BATON ROUGE, La. — Search efforts continue for an LSU student who has been missing since Tuesday.
According to a statement from Louisiana State University, no foul play or criminal activity is suspected in the disappearance of Kori Gauthier, a student at the school who is from Opelousas.
The school’s statement said that the search is centering on a targeted area of the Mississippi River where a K9 cadaver dog alerted twice Saturday but where conditions were too unsafe for divers to enter the water.
The search is being handled by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, LSU and Baton Rouge Police Departments and includes what the school said was the “latest available sonar technology.”
LSU PD has opened a command center, and anyone with information is asked to call 225-578-0807.
Gauthier’s abandoned car was found on the Mississippi River Bridge. A second car slammed into the vehicle sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday, but no one was in her vehicle at the time, according to officials.
Her phone was found inside of the car along with a wallet, The Advocate reported her family as saying.
The family has contacted hospitals and jails in their efforts to find Kori Gauthier, but found nothing.
Her family describes her as a sweet person with a model personality. She is a dance instructor and is studying education at LSU. They are offering a reward for her return.
"I'm willing to put my personal money up for my niece," Spencer Gauthier said. "Money talks. We don't know know what happened. Her life is worth more than $10,000. Maybe if someone did take her, that $10,000 will bring her back."
Kori Gauthier, 19, is described as 5’5” and weighs between 115-to-120 pounds with dark brown hair and brown eyes.