Africa News
Body of missing US citizen found in Namibia─── 05:31 Tue, 06 Jan 2015
Windhoek - The body of a US citizen who went missing at Namibia's border with Angola on New Year's Eve was found after a four-day search on Monday, police said.
"The body of John Petersen, 24, was found in the Kunene River on Monday," the Namibian Police (NamPol) said in a statement.
He went swimming in the river with friends on New Year's Eve and disappeared in the water.
A Sapa correspondent reported that on New Year's Day professional divers and a helicopter scoured the remote area, near the Epupa waterfalls in north-western Namibia, home to the nomadic Himba tribe.
The body of Petersen, a US Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia, was found 15km south from where he went missing. His body was taken to Oshakati for a post mortem.
Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said Petersen had been an "exceptional Peace Corps volunteer of great integrity" who poured his heart and soul into building relationships with his Namibian community so he could make a difference.
"We are devastated by his loss, and the thoughts and prayers of the entire Peace Corps community are with the Petersen family during this difficult time," Hessler-Radelet in a statement on Monday, which was distributed via the US Embassy in Windhoek.
He is survived by his parents and an older brother.
Peterson was from Westborough in Massachusetts and a former boy scout with camping and backpacking experience.
Sapa
