UMass Dartmouth athlete Flordan ‘Flo’ Bazile found dead in river after apparent suicide: report
A search for a missing UMass Dartmouth University track star ended tragically after police recovered his body in a river, school officials announced in an email to students.
Flordan “Flo” Bazile, 21, was found in a Massachusetts river on Tuesday night following extensive water and ground searches, NBC 10 reported.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office told the outlet that no foul play was suspected and Bazile’s death is being considered a suicide.
Bazile, a sophomore, was last seen Monday on UMass Dartmouth’s main campus at Pine Dale Hall dormitories around 2 a.m.
UMass Dartmouth Police searched across the Fairhaven area for more than a day, where they eventually found Bazile’s body in the Acushnet River — roughly 7 miles away from the dorm.
The Acushnet River is the largest river in southern Massachusetts at 8.6 miles long
“With great sadness, I write to tell you that Flordan “Flo” Bazile, a Charlton College of Business undergraduate student, has passed away,” University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Chancellor Mark Fuller said in a statement.
“In the coming days, we will share information with students, staff and faculty about any plans to honor Flo’s memory and celebrate his life on campus,” said Fuller. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Flo’s family, friends, teammates, and classmates during this very sad time.”
Bazile, a sprinter, holds the school record for the 100-meter dash, and was named the 2024 Little East Conference Track Athlete and Track Rookie Athlete of the Week over the last two weeks, according to UMass Dartmouth Athletics.
The Orlando native, who later attended high school in Massachusetts, was also named the Little East Conference Rookie Track Athlete of the Year in 2022.
Coaches and teammates described Bazile as “hard-working, energetic, a champion, and a great friend,” according to Fuller.
Bazile was a part of the school’s Charlton College of Business program — listed as an ACSB-accredited institution among many prestigious business schools in the nation.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
