Who was Leah Conner? Missing 16-year-old Avoca girl's death on popular walking trail dubbed 'suspicious'
ST CLAIR COUNTY, MICHIGAN: A 16-year-old teen from Avoca, Michigan, was found dead over the weekend along a trail, leading the authorities to describe the death as 'suspicious'.
Leah Conner of Avoca, St Clair County, went for a walk on Saturday morning, March 6, at around 11.30 a.m. and did not return. Her family reported her missing late afternoon that day. Police started a search of the area with the help of K-9 dogs, with the investigation focused on the Wadhams to Avoca trail near the Trestle Bridge. Investigators found Leah’s body on March 7, Sunday morning under suspicious circumstances.
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Detroit News reported an autopsy is planned this week, according to Michigan State Police Lt. Lizabeth Rich. A spokesperson for the St Clair County Medical Examiner said on Monday, March 8, the autopsy was not scheduled. “Investigators are still at work on this,” Rich said. “We aren’t discussing or releasing other details until after an autopsy. Any death in this manner is considered suspicious until an autopsy is completed. But we don’t feel there is any reason for the community to be alarmed. At this time, law enforcement does not feel there is a threat to the public.”
The investigation team has not ruled out the death being accidental. Conner's body was found near a 60-foot-high bridge that crosses Mill Creek.
Who was Leah Conner?
Conner was a junior at Yale High School, where students were being counseled following news of her death, school district Superintendent Ken Nicholl said.
“We are a small community and something like this touches everyone — students and staff,” said Nicholl. Nicholl called Conner a “good kid” who ran cross-country, was on the school's robotics team and played the ukulele at a school talent show. She also played piano and was a singer and songwriter. “We don’t know what happened or why something happened, but that's secondary to helping to address the loss everyone is feeling right now,” Nicholl said. “We spent several hours on Sunday night planning on how to deal with this today. It's been very difficult.”
"She had such a beautiful soul and I want everyone to know, I want to scream it to the world," said Kayla Harris, a family friend. "She would make you feel very special when she was little, she would give up her toys to another kid to play with," Harris said. "She would rather (have) you be happy. And that's how she was with her sisters, too, and her mom. She would just walk through the kitchen and just hug them and say 'I love you' just because. That is who she was."
Her friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay funeral and memorial expenses. The page has raised $20,805 of the $15,000 goal. The fundraiser described Conner as "a beautiful blue-eyed young lady with an infectious smile who had a bright future ahead of her.’ Conner was said to have "loved to dance and attended classes at the dance studio in Emmett".