Missing transgender student found dead in Kentucky after weeks-long search

A search party found the body of a missing transgender student in Kentucky. Murry Foust, a 22-year-old senior fine arts major at Northern Kentucky University, was found dead weeks after disappearing in late April.

Covington Police do not suspect foul play. Police say a cause of death will be determined by the Campbell County Coroner’s Office. Police said they are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the death.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the Foust family and their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. While we are saddened by this loss, we hope this development can provide the family with some answers and a measure of closure,” wrote Covington Police Capt. Justin Bradbury in a press release.

A statement attributed to the Foust family was released on Facebook.

“Thank you to everyone in the community who has supported our family through this difficult time. By now, you have likely learned that [Murry] has been found and is no longer with us. While our hearts are broken and this is not the outcome we were hoping for, we can only pray that finding them provides closure and comfort to everyone who is hurting,” the statement, posted by Jennifer Heise Foust, reads.

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The statement said a scholarship will be established in memory of Foust, who was scheduled to graduate from NKU earlier this month. According to friends and local reports, Foust disappeared on April 27 after leaving for class but never arriving. His backpack was later found on campus, while his cellphone remained at their apartment.

“We are establishing an art scholarship fund in their name to honor their love of art,” the statement reads. “Any donations or proceeds from the sale of Murry’s work will be used to support other art students in the community.”

The family also said that a showing of Foust’s art, already scheduled before their death, will proceed at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s “Art After Dark” on May 29. Art will be sold there. A pottery fundraiser will also be held at NKU in the near future.

Funds were also being raised for the family through Meal Train, and additional funds will go to the scholarship, according to the family.

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“Thank you again to everyone who came together to support us and lift us up,” the statement reads. “We pray Alexis ‘Murry’ Foust is at peace.”

Foust’s body was found by an independently organized search party in Wilder, a community six miles south of Covington, where Foust was last seen alive on April 27. Police had widely circulated footage of Foust during the search effort. The weeks-long search involved drones, K-9 units, water rescue teams, and thermal imaging technology, according to local authorities and search organizers.