Current:Home > ContactA woman was found dead on the University of Georgia campus after she failed to return from a run -TradeSphere
A woman was found dead on the University of Georgia campus after she failed to return from a run
View
Date:2025-04-12 18:13:49
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A woman found dead on the University of Georgia campus was a student at a nearby nursing school, said authorities, who were checking security cameras and advising students to travel in groups and avoid the wooded area where her body was found.
Police do not have a suspect, University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark said at a news conference late Thursday. University spokesperson Cole Sosebee confirmed on Friday that the victim’s name is Laken Hope Riley.
The woman was found Thursday afternoon after a friend told police she had not returned from a morning run, authorities said. She was unconscious and had “visible injuries” when officers found her, Clark said.
“When you have a suspect that’s on the loose, there’s always a danger but there’s no immediate danger at this time,” Clark said.
Riley was a student at the Augusta University College of Nursing’s Athens campus, the school said in a statement. Foul play in suspected, school officials said.
Officers searching the area found the woman’s body in a forested area behind Lake Herrick. That area is across a busy road from a large dorm and dining hall complex on what’s commonly called “East Campus.” Most of the students in those dorms are freshmen.
Clark said his department, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, were conducting the investigation. He noted that there has not been a homicide on campus in the last 20 years.
“We’re not going to leave any rock unturned in this investigation,” he said.
The University of Georgia canceled classes Friday. Augusta University canceled classes at its Athens campus but said it will remain open as a gathering place for students, faculty and staff.
The death “hits a little too close to home,” said Veronica Bennett, the mother of a University of Georgia student. She’s part of a group of moms pushing for security improvements on campus that go beyond the school’s safety app, WSB-TV reported.
“As a parent, I get tired of that being UGA’s go-to. Oh, we have the safety app. Well, the safety app is not much of a deterrent,” Bennett told the Atlanta TV station.
veryGood! (326)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Billy Ray Cyrus Files for Temporary Restraining Order Against Ex Firerose Amid Divorce
- Where is Voyager 1 now? Repairs bring space probe back online as journey nears 50 years
- How Bridgerton Created Francesca's Queer Storyline With Gender-Swapped Character
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- More companies want you to keep your 401(k) with them after you retire. Should you?
- Judge orders BNSF to pay Washington tribe nearly $400 million for trespassing with oil trains
- When does 'House of the Dragon' Episode 2 come out? Season 2 schedule, cast, where to watch
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Former MLB infielder, coach Mike Brumley dies in car crash at 61
Ranking
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Angie Harmon's 18-year-old daughter faces felony charges for alleged break-in at a bar
- First tropical storm warning of hurricane season issued as coastal Texas braces for possible flooding
- An anti-abortion group in South Dakota sues to take an abortion rights initiative off the ballot
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Survivor Jackie Speier on Jonestown massacre at hands of 'megalomaniac' Jim Jones
- Princess Kate makes public return for King Charles III's birthday amid cancer treatments
- In 1983, children in California found a victim's skull with a distinctive gold tooth. She has finally been identified.
Recommendation
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Former GOP Rep. George Nethercutt, who defeated House Speaker Tom Foley in 1994, dies at 79
Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a challenge to governor’s 400-year school funding veto
Secret Service agent robbed at gunpoint during Biden’s Los Angeles trip, police say
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
California’s Black legislators make case for reparations bills while launching statewide tour
Dog bitten by venomous snake at Connecticut state park rescued from mountain
Boston Celtics defeat Dallas Mavericks to win 2024 NBA Finals