Police are investigating the death of Cornell freshman Matthew Tyler Pearlstone on Friday, March 17, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

"There's not much we're prepared to say at this point. There is no cause of death yet," Penny Rue, University of Virginia's dean of students, said earlier this week. "He was visiting a friend from high school on spring break."

Rue said her office is working with Cornell administrators in assisting Pearlstone's family.

A spokesman for the University of Virginia's Health Services said Pearlstone's body was taken to a medical examiner's office in Richmond for an autopsy over the weekend.

Pearlstone, 19, of Creve Coeur, Mo., studied computer science and electrical engineering at Cornell. On March 8 he participated in the Cornell Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team's robotics project at BOOM (Bits on our Minds), the annual computing projects fair in Duffield Hall.

"He was an excellent student," said Dan Maloney Hahn, senior academic adviser in the College of Engineering.

"Our condolences go out to Matthew's family and his close friends, and they are in our thoughts," said Thomas W. Bruce, Cornell vice president for university communications.

Cornell residence hall director Clark Rodman is attending a March 23 funeral service for Pearlstone in St. Louis. Arrangements also are being made for memorial services at Cornell.

Community support meetings at Cornell are being planned for students returning from spring break, and counseling and other support services are available for students who may need them.