Macon police say they now believe that the body found yesterday is that of Lauren Giddings, the missing woman they have been searching for, and that she was a homicide victim.

The body was found just outside her apartment building near Mercer Law school but authorities have been unable to positively identify the body because of its condition.

In a Friday news conference, Police Chief Mike Burns says they believe the body is Giddings' because it was found so close to her apartment, because of the amount of time she's been missing, and for other reasons he would not divulge.

"We're all pretty sure this is going to be the victim," he said.

 Giddings has been missing since Saturday night. Police found the body while searching for her. 

Until now, police said they were treating Giddings' disappearance and the discovery of the body was separate investigations.

After police announced they believe the body discovered outside an apartment building near Mercer Law School is Lauren Giddings, the Mercer community and friends are speaking out.

Friend Jason Keith says he met Giddings two years ago in a club for runners.

He says they were supposed to go camping this weekend with friends, but he says she suddenly stopped returning phone calls or text messages.

He figured she was studying for the bar exam and didn't want to be disturbed.

Then, he says, he logged on to Facebook and got word of her disappearance.

He says with Gidding's parents living in Maryland, the runners group became an extended family for her in Macon.

This Fourth of July, like every holiday since 1970, thousands of folks will line up in Atlanta for the Peachtree Road Race. For avid runners to casual joggers, the 10K is a holiday tradition.

Mary Katz will get another Peachtree Road Race t-shirt this year.
She has run the event on and off for twenty years.

But many of the race shirts in her collection came from her mom Blanche, who competed in the Peachtree Road Race in the 70s.
Katz says eventually she and her mom shared a love of running together.

But it wasn't always easy as a teenager when her mom put in the training hours. "She used to run in the early 60s in Keds because there were no running shoes invented at that time, those didn't come in till the 1970s, on the high school track with the high school track team," Mary said with a smile.

Katz says she likes to complete the 6.2 mile course in under 48 minutes and she always wears one of her mom's old shirts.