In the spring of 1996 police answered a service call on the behalf of a mother who hadn't heard from her daughter in several days. They found the student dead in her apartment, bound and killed in a mysterious fashion.

Auburn is still a small town, with few reported, documented violent crimes and they always shake the community, much like the sad case of a high profile student murder in 2008 did.

The 1996 case was turned over to the FBI, and I can't recall whether they reached a conclusion, found a suspect or made an arrest. The case was before there was the desire or need to web-savy so there doesn't seem to be any information online.

This is her apartment, a half-block from campus, with the crime scene tape still on the door. I didn't realize it until much later, but I would go on to live just down the street from here during my last three years in school.

There was, and perhaps still is, a perception that school officials and police help keep crime reports low to present an idyllic setting. I can't verify the data, but the students have that theory.

I can say this: In five years I never felt threatened or frightened by any circumstance in Auburn. With the exception of the occasional hurricane.

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