A mass of mourning students surrounded the campanile Monday evening. They exchanged hugs and cried tears of sorrow. Fond memories elicited the occasional laughs.

They were grieving the death of Nathan Twedt, a sophomore finance major whose body was recovered from the Iowa River Saturday evening. His death is still under investigation.

Nic Redmond, junior marketing major, knew Twedt like a brother — Redmond’s father was dating Twedt’s mother. Redmond’s relationship with Twedt went back 10 years.

“He had this energy,” Redmond said. “He had all the happiness in the world, that kid. And it’s just such a shock, you know. I just didn’t see this coming.”

Redmond said he’d been with Twedt just an hour before Twedt’s death. They were tailgating in Iowa City prior to the University of Iowa vs. Iowa State University football game.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s office told the NI that investigations are still ongoing. They’ve confirmed Twedt was in Iowa City for the football game, and that there was nothing suspicious about his death.

“We’re still working on it,” said Lieutenant Doug Gwinn. “We need to be certain.”

“I just don’t understand it — how such a young soul just vanished,” Redmond said through tears. Twedt was from the Marion area, and graduated from Linn-Mar High School in 2015.

Nearly 200 people — mostly students, but also administrators, campus ministers and counselors — gathered around the campanile to remember Twedt.

David Glenn-Burns, campus minister representing Threehouse: A Wesley Foundation, addressed those gathered, reading from poems and Psalm 23.

“There’s no right way to grieve,” Glenn-Burns said. “But we are gathered tonight as a visible sign of that grieving.”

He encouraged those in attendance to raise their lit cell phones — standing in for candles due to a windy evening — for a moment of silence. That moment stretched out for 20 minutes until some 25 students formed a huddle directly beneath the campanile, mourning silently together.

Redmond said Twedt had many close friends, saying Twedt had a unique energy that drew people in. He recalled a family trip to Mall of America in Minneapolis with a smile.

“We just had everybody together; [Nathan] was there, too,” Redmond said. “Yeah, it was good to have everyone together.”

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., today at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Marion. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Sept. 16, at First United Methodist Church in Marion. Nathan’s obituary can be reviewed at Murdoch’s website: www.murdochfuneralhome.com.