was involved.
“There is certainly evidence from witnesses and those types of accounts that alcohol was involved,” he told the ABC affiliate. “Again, that’s all part of our investigation. We received an anonymous email through the university this morning saying that bullying may be involved, so we will certainly be looking into that as well.”
Beta Alpha Omega and Alpha Phi have been suspended pending the investigation, a university spokesman said in a statement Tuesday.
Last fall, the Dartmouth College newspaper reported that Beta Alpha Omega had been suspended through the summer 2024 semester (which began in June and runs through August) due to an unnamed incident. Alpha Phi was placed on alcohol probation last winter, according to the same report.
Police said the cause of Chan’s death has not been determined but initial investigations indicate no foul play is suspected.
Beta Alpha Omega and Alpha Phi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
