Elementary school teacher found dead in snow as Winter Storm Fern claims another victim

Daily Mail ^ | January 26, 2026 | Mellisa Koeng

[xxqqzz]

A Kansas elementary school teacher has been found dead in the snow amid a massive winter storm that has spread throughout the country.

Rebecca Rauber, 28, an elementary school teacher in Emporia, was found dead in a wooded area about 300 yards from where she was last seen on surveillance footage late Friday night as a tundra, named Winter Storm Fern, battered the United States.

It brought more than a foot of snow to some parts of the country as temperatures plunged below freezing.

Police now say they believe Rauber died of hypothermia, as she was fully covered in snow due to the heavy storm on Saturday that brought an estimated foot of slush.

She was found dead with the help of a K9 officer, KWCH reports.

Police Chief Edward Owens said it was 'not the outcome that we had all hoped and prayed for, but our thoughts and prayers are with that family.'

He added that he wishes 'we could have found her a little sooner.'

Rauber's death now marks the 13th fatality related to the snow storm.

She was reported missing early Saturday morning after she left the Town Royal bar on foot without her purse, phone or a jacket.

The teacher was later caught on surveillance footage walking north on Neosho Street from West 5th Avenue at around 11.37pm.

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TOPICS: US: Nebraska
KEYWORDS: snow

[xxqqzz]

She left a bar without her purse, phone, or jacket, and was found dead in the snow 300 feet away. Probably drunk.

[Gunslingr3]

She left a bar without her purse, phone, or jacket, and was found dead in the snow 300 feet away. Probably drunk.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Winter Storm "Fern"? I thought she was killed in a kiln explosion.

[Gigantor]

Naming storms other than Hurricanes is very gay.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

#1: "Probably drunk"

Ya think? Let's not jump to conclusions. /sarc

I bet she was an "independent woman" and she left in a huff. And left drunk.

[zeestephen]

I lived in Minneapolis for several years.

Every year, the first big cold snap would kill one or two intoxicated people who fell asleep outside.

[sten]

they’re naming snow storms now?? wtf

guess they need to pad the ‘number of named storms’ stats

[alexander_busek]

Rebecca Rauber, 28, an elementary school teacher in Emporia, was found dead in a wooded area about 300 yards from where she was last seen on surveillance footage late Friday night as a tundra, named Winter Storm Fern, battered the United States.

Have searched Wikipedia exhaustively, and found no explanation for calling this storm a "tundra."

The word "tundra" has various meanings, ranging from "biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons," "polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains," etc. - but (as far as I can determined) is not a kind of storm.

Regards,

[mywholebodyisaweapon]

Good catch! AI, a.k.a. Acquired Ignorance, strikes again...

[ronnie raygun]

a school teacher

[Robert DeLong]

When I saw how young she was, my first thought was she was in some way impaired, most likely alcohol, and passed out and froze to death.

Yeah, she was 3 sheets to the wind, and the wind chill and cold creates deadly cosequences for those who pass out from alcohol.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Yes, "tundra" is ridiculous. Next they will be calling a snowshoe hare "The Abominable Snowman".

[Keyhopper]

Well the media tells her women are strong and independent and if a man can walk through a snowstorm so can she while carrying a 200 pound man on her back.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Here's Becky in happier and warmer times:

[TermLimits4All]

Well, looking at her pictures from the article, and yes I’m stereotyping, she looks like a future AWFL. Wonder if she was at the bar following a long night of protesting.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

My guess is that she was an alcoholic. Sad.

[KingLudd]

A remember reading 40 years ago about a guy in Illinois who left a bar totally drunk during a snow storm. He swiped a beer glass and stuffed it in his front pants pocket. On his walk home he tripped on an electric pole guy wire, fell and bled to death when the glass broke and cut his femoral artery.

[Kudsman]

Fern starts with the 6th letter of the alphabet. What pray tell were the first 5 horrors? Here in CNY it has been cold and snowing gobs since November. It used to be called Winter until the naming rights nonsense began.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

A couple years ago during a blizzard similar to this one we had a teacher found dead huddled in a small tool shed.

She was a deug addict and had scored from a drug house and tried to walk home. She had a husband and family.

DJT is free to blow up as many drug boats as he sees fit.

[hal ogen]

FA. FO. Bad decisions often lead to bad results. Sad.