Vt. school mourns teacher as suspect is sought
By LISA RATHKE, Associated Press
Mar 27, 2012 12:39 PM CDT
This undated identification photo provided Monday, March 26, 2012 by the St. Johnsbury, Vt., police shows Melissa Jenkins, who went missing Sunday night, March 25. Police said her 2-year-old child was found alone in her car a short distance from her home. (AP Photo/St. Johnsbury Police Department)   (Associated Press)

Vermont police worked through the night to follow up on leads in the case of Melissa Jenkins, a prep school teacher who disappeared and whose body was apparently found a day later, a town over from where her SUV had been found idling with her toddler unharmed inside.

An autopsy was being conducted Tuesday on the body, believed to be that of Jenkins, a 33-year-old science teacher at the prestigious St. Johnsbury Academy. Police are expected to release at least the positive identification of the body later in the day.

A shrine to Jenkins was set up in the entry to a main building at the academy, a boarding school also serves as the public high school for St. Johnsbury, a town of about 6,200 about 40 miles south of the Canadian border.

Between 100 and 200 students gathered at the academy Monday night after the news came out that a body had been found. Classes were canceled Tuesday.

"They have a range of emotions, just like me," headmaster Tom Lovett said Tuesday of his students. "I'm done with the numbness and I'm done with the confusion; there's a lot of sadness and a lot of anger starting to arise."

Jenkins taught science and had served as the freshman girls basketball coach at the academy, a school of about 970 students that was established in the 1840s and whose alumni include President Calvin Coolidge.

On Tuesday, police said investigators had worked overnight. They appealed to the public for help, asking anyone who might have traveled Sunday night along the road in St. Johnsbury where Jenkins' car was found, or along the road in Barnet where the body was found.

They said they would update the public once they get the results of the autopsy.

Jenkins grew up in Danville, a tight-knit town west of St. Johnsbury where she attended the Danville School, which has about 300 students.

"All the kids go through K-12 school together. They play basketball together. Most of them have worked at my store or here at the Creamery," said Marty Beattie, the owner of Mary's Quick Stop a store on U.S. Route 2. He was referring to the local restaurant where Jenkins worked part-time as a waitress.

"They've laughed together, they've played together," he said. "So it's not all just genetic, but we're one big family."

Violent crime is rare in picturesque northeastern Vermont but not unknown.

In September 2010, Pat O'Hagan, a 78-year-old grandmother, disappeared from her home in Sheffield, about 20 miles north of St. Johnsbury. Her body was found almost a month later about 10 miles from her home in Wheelock.

Police have ruled the death a homicide, but no arrests have been made. Authorities have not said whether they believe Jenkins' case is connected.

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