Zachary Merrill, Medill ’01, was found dead July 7 near the small village where he was stationed in Mali. He was 23.

Merrill’s death currently is under investigation by the U.S. embassy in Mali, the west African country’s police and the Peace Corps, with which he had been working since November 2001, said Barbara Daly, a spokeswoman for the Peace Corps in Washington.

Daly said it is uncertain when more information will be known about Merrill’s death.

“The cause of death is yet to be determined,” Daly said. “But the Peace Corps is only in countries where we have determined that an infrastructure is in place to allow the volunteers to work safely.”

Medill School of Journalism officials confirmed they were aware of Merrill’s death, but were unavailable for comment.

Merrill, who grew up in Lake Oswego, Ore., worked in a village of about 800 people in Mali. Daly said in addition to implementing an irrigation system and providing support for construction in the village, Merrill also was intrinsic to the Peace Corps organization.

“He was a leader in the Peace Corps with his training group, and he was instrumental in training new volunteers,” Daly said.

Laura Tongue, a Medill junior who attended the same high school as Merrill, said as a friend of the family, she remembered him as a passionate, caring man.

“I was looking through my older brother’s yearbook, and he was voted most admired in his class,” said Tongue, a former Daily staffer. “He was very bright, very involved and energetic. He had a great heart. The fact that he joined the Peace Corps says so much … he was very much out to help other people.”