Body found during search for missing Middlebury College student

Police in Vermont discovered a body while searching for a missing Middlebury College student on the school’s campus Thursday afternoon, they announced. 

The Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team found the body Thursday around 1:30 p.m. near The Knoll, the college’s farm located in Cornwall, the Middlebury Police Department said in a press release. 

Police have not yet confirmed the identity of the person found. 

An initial investigation does not indicate that the death is suspicious, police said. 

The body was found during police’s search for Lia Smith, 21, a college senior who was reported missing on Sunday. 

Smith, from California, was last seen Oct. 7 around 9 p.m., police said. 

“I know that this is extraordinarily difficult news to receive as we continue to hold Lia and all her family and friends tight in our hearts. As ever, please care for yourselves and one another,” Middlebury College President Ian Baucom said in a Facebook post Thursday night. 

The body will be taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine cause of death and identity, scheduled for Oct. 24, the statement said.