Police identify body found in Iowa River as UNI student

Authorities have identified a body pulled from the Iowa River Saturday evening as a 20-year-old student at the University of Northern Iowa.

The victim was Nathan Twedt, who was from the Marion area, according to a news release from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office sent Sunday afternoon. Emergency personnel pulled Twedt's body from the Iowa River near the Benton Street bridge Saturday evening in Iowa City.

According to an earlier news release, emergency responders received a call about a person in the river at about 6:30 p.m. After deploying boats in the water, officials found Twedt's body about an hour later, at 7:48 p.m.

The Johnson County Sheriff's Office, Iowa City Police Department, Iowa City Fire Department, Johnson County Ambulance, Johnson County Metro Dive Team and Johnson County Medical Examiner all responded to the scene.

An official cause of death has not been released.

According to UNI's online student directory, Twedt was a sophomore majoring in financial management and real estate.

Twedt graduated from Linn-Mar High School in Marion in 2015, school district spokesman Matthew May confirmed Sunday.

"It's very difficult, and the Linn-Mar Community School District is very saddened to hear the news," May said. "Our hearts go out to his family."

As Twedt had graduated from Linn-Mar recently, the school district will have counselors available to students if they need help coping with Twedt's death, May said.

The case is still under investigation, and officials encourage anyone who may have related information to call the Johnson County Sheriff's Office at 319-356-6020.

Register reporter Charly Haley contributed to this story.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him at @sgrubermiller.