The family of an Ohio State University graduate student who was found dead in a quarry weeks after she vanished have paid tribute to her as a “bubbly, shy, caring, funny, and loving human being”.
Amina Alhaj-Omar, 26, vanished from Columbus on 10 June. She was last seen at a BP gas station, where she was reportedly spotted carrying two knives.
Her body was discovered in a quarry behind the petrol garage on 12 July.
“On Wednesday afternoon we received a call from the Franklin County detectives when they later came to our home and informed the family that they had found Amina’s body in the quarry behind the BP gas station on S High Street where she was last seen,” a statement from Alhaj-Omar’s family read.
“We are unaware of the details at this time as we have not yet received the autopsy report. We would like to ask the public for their prayers for Amina.”
In an obituary for the student, her family said she was a “bubbly, shy, caring, funny, and loving human being”.
“Most people who truly knew Amina immediately remember her laugh – it was contagious and brought happiness to everyone in the room,” the family said in the obituary.
“She had a way of making people feel comfortable and welcomed in any situation. Her personality was simply beautiful – a bubbly, shy, caring, funny, and loving human being inside and out.”
The grim discovery followed a weeks-long search that began after police received a call from Olen Corporation’s Columbus plant about a tresspasser, who authorities believe may have been Alhaj-Omar - however when police arrived she had vanished.
Alhaj-Omar’s shoes, cellphone and jacket were found by the gas staton, and her family said following her disappearance they feared she may have been experiencing a mental health crisis.
