Decorah police find man’s body near college campus

A man found dead on the campus of a northeastern Iowa college was identified Sunday as a student from Ghana, but authorities released few details of his death.

The body of Nana Kwasi Baffour-Awuah, 24, was found Saturday morning in the snow on the baseball diamond at Luther College, police in Decorah said. An autopsy has been scheduled for the coming week in Ankeny and results won't be available for several weeks, authorities said.

College spokesman Jerry Johnson said Sunday that Baffour-Awuah, who's better known on campus as Nabby (pronounced "knobby"), was a senior majoring in information systems and business management. He's from Tema, Ghana.

"He was an exceptional student," Johnson said. "Popular guy, well-known, well-liked."

Baffour-Awuah was among the roughly 165 international students and athletes who stayed on campus over the winter break, Johnson said. Students started returning on Saturday. Classes start Monday.

"The mood of the campus is going to be very sad, very somber for the next several weeks," Johnson said.

Counselors were being made available to talk to students, who were informed of the death Saturday via a campuswide e-mail. A prayer vigil for Baffour-Awuah was scheduled for Monday in conjunction with the campus' first chapel service of the semester.

Officers found Baffour-Awuah after a 911 caller reported finding an unconscious man about 8 a.m. Saturday, according to police reports. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson said Baffour-Awuah likely died hours before being found.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has been assisting local authorities.

Luther College is a liberal arts school affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Its website says it has about 2,500 students.