Alcohol "definitely" was a factor in the death Sunday of a Kenyon College freshman from Point Breeze who was last seen at an off-campus drinking party in Gambier, Ohio, the local sheriff said yesterday.

But exactly what role alcohol played in killing 19-year-old Colin Boyarski -- whether it poisoned him or caused him to pass out outside in the cold or something else entirely -- will not be known for a time.

Toxicology results showing the level of alcohol in Boyarski's blood will not be available for several weeks, and investigators are still interviewing people who came into contact with him Saturday night and Sunday morning.

"If, in fact, alcohol was the big, critical factor in Colin's death, then the next thing we're going to be looking at is responsibility," Knox County Sheriff David B. Barber said.

Foul play is not suspected. Boyarski had his wallet, keys and cell phone. An autopsy showed no obvious signs of trauma, so now the focus shifts to who supplied the alcohol.

Boyarski graduated from Allderdice High School last year and enrolled at Kenyon, where he was remembered by his professors as a strong student, college spokesman Shawn Presley said. Boyarski's father, Daniel, is head of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design.

On Saturday night Boyarski went to a party on Duff Street at one of two apartment complexes nicknamed the "milk cartons" for their appearances.

Investigators know that Boyarski was drinking at the party, but Barber would not speculate on what or how much.

Someone last reported seeing Boyarski in the apartment at 2 a.m. His body was found seven hours later by a Kenyon College groundskeeper in a vacant lot off Duff Street, between the apartment buildings. He was face down and wearing only a hooded sweat shirt and jeans -- not much protection from the cold that night.