Body is identified as missing NDSU student

A body found in Moorhead has been positively identified as that of missing North Dakota State University freshman Thomas G. Bearson, who disappeared over the weekend, police said late Tuesday.

Bearson, 18, of Sartell, Minn., had last been seen at a party early Saturday in Fargo, a few miles from where his body turned up on Tuesday. A cause of death was not immediately available.

The body was found in the South Moorhead old Industrial Park shortly before noon Tuesday and later positively identified as Bearson's. The body has been transported to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office for an autopsy, said Lt. Deric Swenson of the Moorhead Police Department.

Police do not know yet know how Bearson got from the party to the location where he was found, or why he crossed the river into Minnesota. They're asking that anyone with information about Bearson's case call police, Swenson said.

The Red River divides Fargo and Moorhead, and the industrial park where the body was found is about 30 blocks from the river into Moorhead, Swenson said.

A joint investigation is ongoing by Moorhead, Fargo and the North Dakota State University police departments as well as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which brought in a mobile crime-scene processing unit.

It's still early in the investigation to put all the pieces together — and to rule out foul play, Swenson said.

News that a body had been found Tuesday in the search for Bearson set off a tide of grief online and in the small community of Sartell, where Bearson had lived with his family before setting off this fall for college.

Friends, classmates and relatives were expected to meet Tuesday evening at Bearson's family church in Sartell, said a church official.

"We need to get together to grieve," said Tom Offerdahl. Bearson's parents had traveled to Fargo, he added.

Bearson was a member of the parish, attending the elementary school through sixth grade and celebrating mass until heading off to college this fall as an NDSU freshman. The service was planned as a chance to pray for Bearson's safe return, but that was before the news that a body had been found.

A vigil also was held on the Fargo campus Tuesday night.

Bearson, 18, was last seen leaving a party at 3:40 a.m. Saturday about six blocks south of his dormitory in Fargo.

Bearson's body was found in a nonresidential area of Moorhead, just across the river, about 11:20 a.m., said Fargo Police Chief Keith Ternes.

The search began Saturday evening when Bearson's family contacted the university after he missed a family gathering. Friends reported to police that he was last seen leaving the party. Fargo police and firefighters canvassed that neighborhood and searched the areas between campus and the spot where he was last seen throughout the day Monday.

A tip led authorities to search an area of Moorhead on Tuesday morning. That effort was only 20 minutes underway when searchers discovered the body.

Witnesses said Bearson appeared to be in good spirits when he was last seen, said NDSU Police Chief Bill Vandal.