University of Georgia cancels classes after woman found dead on campus

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A woman was found dead Thursday on the campus of the University of Georgia after a friend told police she had not returned from a morning run, authorities said. The woman was not a student at the university, the school’s police chief said.

Police Chief Jeff Clark did not provide details on how the woman died, citing the ongoing investigation. Clark said at a news conference late Thursday the woman was not a student on campus but did attend another school, which he did not name, news outlets reported.

Clark said his department, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, were conducting the investigation. He noted that there has not been a homicide on campus in the last 20 years.

“We’re not going to leave any rock unturned in this investigation,” he said.

The university cancelled classes 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. 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.

The university, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, said foul play is suspected.

A friend had called University of Georgia police concerned about the woman’s well-being after she failed to return from a morning run at the fields, the university said.