The body of a Cornell alumnus was found along a Cascadilla Creek gorge trail the morning of Dec. 5. An Ithaca Police Department report states that the cause of death appears to be from an accidental fall into the gorge.

Alan Andrew Young-Bryant, 32, of Los Angeles was last seen Tuesday evening at the Chapter House, where he and his girlfriend, a Cornell graduate student, had been celebrating the end of her exams, according to police. The couple lost track of each other, and his girlfriend called Cornell University Police and the Ithaca Police Department to report him missing. His body was discovered the next morning by a woman walking her dog on the stone walkway along Cascadilla Creek near Linn Street. Ithaca and Cornell Police investigated at the scene.

Young-Bryant, M.A. '07, Ph.D. '11, earned his Cornell degrees in English language and literature and was a teaching assistant in the Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines.

"Alan Young-Bryant was a brilliant young scholar with broad literary interests who completed a remarkable dissertation on Victorian poetry in 2011," said Professor Jonathan Culler, Young-Bryant's dissertation chair. "He was back in Ithaca to celebrate his partner's successful defense of her Ph.D. thesis and to reconnect with their friends in the area. At the time of this unfathomable tragedy, I can only offer Alan's family and friends my deepest sympathy."

Resources

Support services are available to all members of the Cornell community. Students may consult with counselors from Gannett Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling 607-255-5155. Students may speak with a peer counselor by calling EARS at 607-255-3277.

Employees may call the Faculty Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) at 607-255-2673. The Ithaca-based CrisisLine is available at 607-272-1616. For additional resources, visit the Caring Community site.