21 Year old Marshall University Student Leah N. Hickman Missing Since December 14, 2007 (UPDATE: Body Found Believed to be Missing Leah Hickman, Positively ID’d)
21 year old Marshall University student Leah N. Hickman has been missing since 
Friday, December 14, 2007.
Description: Leah N. Hickman:
- white female
- she is a junior at Marshall, majoring in journalism
- height: five-foot-four
- weight: 125 pounds
- brown hair
- blue eyes.
Leah N. Hickman last talked with her mother, Sherry Russell, of Leon, early Friday afternoon. Her family, which expected her home for the holiday break, became concerned after she did not report to work at the Dress Barn on Saturday or Sunday.
Huntington Police Sgt. John Williams says Hickman’s car, purse, coat, keys and packed bags were found at the apartment she shared with her older sister.
Hickman’s family has posted fliers in neighborhoods, restaurants and service stations from Huntington to South Point, Ohio.
UPDATE I :Search Continues for Marshall Student
According to the police report Hickman’s purse, car keys and coat remained in her room. Her yellow Chevrolet Cavalier still is parked just outside her apartment building at 403 8th Avenue.
It’s known that Hickman bought McDonald’s at around 5:40 p.m. Dec. 14 and was supposed to meet with a friend later that evening, but never showed.
Caitlin and Leah’s mother say her voicemail on her cell phone is completely full and messages of concern stream across her MySpace page.
The Dress Barn in Barboursville, the store where Leah works, is offering $10,000 reward for any information about where the girl might be.
UPDATE II: Body That May Be Missing Student Found
The body of missing 21 year old Leah Hickman may have been found by investigators. Forensic investigators found the body in a common laundry room in the basement of the missing woman’s apartment building.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Investigators found a body in a crawl space Friday that police believe is that of a missing Marshall University student.
Forensic investigators found the body at 5 p.m. in a common laundry room in the basement of the missing woman’s apartment building, the Huntington Police Department said in a prepared statement.
The body has not been identified but indications are that it is that of 21-year-old Leah Hickman, who has been missing since Dec. 14, the department said.
There are no suspects, Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at a Friday night news conference. He provided few details, saying police do not want to jeopardize the investigation. He said police do not know how long the body had been in the crawl space. He would not say whether a cause of death has been determined.
Body found in missing W.Va. student’s home
Investigators removed the body of a young woman found in a crawl space at the apartment of a missing Marshall University student on Saturday afternoon.
Authorities also barred traffic from a three-block area around the four-unit building, and the Herald-Dispatch newspaper reported that forensic investigators had worked through the night and were expected to remain at the scene throughout Saturday.
The body has been sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Charleston for an autopsy, the Huntington Police said. The agency said the next update about the case is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
“Although we strongly believe the body is that of Leah Hickman, a positive identification will be made by the medical examiner,” Lt. Rocky Johnson said in a statement.
UPDATE III: Body Found in Crawl Space Identified as Missing West Virginia Student
Police say a body found in a crawl space at a Huntington apartment building is that of a missing Marshall University student.
Huntington police announced Monday that the body had been positively identified as Hickman, a journalism student at Marshall.
They declined to release any details about how she died.