A body was discovered during a search for a missing teen whose vehicle was found unoccupied on a bridge.
18-year-old Kori Gauthier, a Louisiana State University freshman, has been missing since April 6 when her car was discovered on a bridge over a river in Baton Rouge.
St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre confirmed that the body was pulled from the Mississippi River in Reserve on Tuesday morning, The Advocate reported.
The body was discovered near Milepost 137 after someone on a tugboat noticed the body, Tregre said.
Officers have not released the identity and an autopsy is underway.
Police, search crews, boats, helicopters, and drones have spent the last two days searching through the banks of the Mississippi River in the hopes of finding Gauthier.
Volunteers in cars, on horseback, on ATVs, and on foot were also seen aiding the search for the LSU student.
A statement released by the university said: “A K9 cadaver dog with Mercy Search & Rescue alerted twice in the same area on the river, which is 85-90 feet deep with conditions that were unsafe to deploy divers.”
The statement said that search efforts continued with Mounted Patrol “searching the levee in both directions from Farr Park, while EBRSO, LDWF, LSUPD, and BRPD will continue boat searches, including with the latest available sonar technology” on Sunday.
“At this time, based on evidence collected during the investigation thus far, law enforcement officials suspect that no criminal activity or foul play took place,” it added.
The teen’s wallet and phone were found in her car after the crash, which was left abandoned on the side of the road.
According to reports, Devin Jones then crashed into Gauthier’s vehicle but when he checked, there was no person inside the vehicle.
Gauthier’s uncle took to Facebook and has offered a $10,000 award for anyone who brings his niece home.
“Everyone I need your help! Please share this picture of my niece Kori Gauthier. She has not been seen since April 6th,” he wrote.
“She is a Freshman at LSU. Her vehicle was involved in an accident (currently in a junk yard) on the Mississippi River bridge at or around 1am on April 7th,” the uncle added.
“I’ve checked every hospital, jail, coroners office you name it. No sign of her. I’ll personally pay $10K to anyone that leads her home. I need my niece!!!”
The teen’s father, Levar, attended a prayer circle to pray for his daughter’s safe return.
The heartbroken father told WAFB: “I haven’t eaten since Wednesday at work for lunch, I’ve maybe gotten four hours of sleep in the last couple of days and her mom hadn’t gotten that much, I’m sure. I get a cat nap here and there but I mean we won’t stop until we know something about my daughter.”
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Replaced!