GhLinks Media
| Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Laken Hope Riley |
| In the news | University of Georgia nursing student |
| Age | 22 |
| Birth Date | 2002 |
Laken Hope Riley ( age 22, born 2002) was a nursing student at the Augusta University College of Nursing in Augusta, Georgia.
The University of Georgia said Laken was a former undergraduate at the school in 2023, who had since enrolled at Augusta University’s nursing program, which has a campus in Athens.
“She was still active in her sorority [at UGA],” Trevor told The Red & Black. “She was active in the community and well known and from all accounts very well liked.”
Riley graduated from River Ridge High School in 2020 and was from Woodstock, Georgia.
She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. In fall 2023, she made the dean’s list at Augusta University.
She told friends she was heading out to the intramural fields to take a jog but never returned.
That’s when they called the police, who later found her body behind Lake Herrick in the forested area on campus, which is not too far from the intramural fields.
What happened
Police received a call at around noon on Thursday from a person requesting a welfare check on a friend who never returned home after going on a jog.
Laken Hope Riley was found dead in a forested area behind Lake Herrick near the college campus, the University of Georgia Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said.
Investigators said they found visible injuries on Riley and suspected foul play was involved.
“It is with deepest sorrow that I share with you the news that one of our students at our College of Nursing campus at Athens has passed away,” Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel said in a statement.
“Police have said they suspect foul play. The receipt of this news this afternoon was shocking to all of us.”
Clark warned students to travel in groups when possible as the suspect remains loose.
“When you have a suspect that is on the loose, there is always a danger, but there is no immediate danger at this time,” the campus police chief said.
He noted that there has not been a homicide on campus in the last 20 years.
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.
