Unidentified Body Found During Search for Missing Student

— -- Police in Boone, N.C., searching for a missing Appalachian State University student today found a body near the campus, university officials said.

Anna Marie Smith has been missing for 10 days, but police said they had not yet been able to confirm whether the body found is that of the missing student.

Smith, a college freshman at Appalachian State University, was last seen on campus by her roommate on September 2, according to police.

Sheri Everts, the chancellor of the university, released a statement saying she was "deeply saddened" by the news but cautioned that police had still not identified the body.

"I ask that you keep in mind this is an incredibly difficult time for Anna's family, and keep their well-being foremost in your thoughts," Everts wrote.

Smith's parents said their daughter's cell phone, laptop and money were left behind when she disappeared.

Smith last contacted her family on Labor Day, writing them a Facebook message that simply said, "I love you."

According to Appalachian State University, police investigated reports that Smith had been sexually assaulted off campus before she disappeared. However, school officials said they had no evidence of the assault and no report was filed.

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Her parents helped organize search parties to comb through the Appalachian Mountains surrounding the school. On a Facebook page for the missing teenager, Smith's mother, Laurie Smith, estimated her daughter could have traveled more than 80 miles on foot, 200 miles by boat or be anywhere in the country if she hitched a ride in a car.

"Sometimes simple math can be scary," Laurie Smith wrote on Facebook.

On campus, officials have organized a prayer walk and asked any students with information about Smith's disappearance to come forward.

"We need Anna to come home," Laurie Smith said at a news conference. "She makes our hearts whole."