Missing student’s death probed as homicide

A University of Pennsylvania sophomore who disappeared last week while on a winter break visit to his home in Southern California has been found dead, officials said Wednesday.

The body of Blaze Bernstein, 19, was found Tuesday by searchers in brush in a park near his home in Lake Forest, where he was last seen the night of Jan. 2, the Orange County Sheriff ’s Department said.

“The case is now being investigated as a homicide,” the department said in a statement. Investigators have multiple leads but have made no arrests.

The department said it would release no information about possible cause of death or condition of the body pending an autopsy.

Bernstein vanished after he and a friend drove to Borrego Park in Lake Forest, southeast of Anaheim. The friend told police that Bernstein walked off while he was in a bathroom. Police said then they did not consider the friend a suspect.

Jamie-Lee Josselyn, associate director for recruitment for creative writing at Penn, called the death “confusing” and a “mystery,” describing Bernstein as a student who talked about his promising future and carved a path at the university even before he arrived as a freshman.

Josselyn, who was Bernstein’s adviser, said she recruited Bernstein when she was visiting his high school in California. He was a talented writer who had an interest in the sciences. He was taking classes that provided a foundation for pre-med, Josselyn said. She took a special interest in Bernstein, asking to be his adviser after he was accepted to help him maintain his creative talents.

Even before he arrived at the university as a freshman, Bernstein was published in the Penn Review, the university’s literary magazine featuring poetry, short stories, and art. Josselyn said she had never seen a student publish work at the school before classes started.

“That was Blaze. He was just getting things done, and figuring out how to get connected and stay involved,” Josselyn said. “He made a lot of friends on campus, many at the Writer’s Club.” The two worked at Kelly’s Writer House, a center at Penn for creative writers and artists.

“He was an excellent student in the sciences,” Josselyn said, adding that Bernstein was leaning toward a psychology degree. He spoke openly about the challenges he faced at Penn, but was always optimistic and thoughtful about his classes that best prepared him for his future, she said, describing a student who was appreciative of her work and his opportunities at Penn.