Stony Brook University student Courtney Murphy, who has been missing since Sunday afternoon, has been found, Assistant Chief of Police Eric Olsen confirmed in a phone conversation.
“She was found safe,” Olsen said, asking that everyone “respect her privacy.” University Police also sent out a mass text message this afternoon to students, staff and faculty, which read in part: “This afternoon University Police Investigators were able to locate the student reported missing on November 6th.”
This official notice comes about an hour and a half after Haitian Student Organization (HSO) member, Destiny Hernandez, posted about Murphy’s safety in a GroupMe chat. The chat, referred to as “Static Brook” and in other instances, “Shady Brook,” is designed to help individuals from campus clubs and organizations promote their group events, Hernandez said. She wrote in her message, “Courtney Murphy has been found. I do not have any details at this moment,” adding in a later message, “Her family reached out to let me know but has not given details yet.” Hernandez clarified in an email that she has not been in any sort of direct contact with Murphy’s family, but learned of Murphy’s safety through “someone who claimed to be a family friend.”
A HSO-hosted conference was held in the Student Activities Center last night, in relation to the then-active investigation. Murphy is a cultural officer on the HSO e-board, Hernandez said. Representatives from the University Police Department and Counseling and Psychological Services were present at the conference, as well as Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs Dr. Jarvis M. Watson and Associate Dean and Director of Multicultural Affairs Cheryl Chambers.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly stated that Interim Associate Dean of Students Jeffrey A. Barnett was in attendance during the conference. This is incorrect, and the story has been updated to show that Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs Dr. Jarvis M. Watson was in attendance. A previous version of this article also stated that yesterday’s conference was hosted by the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), due to an erroneous widespread email containing this information. The story has been updated to correctly reflect the Haitian Student Organization (HSO) as the conference host(s).
