On Sunday, January 25, 2026, a 28-year-old elementary school teacher, Rebecca Rauber, was discovered dead in a snowy, wooded area in Emporia, Kansas. She had disappeared during a severe winter storm that brought extreme cold and significant snowfall to the area.
Rauber’s body was found approximately 300 yards south of West 4th Avenue, near the last recorded sighting of her from surveillance cameras. She was seen walking alone late Friday night, January 23, 2026. K-9 Daisy from K-9 Search and Rescue Kansas located the body after a comprehensive search involving several law enforcement agencies.
“Not the outcome that we had all hoped and prayed for, but our thoughts and prayers are with that family,” Emporia Police Chief Edward Owens said, expressing regret that they did not find Rauber sooner.
Police theorize that Rauber succumbed to hypothermia early in her disappearance after she departed from the Town Royal bar on foot, leaving her purse, phone, and jacket behind. She was last spotted exiting the bar at 405 Commercial Street around 11:30 p.m. on Friday.
Investigators used surveillance videos to track Rauber’s final movements. The footage showed her walking west on West 5th Avenue, then north on Neosho Street from West 5th Avenue around 11:37 p.m. on Friday, January 23. Further footage revealed Rauber in the 700 block of West 4th Avenue at around 11:44 p.m. on the same night.
The search for Rauber started as soon as she was reported missing. The Emporia Police Department used surveillance cameras from businesses across the downtown area and coordinated with the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
Rauber’s disappearance occurred during already-dangerous winter conditions on Friday night, with a severe snowstorm intensifying on Saturday, January 24. The temperature dropped to 3 degrees, with wind chills as low as minus 13, posing a significant risk to anyone caught outside without adequate protection.
An autopsy has been conducted as part of the ongoing investigation, with results and toxicology reports pending as of early February 2026 to confirm the cause of death and determine a more precise time of death. Rauber’s family has been informed of the unfortunate discovery.
Rauber was a second-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary in the USD 253 Emporia Public Schools district. She had recently completed her master’s degree from Emporia State University in spring 2025 and held two bachelor’s degrees from the same university in 2020.
The school district expressed deep sorrow over the loss in a statement and confirmed that counselors would be available to help students and staff cope with the tragedy.
Leaving the bar without her essential belongings raises questions about Rauber’s state of mind and decision-making at the time.
The Town Royal bar is located in the 400 block of Commercial Street. The wooded area where Rauber was found is just south of this location, a place that might have provided some wind protection but also cut her off from potential help.