The Princeton University junior found dead last week in a lake near the Ivy League campus suffered from bipolar disorder, according to his obituary.
Lauren Blackburn’s cause of death hasn’t been determined yet, a spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office told The Post.
His obituary said that he died “after a courageous battle with bipolar disorder.”
Lauren Blackburn will be memorialized May 4. The Mather-Hodge Funeral HomeBlackburn, 23, was found in Lake Carnegie on April 25, five days after he was reported missing. He was last seen near the college’s Firestone Library at around 6 p.m. on April 19.
Officials pinged his phone in the area of the man-made reservoir on April 22, prompting a search in the water.
Blackburn was set to graduate in the spring of 2026. NBC Philadelphia.Lake Carnegie sits just south of campus — near the university’s athletic complex — but about a mile from the library where Blackburn was last seen.
A National Merit scholar and Gates Scholarship recipient, Blackburn was majoring in English and was set to graduate in 2026.
The Corydon, Indiana native was described in his obituary as a “compassionate, thoughtful, and playful” learner who loved “Wuthering Heights” as well as the works of Virginia Woolf.
Police found Blackburn’s body during a search of the lake. NBC Philadelphia.Between 2020 and 2021, he served the California Santa Rosa mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“He enjoyed K-pop and cheering for the Celtics, Chiefs, and [Tottenham] Hotspurs,” read his obituary.
Blackburn spent last summer in South Korea, learning more about his Korean roots.
A memorial service for Blackburn has been set for May 4 at 5 p.m. inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Corydon.
Blackburn’s parents have asked that any gifts in their son’s name be made to the International Bipolar Foundation.
