Police Investigating Death of UNC Chapel Hill Student; Dead Student Was Son of Former UNC Chairwoman

The University of North Carolina was rocked this weekend with news that a 22-year-old UNC Chapel Hill student was found dead just off campus.

The Herald Sun reports that an email from Joni Worthington, vice president for communications from the University of North Carolina, confirmed that Stedman Gage, a UNC-Chapel Hill junior, was found dead Friday night at his nearby off-campus residence in Chapel Hill.

The young student was the son of Hannah Gage, the former chairwoman of the UNC Board of Governors, which is the governing body for UNC.

"This is a devastating tragedy, and our family is handling the situation as best we can," the Gage family said in a statement released by the UNC system, as reported by WRAL.com in North Carolina. "We are heartbroken. We ask for your compassion and respect, for our privacy and that of our son."

According to Chapel Hill police, they received a 1:30 a.m. call from 407 W. Patterson Place, where Stedman lived at in one of the apartments.

While an autopsy is currently being conducted by a medical examiner, police investigators say there is no indication at present time that this was a suspicious death.

The Phi Delta Theta fraternity at UNC-Chapel Hill, of which Stedman Gage was a member, issued a statement on the tragedy.

"The (Interfraternity Council) is certainly shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of not only a UNC student but a member of the Greek community," the council said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gage family and the brothers of Phi Delta Theta."