Missing LSU student Kori Gauthier found dead in Mississippi River
The body of an 18-year-old Louisiana State University student who went missing more than a week ago has been recovered from the Mississippi, school and local officials confirmed Wednesday.
Freshman Kori Gauthier was last seen on April 6 on the Baton Rouge campus and was reported missing after her car was discovered abandoned on I-10 East on the Mississippi River Bridge between Baton Rouge and Port Allen when another car accidentally crashed into it.
“Since Kori was first reported missing, the LSU Police Department, Baton Rouge Police Department and other law enforcement agencies and volunteers have taken exhaustive measures to locate her and, in the process, to determine what led to her disappearance,” LSU Chief of Police Bart Thompson said in a statement Wednesday.
“This is a difficult conclusion for all of us, but we hope this will bring closure for the Gauthier family.”
Police provided few details, but said they do not believe any criminal activity or foul play was involved in Gauthier’s death due to “cell phone tracking, video footage...a timeline of the events related to this case” and “other evidence” shared only with the education major’s family.
Her father, Levar Gauthier, said in a Facebook message that he was grateful that she can “be put to rest properly.”
Gauthier’s body was discovered Tuesday after search and rescue teams narrowed their focus based on alerts from a K-9 cadaver dog.
