Linn County High School Students Discover Body on Field Trip

A field trip for students from Mt. Vernon High School turned into a very traumatic experience last Friday.

A group of digital photography class students were at Palisades-Kepler State Park outside Mt. Vernon Friday, October 5 when they came across a deceased body along one of the park's trails.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office sent out a news release last Saturday that indicated a body was found along a walking trail in the park at approximately 12:57 last Friday (10/5) afternoon. The release stated, "Emergency personnel arrived on scene to find the body of a female that appeared to die from a suicide." Her name was not released.

All parents and staff in the Mt. Vernon School District received a letter to notify them of what had happened. Dr. Greg Batenhorst, Superintendent for Mt. Vernon Schools, told KWWL,

This was a traumatic event for the kids that were involved, and immediately upon hearing about the incident, our high school principal and our guidance counselor responded to the scene and spoke with the kids.

Counseling will be available to the students involved in the discovery as long as they need it.