A woman was found dead on Thursday (Feb. 23) inside the campus of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens after a friend told police she had not returned from a morning run.
School police said that the woman was not a student at the university but attended another school nearby, the Associated Press reported.
UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark did not provide details to reporters at a press conference late Thursday on how the woman died as investigations are underway.
However, it was revealed that the woman had attended Augusta University as a nursing student.
He added that his department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department were conducting the investigation, noting that there was no homicide case inside the campus in the last 20 years.
"We're not going to leave any rock unturned in this investigation," he said.
UGA Cancels Classes
In the aftermath of the discovery of the woman inside its campus, the university canceled its classes on Thursday and urged students to travel in groups.
Clark also asked the university community to avoid the school's Intramural Fields, where the woman was found unconscious, not breathing, and with visible injuries.
Officers searching the area found the woman's body in a forested area behind Lake Herrick, which was an area across a busy road from a large dormitory and dining hall complex for freshmen students, which was more commonly known by people in the university as "East Campus."
On its website, the university said that foul play is suspected.
"We have been fully briefed on this terrible situation," the university said in a statement. "Foul play is suspected, and we are already receiving support from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Athens-Clarke County Police Department to investigate this crime. We want to assure you that the safety and welfare of our campus community is our top concern."
