Aaron Sofer Dead: Body Found of Missing American Student in Jerusalem

Aaron Sofer Dead: Body Found of Missing American Student in Jerusalem
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, right, R-NJ, addresses a gathering as he stands near a photograph of Aaron Sofer, center, 23, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014, in Lakewood, N.J. Israeli police said Tuesday they are searching for the young New Jersey religious student who went missing in Israel during a hike in a forest outside Jerusalem last week. Sofer of Lakewood, New Jersey, has been missing since Friday when he went on a hike with a friend in the Jerusalem Forest, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Zachary Stieber
8/28/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

Aharon Sofer, a missing American student, was found dead on Thursday.

Aharon, also known as Aaron, was a 23-year-old who was last seen hiking in the Jerusalem forest with a friend.

The six-day search came to an end on Thursday afternoon when a United Hatzalah volunteer found the body, reported the Jerusalem Post.

DNA tests confirmed the identity.

The friend lost contact with Sofer when they were navigating a steep incline, and the friend eventually went back home to contact police.

Sofer’s funeral is scheduled for Friday morning.

This is an update-----see a previous Associated Press story below.

LAKEWOOD, N.J.—A congressman is joining with the family of a New Jersey man who disappeared in Israel to call for his safe return.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, joined a news conference Tuesday in Lakewood, where Aharon Sofer grew up.

Smith says that U.S. and Israeli officials are “leaving no stone unturned” as they try to find the 23-year-old rabbinical student.

Sofer has been missing since Friday when he went hiking with a friend in the Jerusalem Forest.

Israeli police say they are pursuing all avenues in the investigation, including the possibility that Sofer may have fallen victim to an attack by Palestinian militants.

Sofer’s parents have flown to Israel, where their son is an ultra-Orthodox student at a yeshiva — a Jewish religious school.