The University of Georgia canceled classes on Thursday and Friday and urged people to travel “in groups” after a woman was found dead near a lake on campus.
Foul play is suspected in her death, the school said, but few other details were immediately released as authorities continued to investigate and work to identify a suspect.
Jeffrey Clark, the school’s chief of police, said at a Thursday night news conference that the woman was a student, but did not attend the University of Georgia. He declined to go into further detail.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clark refused to comment on the manner of her death, but said she’d been found unconscious, not breathing, and with “visible injuries” after a concerned friend called the campus police, saying she’d gone for a jog and failed to return.
According to local station WJBF, Augusta University President Dr. Brooks Keel issued a letter after the press conference which confirmed to students and staff that the victim was a nursing student at the AU College of Nursing. The letter was also cited by local newspaper The Augusta Press, but did not name the student in question.
Officers who’d been searching for her in a forested area near Lake Herrick immediately began rendering life-saving aid, but she was declared dead after emergency medical responders arrived on the scene.
“This is a tragic day,” Clark said, “and I want to offer my most sincerest condolences to the grieving family friends and campus partners.”
He added that his department was preparing to work the case “day and night” in partnership with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
The community is advised to avoid the general area near the school’s intramural fields, but no immediate danger is believed to be posed to the public, Clark said.
In an earlier statement emailed to students and obtained by The Daily Beast, the university called the death a “terrible situation,” adding that “the past 24 hours have been a traumatic time for our University.”
The woman’s death comes less than 24 hours after a UGA student was found dead in a residence hall on Wednesday night, though foul play is not suspected in that case. Clark said the two cases were unconnected.
The university, located approximately 70 miles east of Atlanta, has experienced a number of high-profile student and staff deaths in recent years. Most notably, Chandler LeCroy, 24, and UGA standout offensive lineman Devin Willock, 20, were killed in a car crash in Jan. 2023 after a day of celebrating the football team’s national championship.
