NEED TO KNOW
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A body found in Vermont on October 23 has been officially identified as that of missing Middlebury College student Lia Smith, 21.
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Smith’s manner of death was released by the local medical examiner’s office.
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Smith was reported missing on Sunday, October 19, two days after she was last seen on the Middlebury campus.
The death of missing Middlebury College student Lia Smith has been officially confirmed.
Smith, 21, was reported missing by her father on Sunday, Oct. 19, two days after she was last seen on campus. Vermont State Police discovered a body near the university on Thursday, October 23, and an autopsy has now confirmed it is that of Smith, according to a Vermont Police Department (VPD) press release shared on Friday, October 24.
The Vermont Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Smith committed suicide, according to the release.
PEOPLE reached out to both the VPD and the Medical Examiner’s Office for comment on Saturday, October 25, but did not receive an immediate response.
Middlebury College President Ian Baucom announced the news to the college community in a statement on Facebook on Saturday, sharing that he had spoken with Smith’s family and expressed his “distress.”
Lia Smith
“As president, and even more so as a father, I mourn you. This is a profound loss that no one should have to endure,” he continued.
“As we mourn, I want to express my deep gratitude for the efforts of our Student Affairs staff who have been offering such compassionate support to Lia’s family, friends, and students throughout our community. We will continue to support them in every way possible,” Baucom said.
He noted that Smith, who was from Woodside, California, was a “remarkable person.”
“She was a diver on our women’s swimming and diving team, a member of our chess and Japanese clubs, and an outspoken advocate for transgender rights. Her academic interests were broad and she was double majoring in computer science and statistics. She was a gift to us and we are so grateful that she was, and always will be, a member of our Middlebury family,” they added.
Members of the Vermont State Police and Rescue Team found Smith’s body in Cornwall, Vermont, near the university’s organic farm, the Middlebury Police Department said in a statement.
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Middlebury students joined authorities in the search for Smith, according to MyNBC5.
“We’re a really small community,” senior Lucy Schembre told the local media outlet during the search efforts. “Even if you don’t know someone personally, you definitely know someone who knows them, and you’ve definitely seen them around. It’s very jarring for someone who’s supposed to be here, not to be here.”
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