Police confirm body of Appalachian State student Anna Smith has been found
BOONE, NC (WTVD) -- Boone police confirm that the body of Appalachian State student Anna Smith was found Saturday morning in a wooded area.
They said identification cards found near the body located at the west end of town belong to the 18-year-old freshman from High Point who was last seen on the App State campus in Boone on Sept. 3.
Volunteers have been scouring areas in and around Watauga County for days looking for Smith.
The body was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for an autopsy. A cause of death will be released upon its completion.
Sheri Everts, the chancellor of the university, released a statement saying she was "deeply saddened" to share that the search for Smith "ended tragically.
"Having one of our own missing struck the Appalachian community very hard, and this very sad news is heartbreaking for us all," Everts wrote. "The loss of Anna will continue to weigh heavy on our hearts. I ask that we all join together to support and care for one another as we mourn."
The Charlotte Observer reported (http://bit.ly/1q1PFwP) Smith had left her cell phone and laptop at her parents' home after a visit to discuss a troubling experience in late August.
Smith reported being assaulted after going out with friends but had only a foggy memory of what had happened to her, said the Rev. Dana McKim, a family spokesman.
"She was very distraught and provided little detail," said McKim.
Campus Police Chief Gunther Doerr said investigators looked into Smith's description at the beginning of their investigation into her disappearance. They learned Smith had attended an off-campus gathering of about a half-dozen students, but there was no evidence of a sexual attack, Doerr said.
Authorities did establish that something had left Smith in an "anguished" state, Doerr said. He declined to be more specific.
McKim said Smith returned to campus sometime Aug. 31.
Investigators said she was reportedly last seen in her dorm, as well as on a campus transportation service called Safe Ride.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
