RICHMOND, Va. -- A University of Richmond student died unexpectedly on Thursday, university president Kevin Hallock wrote in an email to the UR community.
In a campus-wide letter from the school's president, the university identified the deceased as Christopher Elvin, a sophomore from Newark, New Jersey.
"[Christopher] was active with the ultimate frisbee team and was the president of West Indian Lynk, a Caribbean student organization. He recently declared as a business administration major and a Chinese studies minor," Hallock wrote. "Chaplaincy staff will be available in the Wilton Center throughout the day for those in our campus community who wish to come together to support one another during this difficult time."
Richmond Police are leading an investigation into Elvin's death, but they say it was an accidental drowning, and no foul play is suspected.
They said the initial call for help came in just before 9:30 Thursday night -- for "trouble unknown," but RPD was called off as campus police responded.
On Friday, a makeshift memorial was created near the spot where he fell behind the Commons building. Dozens visited the area throughout the day, including Elvin's family.
However, the Richmond Fire Department responded as well for a report of a man in distress in a lake -- and Henrico Fire was later called for assistance.
Recordings of radio transmissions between first responders indicate confusion over whether Elvins made it out of the water by himself.
"They're unable to locate the patient. They're advising the male's possibly still in the water I'm going to send the full assignment."
CBS 6 asked for clarification on this but has not received additional information.
Richmond police say the fire department eventually found Elvins and he was pronounced dead on scene.
"[Christopher] was active with the ultimate frisbee team and was the president of West Indian Lynk, a Caribbean student organization. He recently declared as a business administration major and a Chinese studies minor," Hallock wrote. "Chaplaincy staff will be available in the Wilton Center throughout the day for those in our campus community who wish to come together to support one another during this difficult time."
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a p.
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