A girl's physique was discovered Thursday in a wooded space on the campus of the College of Georgia in Athens, in response to college officers, who mentioned her loss of life was suspected of foul play.
The sufferer, Laken Riley, was an undergraduate scholar on the college till the spring of 2023 after which enrolled in Augusta College's nursing program, which has a campus in Athens, college officers mentioned.
Simply after midday, a good friend reported to campus police that Ms. Riley was lacking after she didn’t return from a run close to the college's intramural fields, the College of Georgia Police Division mentioned. .
At 12:38 pm, officers discovered his physique in a patch of forest close to a lake. Ms. Riley, whose age was not launched, “was unconscious and never respiratory” and had “seen accidents,” police mentioned. Paramedics arrived and pronounced him useless.
Police don’t have any suspects, College Police Chief Jeffrey Clark mentioned at a information convention Thursday night time.
“When you have got a suspect that's at giant, there's at all times a hazard,” the chief mentioned. “However there isn’t any quick hazard right now.”
Chief Clark declined to touch upon the character of the loss of life.
He mentioned he couldn’t bear in mind any murders on campus within the final 20 years.
Investigators are reviewing footage from campus safety cameras, the chief added. He urged anybody with details about the case to name the college's Police Division at (706) 542-2200.
College police mentioned the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Division are helping within the investigation.
Kelly Girtz, the mayor of Athens-Clarke County, mentioned he joined the group “in deep disappointment over in the present day's homicide,” including that town was working with college police to carry the investigation to a “fast conclusion”.
The college mentioned the varsity's president, Jere Morehead, met with members of Ms. Riley's sorority to supply their condolences.
The college canceled the remainder of lessons on Thursday and all lessons on Friday. Officers inspired college students and employees members to take precautions on campus and beneficial that folks “journey in teams when attainable and concentrate on your environment,” in response to a press release. Augusta College additionally mentioned it canceled lessons Friday at its nursing college campus in Athens.
“I don't really feel secure wherever,” Anika Bhattacharya, a sophomore on the College of Georgia, informed 11Alive tv, including that she had not too long ago thought of going for a run within the space.
“I'm not even contemplating strolling out by myself in spite of everything this — at the very least for the subsequent two months,” he mentioned, including, “I don't need to take any possibilities.”
Based on The Purple & Black, a campus newspaper, college students at intramural camps mentioned their lessons have been canceled halfway by a category interval Thursday afternoon. The newspaper mentioned that cops checked the identification of individuals on the fields earlier than leaving the realm.
The physique was present in a wooded space close to Lake Herrick, half of a bigger leisure space that features playgrounds, tennis courts and trails for strolling, operating and biking. The lake and intramural fields adjoin Oconee Forest Park.
