GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The quiet of Green Bay’s East River was met with a flurry of activity on Saturday as student volunteers combed the banks cleaning up trash near Green Bay East High School. The flurry turned into a frenzy when the emergency vehicles arrived.
“We saw a lot of sirens, a lot of fire trucks,” volunteer Athena Yang said. “Me and my friends were wondering what was going on, so I said, ‘it’ll probably be on the news tomorrow.’ And then all of sudden, somebody who we were with, said that they found a body in the water.”
Family members spoke with Local 5 News and said that the body is 22-year-old Ivonne Benitez of Bellevue.
Green Bay police have confirmed the body to be that of Benitez and the Department, along with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, are investigating the incident.
“The circumstances of the death are to be determined; however, we do not believe that the community is in any danger,” the Green Bay Police Department said in a joint press release. “An autopsy will be performed by the Brown County Office of the Medical Examiner.”
The students, though, are shaken after the grim discovery.
“We don’t really know what happened to her or how she died, but knowing that it happened this close to our school, it is kind of scary,” Yang said.
According to the Green Bay Police Department, Benitez had been missing since April 12, when she was last seen at 6:30 p.m. in Luxemburg.
“It’s really sad for her to be pulled out, for that to even happen,” fellow Green Bay East High School student Dazlin Lee said.
Family members want Benitez to be remembered as a loving friend and member of the family to both her immediate and extended family. A memorial brimming with flowers and candles lies beneath the footbridge where her body was found.
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A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses.
An autopsy will be performed by the Brown County Office of the Medical Examiner.
