(Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s Abril Elfi
6:00 PM – Friday, August 18, 2023

Administrators of an Austin, Texas high school canceled class after a student’s body was found hanging from a tree on campus. 

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According to Independent School District Police Chief Wayne Sneed, who appeared in a news conference, the staff at Travis Early College High School found the body of an 11th-grade girl hanging from a tree near the back of the school just before 8:00 a.m. on Thursday.

#BREAKING: #AISDPD is investigating a death that occurred on campus at 1211 E Oltorf St (William B Travis High School). Just after 7:30 AM, 2 staff members notified police that they had discovered a body hanging from a tree. On arrival #AISDPD & #APD officer’s discovered there… pic.twitter.com/OSWUmssdvD

— CentralTex Scanner (@CenTexScanner) August 17, 2023

Reports state that emergency personnel came on campus, and a Travis County medical examiner’s official pronounced the girl dead at around 7:55 a.m.

This would have been the fourth day of the new school year. However, students were either arriving at school early for extracurricular activities or on their way to campus when the district decided to cancel classes.

All @TravisRebels classes are canceled today, Thursday, August 17, because of an incident on the Travis ECHS campus. Our campus is safe and there is no danger to students or staff.

— Austin ISD (@AustinISD) August 17, 2023

Sneed said in the press conference that they made sure no students witnessed the tragic discovery.

“Staff reacted very quickly in securing the area and making sure no students ever got into that immediate area,” Sneed said. “So there was no exposure to students at all.”

Even though medical examiners believe the victim was between 15 and 20-years-old, she has not yet been identified and officials are waiting for examiners to determine her cause of death. 

A spokesperson for the school district said more information would be released at a later time and that it is an ongoing investigation.

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