Anxious parents have flooded the Moorhead Police Department with calls, trying to get details about the killing of 18-year-old Thomas Bearson.
Bearson, an 18-year-old nursing student from Sartell, was just weeks into his freshman year at North Dakota State University when he vanished in a north Fargo neighborhood late Saturday night. Searchers found his body Tuesday, miles away and on the other side of the river, on the grounds of a local RV sales lot in south Moorhead.
The Ramsey County medical examiner's office ruled his death the result of "homicidal violence," but police have given no details about how he was killed as the investigation continues.
"We recognize the emotions within the community. We're fielding a lot of questions about personal safety and risk," said police spokesman Lt. Tory Jacobson.
But at the moment, police say there's not much information they can share with the public without jeopardizing the ongoing investigation. Instead, they're appealing for the public's help as they search, not just for the killer, but for Bearson's silver iPhone 5 and his missing left shoe -- a white Nike Air Jordan, size 9 1/2.
"We do not know who is responsible for this death," Jacobson said. "We do not have the answers they need."
Bearson was last seen on 14th Street North in Fargo. He was wearing a blue baseball cap, a blue Sartell High School track and field shirt and khaki shorts. Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Red River Regional Dispatch Center at (701) 451-7660.
Back in Sartell, Bearson's heartbroken family has appealed for privacy.
