Missing Student Found Dead

Monterey Herald 2/21/07

By Larry Parsons

The body of a missing 24-year-old Canadian exchange student at CSU-Monterey Bay was found Tuesday morning, and her death was an apparent suicide, university police said.

Shortly after the third day of an intensive search for Marie-Julie Brissette began, a CSUMB police officer found the young woman's body outside an abandoned Army building west of Second Avenue, a part of the former Fort Ord base that is in Marina, said university police Chief Fred Hardee.

"We started the search this morning in an area we hadn't searched before," he said.

Eight university police officers and Presidio of Monterey firefighters had resumed the search for Brissette, who was last seen about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the school gym. She was reported missing Sunday morning by her roommates.

The Monterey County coroner's office is treating her death as a suicide, and there were no indications of foul play, university officials said.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

The woman's family in Canada was notified of her death Tuesday morning, Hardee said.

The search for the missing student generated many calls about possible sightings and offers to help look for her, Hardee said.

"Naturally everyone is concerned when a student comes up missing, and the final outcome is of this nature," he said. "Many folks on campus wanted to participate in the searching."

Brissette had been at CSUMB about a month, coming to the school from Quebec. Hardee said the young woman had been "suffering from some emotional problems."

The death of Brissette, a physical education major with the nickname "MJ," hit the campus hard, despite her relatively short time at CSUMB, said Sue Borrego, vice president of student affairs.

"She was really connected to a group of people, and we are a small campus," Borrego said. "It doesn't just impact students, but faculty and staff as well."

University staff members, counselors, and clergy members were scheduled to hold meetings Tuesday afternoon and evening to talk with students and to remember Brissette.

"We have counselors on duty working with students who were closest to MJ," Borrego said. "All of us wanted to imagine there was going to be a different kind of ending. No one is ever prepared for this kind of situation."

School officials expressed condolences to Brissette's family. Borrego thanked local law enforcement agencies for their assistance over the past few days.

"They were just remarkable, and we appreciate that," she said.