Slain Virginia teen mourned as investigation continues

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A 13-year-old girl who police say was abducted and killed by an American university student is being remembered by friends as an "angel" on Earth as investigators work to piece together the final moments of the teen's life.

Virginia Tech student David Eisenhauer, 18, has been charged with first-degree murder and abduction in the death of Nicole Madison Lovell, whose body was found Saturday in the state of North Carolina, police said. Another student, Natalie Keepers, 19, faces charges of improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony.

Davy Draper, who said he's a close family friend of the Lovells and knew the teen most of her life, called her an energetic and outspoken girl who got along with everyone.

"She was an awesome little girl. She was an angel here on Earth and she's an angel now," Draper said Sunday.

Eisenhauer and Keepers were being held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail. A Blacksburg police spokesman said officials did not yet know when the two suspects would make their first court appearances.

Police said they have evidence showing Eisenhauer and Lovell knew each other before she disappeared.

The investigation continued as a state police search and recovery team searched a pond Sunday on the Virginia Tech Campus. Police Spokeswoman Corrinne Geller would not say what officials were trying to find.

Authorities located Lovell's remains in Surry County, North Carolina, just over the Virginia border.

Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson told The Roanoke Times that Eisenhauer has not confessed to involvement in Lovell's death and did not give police information that led to the discovery of her body.

The girl had been missing since last week.

Eisenhauer was as a standout track and field athlete in high school, who was named Boys Indoor Track Performer of the Year by The Baltimore Sun in March.