A beloved elementary school teacher in Kansas who vanished after a night out has been found dead in a wooded area, buried beneath snow from a powerful winter storm. Rebecca Rauber, 28, a second-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School in Emporia, was discovered on Sunday following a two-day search.
Police said Rauber was last seen leaving the Town Royal bar in downtown Emporia around 11:30 p.m. on Friday. She left behind her phone, keys, jacket and purse, according to her family. Surveillance footage showed her walking west on Fifth Avenue and then north on Neosho Street before being seen in the 700 block of West Fourth Avenue at approximately 11:44 p.m.
Officers located a deceased woman about 300 yards south of where Rauber was last seen on video. Police confirmed the woman was Rauber and said she was found in a wooded area. 'At this time, it appears, Rebecca may have succumbed to hypothermia early on in her disappearance as she was covered in snow due to the snowstorm that became heavy on Saturday,' the Emporia Police Department said in a statement.
The police thanked the community and multiple agencies, including the Kansas Highway Patrol, Lyon County Sheriff's Office, Search and Rescue of Kansas, and the Lyon County Communications Center, for their efforts. Emporia Public Schools released a statement confirming Rauber's death and said counselors and support teams would be provided for students and staff. The district also asked for privacy for the family.
