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MONDAY January 14, 2008 Vol. 115, No. 82 | Athens, Georgia Or Sunny. High 53 | Low 29 ONLINE; wwwjedandUack.com ‘There’s so much I don’t understand.’ Grim end to By water search ms m VHi '^wwL ' *Bf ''- v - Itsl • j&tn -"' -KhV l'^i’^^v^"^'±ls^S^ ■waijL. MfßjgL w TKm S FRANNIE FABIAN TANARUS, Kti. . Uuu ▲ Valery By water (left), mother of the late Cayle By water, speaks to the media while Tiffiny Cohen, Bywater’s sister, looks on during a press conference held at Bywater’s residence Friday. Divers from Hall County found Bywater’s body in the pond in Memorial Park Friday afternoon. BYWATER’S DISAPPEARANCE Dec. 29 Dec. 29 — i Jan. 4 Jan. 9 “”—1 Jan. 10 Jan. 12 ““ Bywater was 30 Family, friends and A pair of The GBI GBI Crime last seen in Bywater police search Memorial Bywater’s joins ACC Lab identifies Memorial missed shifts Park. ACC officials eyeglasses police in the the body as Park around at Aroma’s drag Memonal Park's are found search. Bywater’s. 6 p.m, lake, but find nothing. Dec"Tl 11,1, -~ l Bywater’s dog, Ollie, is seen running loose outside Police obtain a Divers from Hall her 2004 S Milledge home. Concerned neighbors picture of Bywater, County’s Shernf s contact police. Bywater's basement door is open which was taken Department find a and her purse, wallet, cell phone and car are found the day of her dis- body matching at her residence. appearance by an Bywater s Bywater is later reported missing undisclosed person, description. Gym Dogs go West, muster one win, loss BY TYLER ESTEP The Red & Black An injured Gym Dogs squad had a tough opening weekend on the road, dropping a close decision to third-ranked Utah Friday before eking out a win over Stanford on Sunday. Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said earlier in the ~ a| . ~ week that her Gym Dogs were about a month behind where r> flj they should be H|l, M due six off jPpt • ies and other rT 3, injuries earlier in the week. KUrfcla Her prognosti cation proved to be true Friday. Top-ranked Georgia fell just a tenth of a point shy of victory in Salt Lake City, where they claimed their third consecu tive national championship last season, leading for most of the meet before falls on the beam by juniors Courtney Kupets and Tiffany Tolnay in the final rotation meant that the Gym Dogs had to count a fall and would lose the contest 196.300-196.200. The loss marked the first See GYM, I’ttye 3 Reaching the Newsroom News (706) 433-3037 Variety (706) 433-3041 Sports (706) 433-3040 Opinion! (706) 433-3043 Photo (706) 433-3046 The Red&Black An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community ESTABLISHED 189 3, IN I) E PENDENT 198 0 Emerson memorial service overflows with mourners BY ALEX BUSKO The Red & Black Cars lined both sides of the narrow residential street and SUVs sat on curbs and front yards as the parking lot of the Central Presbyterian Church overflowed into the surrounding neighborhood Friday. Friends, family and others gathered to mourn the loss and remember the life of Meredith Hope Emerson. Emerson, a 24-year-old University alumna who dis appeared during a New Year’s Day hike, was found murdered in Dawson County’s Vogel State Park one week ago and will be laid to rest in her home town of Longmont, Colo. Inside the church, a young girl wandered up to the glass and stared out at the crowd from the nursery where Emerson had worked as a volunteer while attend ing the University. At 2 p.m., with every pew filled from wall to aisle and with the fellowship hall reduced to standing room only, the Rev. Deborah Trimpe opened the service with a reading from scrip ture. Two close friends of Emerson’s lsaac Wolf and Robby Poister fol- On the Web redandblack.com Like to hit people while roller blading, but don’t think it’s very lady-like? Then you just might be interested in Girls Roller Derby. But you have to attend the meeting tonight. Check out details online. V RICHARD HAMM | T> Rn Buc ▲ Mourners exit Central Presbyterian Church Friday afternoon after a memorial service for slain alumna Meredith Emerson. Emerson’s body was found in the North Georgia woods off a hiking trail Jan. 7. lowed Trimpe’s reading from the Book of Romans with stories and memories, telling just what made their friend such a warm and caring person and such a pleasure, to be around. Julia Karrenbauer, Emerson’s longtime friend and Buford roommate, and Jason Emerson, a cousin, also spoke. Emerson acquired a love Season skid? page 5 Could the Lady Dogs pull it together against those Auburn Plainswomen? We won’t say here - you’re just going to have to turn those pages on your own to find out. for hiking after her family moved to Colorado, and was so moved by her room mate’s dog, Brandy, that she began her own search for a companion. She res cued the black labrador mix she would name Ella from an animal shelter, the Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported. See MEMORIAL, I'tif/r 2 Graduate stude7it found in Memorial Park lake BY TAMARA BEST The fen & Biack Family and friends are reflecting on the life of Cayle Bywater after her body was found Friday afternoon in Memorial Park’s lake. The preliminary cause of Bywater’s death was ruled a drowning, and investiga tors say they do not suspect foul play. Divers from the Hall County Sheriff’s Department found Bywater’s body at 4:30 p.m., almost two weeks after she was last seen. “While the search is over, there are still a lot of questions that have to be answered,” said her mother, Valery Bywater. “There’s so much I don’t understand. HopefuUy, as they continue to investigate, things will make more sense.” Bywater’s body was taken Friday to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Decatur for an autopsy. On Saturday, the Crime Lab officially identified the body as Bywater’s. Her body did not appear to have been the vic tim of violence, Athens-Clarke County Coroner Bobby Tribble said. There were not signs of obvi ous trauma. Investigators await the findings of a toxicolo gy test. "She was a very hard-working student,” Beth Daniell, a friend of Bywater's, said in a telephone interview. “We struggled together sometimes, but she was really enjoying class.” Daniell talked about Bywater’s love for her dog, who Bywater affectionately called Ollie. “Oliver was about 2 years old, and she had him for about eight months. She was always talking about going running with him in Memorial Park,” Daniell said. ACC officials dragged the pond Jan. 4, but did not find anything related to Bywater. She was last seen in Memorial Park around 6 p.m. on Dec. 29 and was reported missing on New Year’s Eve. A pair of Bywater's eyeglasses were found Wednesday, which spurred the 081 to join the search Thursday. It was a difficult end of two traumatic weeks for Bywater’s family. “We want everyone to know how bright and loving Cayle was," Valery Bywater said during a news conference Friday night. “She touched everyone she met.” Valery Bywater thanked the media, community Sit BYWATER, Page 3 MUg- Cotirrttr Michakl Lavinr a Yo La Tengo will perform at Melting Point at 8:30 tonight. Doors open at 6. Yo La Tengo plays in tour’s ‘third leg 5 BY VALENTINA TAPIA ■ The Red & Black Touring in a band for over two decades may yield experience with the lifestyle, but it doesn't make it any less strange. “I think it would be weird if a bunch of • people driving around the country didn’t seem alien in some way,” said Ira Kaplan, a founding member of Hoboken, N.J.-based band Yo La Tengo, in a telephone interview Friday. “Not only is (tour ing) unsettling, I think SET THE STAGE After ‘four nights in Alpharetta’ Doug Benson hits up Athens. VARIETY, PAGE 3 BYWATER Y 0 LA TENGO With Kurt Wagner When: 8:30 tonight Where: Melting Point Cost: S2O it would be weird if it wasn't. There’s a lot of things I like about this tour, but one of them is by being different, it's almost unsettling extra unsettling,” he said. Kaplan said the “Free-wheeling Yo La Tengo Tour," which is now in its “third leg,” See BAND, Page 3 Index UGA Today 2 Wire 2 Opinions 4 Variety 3 Crossword , 3 Sports 3 Sudoku r V 5