Body Found near American River Identified as Missing UC Davis Freshman
ByThe body found near Sacramento's American River has been identified as the University of California, Davis student who went missing in June.
The coroner identified the body as that of Linnea Lomax, 19, who went missing June 26 after leaving an outpatient mental health facility. The 10-week long search for her by thousands of volunteers ended on a tragic note when her decomposed body was found by the search team, Daily News reports.
Brad Dennis, who organized the search and serves as the rescue director for the KlaasKids Foundation, said a team leader discovered the body and immediately called police.
Detectives have ruled out the possibility of foul play.
"The cause and manner of death are under investigation, however, foul play does not appear to be a factor at this point of the investigation," coroner Greg Wyatt said in a statement.
Lomax, a 4.1 GPA student, ended up being a stressed, depressed freshman at UC Davis, plagued with suicidal thoughts.
Her parents, Craig and Marianne Lomax, said she suffered a mental breakdown while studying for finals at UC Davis and was frightened about failing the final exams.
When her parents visited her dorm room, they saw Lomax 'literally pulling her hair out, with a bottle of open ibuprofen in clear sight and a suicide website on her computer screen,' reports Daily News. She had also lost 20 pounds and looked dehydrated.
On her parents' insistence, she checked herself into an inpatient mental health facility where she spent 12 days. She was discharged June 25 and the next day left an outpatient clinic halfway through therapy. Lomax had been missing since then, until 10 a.m. Friday, when her body was discovered.
The family of the deceased has issued a statement thanking everyone who helped them attain closure by discovering her body.
"Arrangements for a celebration of life service are being made and details will be made public," the statement said.
Her father, Craig Lomax, told The Bee his family is devastated but hopes to see positive changes come from his daughter's death.