Cobb teen Lauren Burk found shot at Auburn

An investigative task force is pursuing several leads in the slaying of Auburn University freshman Lauren A. Burk of Cobb County, police said Thursday afternoon.

"We have several leads...some strong leads," said Tommy Dawson, assistant police chief for the city of Auburn.

But police were otherwise tight-lipped about their investigation, declining to talk about interviews they've conducted or offer any new details of the crime. Police had earlier said they have talked to several "persons of interest" in the case.

Dawson said his department has assembled a 30-person investigative team, drawing from state and federal agencies including the FBI.

"When you're dealing with someone's child and you're investigating the death of an 18-year-old student, you want every resource possible at your disposal . . . I want the brightest minds in the field of law enforcement at our disposal," Dawson said.

Authorities also asked the public to call two tip lines with any information. They are 888-522-7847, a toll free line, and 334-501-7337, a local Auburn number. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's office announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to Burk's killer.

Burk, who graduated last year from Walton High School, was found mortally wounded about 9 p.m. Tuesday along a lonely, sloping stretch of Alabama Highway 147. The site is about five miles north of campus, near a new subdivision under construction.

Police have said they received a call to the scene, but they declined to say who made the call or to describe Burk's condition when officers arrived. Burk had a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at East Alabama Medical Center, officials have said.

About 20 minutes after police found her, Burk's black 2001 Honda Civic was reported engulfed in flames at the Hinton Field parking lot near a dormitory on campus.

Richard Landreth, who lives about a quarter-mile from the spot where Burk was found along the highway, said investigators spent most of the day Wednesday combing the roadside with metal detectors. Landreth said he heard no gunshots or anything else unusual Tuesday evening.

"We're all heartbroken by this tragedy," Landreth said Thursday. "People send their kids down here to Auburn and they want them to be safe."

Burk was a member of Delta Gamma sorority and did not live on campus, said Jim Hardin, director of the Auburn University Office of Judicial Affairs.

Family and friends who gathered Wednesday at Burk's home near Marietta struggled to cope with the loss.

"It's worse than losing a child to a car wreck," said family friend Dawn Barrs, whose sons also attended Walton High and knew Burk. "It's just a sincere tragedy -- a nightmare."

Burk's slaying also hit the Walton High School community hard.

Walton student Greg Greene met Burk in math class when he was a freshman.

"She was the first older person ever to talk to me and be a friend of mine," he said. She was "probably the greatest girl I know."

"I just remember her as always having a ton of friends," he said.

Walton senior Monique Osigbeme heard the news as she was on her way to compete in a track meet Wednesday.

"She was always smiling, always laughing and happy," she said. "She had a really nice smile and really pretty brown hair. Oh my God, that's really sad."

Principal Tom Higgins said, "She was a great leader, a great kid. She was a very, very good student."

Barrs, who went on a spring break trip to Panama City, Fla., with Burk and other parents and students last year, said Burk stood out from other kids her own age because she seemed more mature.

"She was level-headed and a very responsible student," Barrs said.

Barrs said Burk and her longtime boyfriend attended Auburn together, and that Burk's older sister also is an Auburn student.

Family members told Barr that the couple were together about two hours before Burk's killing, but Burk went to the library to study with friends "and never made it there," Barr said. At Thursday's press conference, police were asked if they have interviewed the boyfriend but declined to answer.

Officials at Auburn, which has many metro Atlantans among its nearly 25,000 students, issued a statement Wednesday saying there was "no indication of additional danger to campus or student safety."

Still, Dawson said Auburn police have stepped up their patrols of the campus -- both uniformed and undercover -- and will continue to do so until the case is solved.

Wednesday evening, about 100 Auburn students gathered for a vigil near the dormitory parking area where Burk's car was discovered. Many were Delta Gamma sorority sisters who linked arms and prayed or cried.

Auburn President Jay Gouge, in a statement, said "words simply aren't adequate" for the grief of the university community. "This is a close-knit community that rarely experiences such a tragedy. Our heartfelt prayers and thoughts go out to those in Lauren's community in Marietta, her friends in Auburn and especially her family."

Burk's slaying was the main topic of conversation among the Thursday breakfast crowd at Big Blue Bagel, a deli near campus.

"Some people were saying they don't feel safe," said Jessica Petros, who worked the counter Thursday. "Others were like, 'Well, this doesn't happen around here that often.' "

She described the mood mostly as "curious, because no one really knows what happened."

Staff writers Karen Rosen and Chip Towers and the Associated Press contributed to this article.