Mercer students, faculty, Giddings family members honor missing graduate

More than 40 people -- Mercer University students, faculty and family members of Lauren Giddings -- attended a Saturday afternoon memorial service inside of the Walter F. George Law School, said Cam Rogers, a Mercer law student who helped organize the ceremony.

On Friday, Macon police said the remains found Thursday outside of the Barristers Hall apartment complex where Giddings lived were believed to be hers.

Still awaiting test results, a positive identification was not yet available. Giddings, 27, had been reported missing since last Saturday.

A group of students left the service and walked across Georgia Avenue to the apartment complex where Rogers said Giddings’ family had placed flowers, creating a memorial for the recent law school graduate.

The ceremony was a way to bring the close-knit Mercer University community together during such a difficult time, Rogers said.

“It doesn’t make it any easier,” he said, “but we’ll try to move on when we can.”

The students huddled in silence near the fence, where an array of flowers and wreaths were tied to the fence with white and silver ribbon. “Love leaves a memory no one can take. We love you Lauren always,” the ribbon read.

This story was originally published July 2, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mercer students, faculty, Giddings family members honor missing graduate."