Family And Friends Gather To Remember UC Davis Student Missing For Months
DAVIS (CBS13) - Family and friends gathered today to honor Linnea Lomax, the UC Davis student whose body was found on Friday in east Sacramento.
Lomax was very active in her Bible study group at UC Davis and at the First Baptist Church of Davis. People from the church came together to praise God for the time they shared with her and to pray for her family.
"It's at least closure. At least we know for sure, and that's better than never knowing," said Jeff Tan, a friend of Lomax's from church.
Friends of Lomax gathered around in prayer the same way they gathered up in search crews when they knew her family needed help to scour thick wooded areas near the American River. She was last seen in the area 10 weeks ago.
"I always knew that that was a possibility. Hopeful but wanting to be thinking about that possibility still," said Sarah Johnson, a church friend.
That possibility turned into reality Friday when Lomax's decomposed body was found by search teams near Glenn Hall Park in east Sacramento.
Many of these people spent countless hours on those searches.
"That's what it was when I was searching: I need to get this done. And other times, it's real; it's the loss of a friendship and it hurts," said Johnson.
The whole time they were trying to balance feelings of hope and grievance.
"To know what her family was going through, it kept me coming back," said Tan.
While we still don't know what happened to Lomax, her friends say she did not seem herself well before she disappeared.
"She started fading away out of all the normal things she had been doing," said Johnson. "We'd gone to sing happy birthday to her, and when we saw her, it was a shock -- something's wrong."
However, that would be Lomax's last birthday with friends. And while they say finally finding her is a blessing, it also wasn't how anyone wanted this story to end.
"I hope in time there will be healing and peace as a result," said Tan.
Search crew tell CBS13 they found her in an area they had not searched before. Police say there was no evidence of foul play. Meanwhile, the Lomaxes are holding a special service on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Cold Springs Community Church in Placerville.
