Police Find Remains Of Missing Ohio State University Student One Month After Disappearance

An Ohio State University graduate student who went missing in June was found dead July 12 after authorities located her body in a quarry, according to a statement from the deceased’s family.

The search for Amina Alhaj-Omar, 25, came to a tragic end Wednesday when Franklin County authorities found the missing graduate student’s body in a quarry near where she was last spotted June 10, FOX 8 reported.

After she was missing for over a month, the family of an Ohio State University student confirmed she was found dead on Wednesday. https://t.co/mTJTVD6MdM

— WBNG 12 News (@WBNG12News) July 17, 2023

“On Wednesday afternoon we received a call from the Franklin County detectives when they later came to our home and informed the family that they had found Amina’s body in the quarry behind the BP gas station on S High Street where she was last seen. We are unaware of the details at this time as we have not yet received the autopsy report. We would like to ask the public for their prayers for Amina,” Alhaj-Omar’s family said in a statement cited by the outlet.

Alhaj-Omar was considered to be “high-risk” after her disappearance, with early-morning surveillance video from a convenient store showing her armed with two kitchen knives, NBC4i previously reported. Almost three weeks after her disappearance, law enforcement authorities suspended the active search for Alhaj-Omar after receiving no further leads to her whereabouts. (RELATED: Escaped Ohio Inmate Reportedly Found Dead Floating In River)

Prior to finding her body, police located Alhaj-Omar’s abandoned car near I-270, noting it had sustained minor damage, according to NBC4i. Alhaj-Omar’s sister Miriam reportedly said police had previously found her sister’s jacket, shoes and cellphone on quarry property and speculated the young woman might have gone for a swim in the deep quarry pond — an activity her sister enjoyed, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Officials have not disclosed how Alhaj-Omar died.

Family members and friends remember Alhaj-Omar as a “bubbly, shy, caring, funny, and loving human being inside and out,” whose laugh was “contagious and brought happiness to everyone in the room,” The Columbus Dispatch reported, citing her obituary.

Before her death Alhaj-Omar was studying social work and interned with the victims of crime program at Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS), according to the outlet.