Woman Found Dead in Harvard T Station

A 17-year-old white female from New Hampshire was found dead on the subway tracks near the Harvard Square T stop around 8 p.m. last night, according to the MBTA.

MBTA would not reveal the identity of the victim last night.

An employee of the MBTA said he could not release any details, but that authorities “have not ruled out homicide.”

According to the Associated Press, the motor person on a Red line train reported seeing the body 250 feet north of the Harvard Square stop.

The incident caused the Red Line to briefly shut down in both directions. The outbound track to Alewife remained out of service for nearly three hours.

MBTA provided buses while the T was out of service.

The Associated Press reported last night that MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said the victim was believed to be a 19-year-old woman from out of state.

An MBTA official who said he spoke to the victim’s mother, however, said the information about the victim’s age was incorrect. The official, who refused to be named, said the victim was 17 and from New Hampshire.

The death is under investigation.

“It’s not known how she got that far into the tunnel,” Pesaturo told the Associated Press.

Pesaturo did not return repeated calls for comment last night.

Ray Guerin, who was in the Harvard T station when emergency crews arrived, said he saw passengers exit the last outbound train to arrive at Harvard before the service shut down.

“One old lady had to be escorted out of the station because she was traumatized,” he said.

—Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.

—Staff writer Jenifer L. Steinhardt can be reached at steinhar@fas.harvard.edu.