Hannah Jorgensen, 24, and Ahmed Osman, 10, were recovered from the Coralville Reservoir after an incident authorities are still investigating.
SOLON, Iowa — A fifth-grade teacher and a 10-year-old student died after an incident during an elementary school field trip near Lake Macbride, prompting a large search and recovery operation and an investigation that remained underway days later.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office identified the two as Hannah Jorgensen, 24, of Tiffin, a fifth-grade teacher at Borlaug Elementary School, and Ahmed Osman, 10, of Iowa City, a fifth-grade student at the school. The Iowa City Community School District said the deaths occurred during a School of the Wild field trip at the Macbride Nature Recreation Area on Sept. 22. Authorities have not released a complete account of how Jorgensen and Ahmed entered the water.
The sheriff’s office said deputies responded at 12:10 p.m. Sept. 22 to a report of people in the water at Lake Macbride State Park near the Coralville Reservoir spillway. First responders recovered an adult victim from the reservoir at 12:43 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene and was later identified as Jorgensen.
Emergency crews continued searching for a missing juvenile throughout the evening before suspending recovery efforts overnight. The search resumed the following day. At 1:24 p.m. Sept. 23, the sheriff’s office and assisting first responders recovered Ahmed from the Coralville Reservoir. Authorities said everyone else who had been at the scene was accounted for.
The response involved more than a dozen public safety and emergency agencies, including the Johnson County Metro Dive Team, Johnson County Emergency Management, several area fire departments, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol, University of Iowa Police Department, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and medical personnel. The Story County Sheriff’s Office also assisted during the recovery effort.
The school district described the incident as a tragic accident and said Jorgensen and Ahmed were deeply valued members of the Borlaug community. Counselors and additional support personnel were made available to students and staff as the school community mourned. The district also canceled School of the Wild field trips for the foreseeable future following the deaths.
Hundreds of people later gathered in Iowa City to remember Ahmed and Jorgensen. Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Osman, told The New York Times that his son had fallen into the water and that Jorgensen tried to save him. Authorities have not publicly confirmed that sequence of events, and the sheriff’s office has continued interviewing witnesses and gathering information. Ahmed was remembered by relatives and community members as a joyful child who loved soccer, while Jorgensen was honored for her work with students.
The School of the Wild is an outdoor education program associated with the University of Iowa. The field trip involving Borlaug Elementary fifth-graders was taking place at the Macbride Nature Recreation Area, where students participate in outdoor learning activities. The deaths led to the suspension of field trips connected with the program while the investigation continued.
In a Sept. 25 update, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said investigators were continuing to conduct interviews and gather information. The agency said it had no further details to release at that time and would provide additional information when appropriate. No official account explaining what caused the incident had been released.
Author note: Last updated September 29, 2026.