Missing LSU Student: Search is limited to part of the Mississippi River, university says

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Kori Gauthier’s car was found empty at the scene of an accident on the Mississippi bridge on Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge, according to LSUThe Louisiana Department of Transportation confirmed that there was an accident on the I-10 bridge early Wednesday morning that closed two lanes.
Citing Baton Rouge Police Department, CNN-affiliated WAFB reported that Gauthier’s car appeared to have been left behind and continued to drive on the bridge.

“When officers arrived, they found Gauthier’s personal belongings – including her phone – inside and had her car towed to a junkyard,” WAFB reported.

The search was curtailed after a K-9 cadaver dog alerted the same section of the river twice earlier on Saturday, the school said in its statement.

Conditions in the area were unsafe and divers were not deployed, the statement said, but mounted patrol will search an embankment along the river on Sunday and the latest sonar technology will be used on boats by law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement believes no criminal activity or foul play has taken place, based on the evidence gathered, the statement added.

The school’s police have been in contact with Gauthier’s parents, sharing private details with them, LSU said.

Gauthier’s father, Levar Gauthier, joined the search on Friday, and the family held a wake on Friday night near the site where her car was found, WAFB said.

“I haven’t eaten for lunch at work since Wednesday,” Levar Gauthier told WAFB on Friday. “I’ve slept maybe four hours in the last few days and her mom hadn’t slept that much, I’m sure. I’ll take a cat nap here and there, but I mean we won’t stop until we know something about my daughter.”
Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré said on Twitter Saturday he would join the United Cajun Navy and seek volunteers from Southern University. He asked for volunteers to help in the search for water, air and land.
Gauthier is an 18-year-old freshman at LSU. She is 5 feet, 5 inches and weighs between 115 and 120 pounds with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, according to LSU’s statement

CNN has contacted the Baton Rouge Police Department for more information about the accident and the search.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré

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