Officials have identified the nursing student whose body was discovered Thursday at the University of Georgia.
Coroner Sonny Wilson identified the woman as 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley of Athens.
The official cause of death is still pending and Wilson said Riley’s body was taken to the GBI Crime Lab in DeKalb County.
Riley was reported missing after a friend said she went for a morning run and never returned home. Her body was discovered near the University of Georgia’s intramural fields, authorities said.
Authorities said the student had “visible injuries” and that police suspect foul play.
A UGA spokesman said in an email late Thursday that the woman “was an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia until the spring of 2023, and then she became a nursing student at the Augusta University nursing program in Athens.”
Riley also was a member of a UGA sorority.
“At this time we do not have a suspect, but we are actively investigating,” Jeffrey Clark, chief of UGA’s police department, told reporters at a press conference on Thursday night in Athens.
Classes at UGA were canceled for Thursday evening and Friday. They’re expected to resume Monday.
In an email to students, UGA President Jere Morehead said that both the GBI and Athens-Clarke County police are assisting university police with the investigation.
“We want to assure you that the safety and welfare of our campus community is our top concern,” Morehead wrote.
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