California Polytechnic State University junior Charles M. Tamae’s body was found on Dec. 4 at Cerro San Luis, a popular hiking destination in San Luis Obispo, Calif., located less than a mile from campus, city police told the Nichi Bei Weekly.

San Luis Obispo Police Department Administrative Captain Chris Stanley said that Tamae was reported missing by his roommate Dec. 2. Stanley said that the police believe Tamae committed suicide, but he would not expand upon the details.

Tamae, 20, was last seen Nov. 30.

Students joined in the search for Tamae on Dec. 3 and 4.

Margarita Hill, the head of the University’s landscape architecture department, was among those who participated in the search for Tamae.

Hill described her former student, a landscape architecture major, as “very conscientious.”

He was “always the first one to help anybody out,” she added.

Tamae’s death came as a surprise, Hill said. “Nobody in a million years ever thought he would commit suicide, or that something was wrong with him.”

Tamae had a “beautiful smile.” His former professor added, “when you saw him smile, you couldn’t help but smile with him. That’s why it’s been so devastating.”

Hill added that she was “blessed” by Tamae’s “presence, as short as it was in our lives.”

University spokesperson Stacia Momburg said that Tamae’s family lived in Torrance, Calif.

A memorial service was held for Tamae on Dec. 7 at the university’s Chumash Auditorium.

An autopsy was scheduled for Dec. 9. As of press time, the results of the autopsy, including Tamae’s cause of death, had not been revealed.