Police still are searching for a University graduate student who was reported missing Wednesday.
Carrie Yoder, 26, is a graduate student in biological sciences. She is in her second year of a three-year National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Fellowship.
Baton Rouge Police Department Cpl. Mary Ann Godawa said the investigation is considered a missing persons case. But the serial killer task force and the State Police Crime Lab are in supporting roles, she said.
“This is a female close to the LSU campus who is not in the habit, according to people who know her, to disappear without letting someone know,” Godawa said.
She said this information sent off “red flags,” and the task force went to help investigate.
Bill Platt, Yoder’s major professor, said Yoder was not the type of person to go off without telling someone.
“I have written down exactly when she has gone; it is part of my job to know,” Platt said. “If something happens in the field I need to know who to get in touch with.”
An officer at Yoder’s 4250 Dodson Ave. home Wednesday said Yoder made a purchase at Winn-Dixie Monday evening. He also said her back door was left open and groceries were inside but not put away while other groceries were left in her car. But, Godawa would not confirm this information.
Crime scene investigators from the State Police Crime Lab and the Baton Rouge Crime Lab entered Yoder’s home wearing blue cloth shoes and dusted areas in the home such as the front door.
Investigators removed the front door Wednesday evening for evidence but Godawa would not elaborate on what other items were removed.
Police also canvassed the neighborhood Wednesday to see if anyone noticed anything, Godawa said. Other officers were at a command post at the Winn-Dixie on Burbank Drive asking shoppers if they had information related to the Yoder investigation.
Godawa said investigators are sorting through the information they received.
Investigators also used a search and rescue dog, Elka, to aid officers in a search for evidence.
“We are doing everything we can to help the investigation and find Ms. Yoder,” Godawa said.
While police are searching for Yoder and warning residents to be careful, residents in the surrounding area are taking their own precautions to stay safe.
At a neighboring apartment complex, a concerned resident placed letters on fellow residents’ doors asking them to leave their porch lights on.
The letter states the resident has two concerns — a lack of lighting and high shrubs.
Resident Stephanie Legendre said the lighting concerns her, but there is a lack of lighting at other apartment complexes.
She said her roommate always leaves on the porch light, but she does not see much difference.
“I find that the lights at the door don’t help much,” Legendre said. “Whenever I get out my car, I always am talking to someone on my phone until I get inside.”
Legendre said she is more concerned with the noise level around the apartment complex and the high fences.
“You can’t trust your ears because there is something always going on over here or across the street,” she said.
While police and residents are being more cautious, Yoder’s research waits for her to return.
Platt said she is doing everything she needs to do to get her Ph.D. and doing it well, he said.
“Carrie is very independent and developed a lot of her own ideas,” he said. “All of the students in my lab are first-rate scientists. This lab is very dynamic, and we all interact well with each other.”
Platt has known Yoder since 1999 when she interviewed with the department to be a graduate student. She has a master’s degree from the University of Central Florida. She also has completed all requirements for a minor in experimental statistics.
Platt said her background in statistics, plant population biology, community ecology and the ecology of coastal wetlands should help her analyze and interpret results for her dissertation research.
She is in a two-part study of the coastal plant communities at Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in coastal Alabama just east of Mobile. She is analyzing data received from her field research at Weeks Bay and is writing a manuscript to be submitted for publication, Platt said.
Platt said Yoder’s work is on hold.
“There is nothing that is so critical that it can’t wait,” he said.
Platt said Yoder’s disappearance affects everyone within the lab.
“She is a very bright and very successful lady,” Platt said. “She has all the earmarks of someone who would be a very successful scientist and a good role model.”