Nursing student who never returned from morning run found dead with ‘visible injuries’ in woods on college campus: Police

Laken Hope Riley and investigators searching the scene where her body was found (WXIA screenshots)

Laken Hope Riley and investigators searching the scene where her body was found (WXIA screenshots)

A 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia who was reported missing after not returning from a morning run on Thursday was found dead on the University of Georgia campus and “foul play” was suspected. Police identified the victim as Laken Hope Riley and said that there are currently no suspects in what is being treated as a murder investigation.

According to a news release from the University of Georgia Police Department, Riley was a student at UGA through the spring 2023 semester before she transferred to the Augusta University College of Nursing program in Athens, where she had been enrolled at the time of her death.

Officers with UGA Police at approximately 12:07 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, responded to a call from a friend of Riley’s who reported that the 22-year-old had gone for a run at the Intramural Fields earlier in the morning and had not returned as expected.

Upon arriving at the recreational area that includes several athletic fields, tennis courts, and trails for running and biking, first responders at approximately 12:20 p.m. searched the surrounding area and quickly located Riley “in the forested area behind Lake Herrick” at about 12:38 p.m., police said.

“She was unconscious and not breathing, and had received visible injuries,” the release states. “Officers immediately began rendering medical aid. Emergency medical responders determined that she was deceased upon their arrival.”

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