CINCINNATI -- Otto Warmbier has died, University of Cincinnati Medical Center announced Monday.
Warmbier, 22, died at 2:20 p.m. Monday, days after he was released from captivity in North Korea. He was surrounded by family members at the time of his death, hospital officials said.
UPDATE: President Trump 'condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime' after Otto Warmbier's death
In a statement released by the hospital, family members said Warmbier had been unable to speak, see or react to verbal commands since his return to Cincinnati June 13.
"He looked very uncomfortable -- almost anguished," family members said. "Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed -- he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that."
MORE: Hospital says Otto Warmbier suffered 'severe neurological injury' in North Korea
Family members thanked the hospital's staff for the care they provided Warmbier but said " the awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced today."
"It would be easy at a moment like this to focus on all that we lost – future time that won’t be spent with a warm, engaging, brilliant young man whose curiosity and enthusiasm for life knew no bounds," the family said. "But we choose to focus on the time we were given to be with this remarkable person. You can tell from the outpouring of emotion from the communities that he touched – Wyoming, Ohio and the University of Virginia to name just two – that the love for Otto went well beyond his immediate family."
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Earlier, doctors treating Warmbier had said he suffered "severe neurological injury" and that he was in a state of "unresponsive wakefulness." North Korean officials had claimed Warmbier contracted botulism and never woke up after taking a sleeping pill. Doctors in Cincinnati said he showed no signs of botulism when he arrived here last week, though they couldn't say exactly what caused the cardiac or respiratory arrest that led to his unresponsive condition.
Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea after officials there said he took a propaganda banner from a hotel in early 2016. His tour group was leaving when authorities detained Warmbier. Other members of the tour group have raised doubts about the theft story given by officials.
Warmbier was a native of Wyoming, Ohio and a student at the University of Virginia. Had his life not been derailed by the incarceration in North Korea, he would have likely graduated this spring.
Wyoming City Schools released the following statement Monday evening:
"Wyoming City Schools is deeply saddened by the loss of Otto Warmbier. The countless contributions he made to his school and community through his leadership, actions, and limitless enthusiasm will be felt far into the future."
Three Americans remain held in North Korea, according to the Associated Press.
