The Red and Black

Issue date: 1/11/08 Section: News

Media Credit: RICHARD HAMM Hillary Hunter, a junior from Albany, notices a sign about missing student Cayle Bywater as she walks into Off-Campus Bookstore Thursday. [Click to enlarge]

BYWATER

The search for 29-year-old University graduate student Cayle Bywater is intensifying as evidence continues to surface.

A pair of women's eyeglasses was discovered at Memorial Park on Wednesday, and investigators were able to link them to Bywater, according to a news release issued Thursday by Athens-Clarke County Police.

This discovery came as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation joined the search Thursday. On Friday morning, ACC police and GBI agents searched Memorial Park, and were assisted by the Hall County Sheriff's Department Dive Team and the Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit.

"It seems odd to me that the idea of kidnapping was dismissed entirely in the first place, especially with her belongings being left at the house," said Beth Daniell, a friend of Bywater's.

Daniell met Bywater when they began carpooling to class and last spoke to her on Dec. 20, nine days before she went missing.

"Everything seemed normal and I understand that she is bipolar, but being off of her medication would not cause her to just wander off," Daniell said.

Bywater was last seen at Memorial Park around 6 p.m. on Dec. 29 and was reported missing on New Year's Eve.

When Bywater's dog was seen running loose outside her 2004 S. Milledge Ave. home, concerned neighbors contacted police. Bywater's basement door was open, and her purse, wallet, cell phone and car were found at her residence, according to a police report.

The woods and lake of Memorial Park and the trails near the University's Intramural Fields were searched Jan. 4.

Also, an unidentified person provided authorities with a picture taken the day of her disappearance.

Tiffiny Cohen, Bywater's sister, told the Athens Banner-Herald she fears her sister may have been abducted.

Published reports have questioned the possibility that Bywater's case could be linked to Meredith Emerson, the 24-year-old University alumna whose body was found Monday evening. Emerson allegedly was abducted and murdered by Gary Hilton while hiking alone with her dog in Vogel State Park Jan. 1.

A memorial service for Emerson will be held today at 2 p.m. at the Central Presbyterian Church on Alps Road, Peggy Bailey, Emerson's godmother and family spokeswoman, said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the ACC Police are talking to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation about a possible connection.

According to information on findcayle.blogspot.com, a Web site run by Bywater's family, authorities informed the family Monday there is no link between the Bywater and Emerson cases.

Another organized search for Bywater is planned for Saturday morning at Memorial Park. Volunteers are asked to check findcayle.blogspot.com for details.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact ACC Detective Dustin Smith at (706) 613-3888, ext. 795, or GBI Special Agent Rebecca Shaw at 1-800-597-8477.

University President Michael Adams praises Meredith Emerson in statement.

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