Va. Tech Student From Columbia Facing Murder Charges After Teen Found Dead

BLACKSBURG, Va. (WJZ) -- Blacksburg Police have arrested and charged a Virginia Tech student from Columbia, Maryland, after 13-year-old Nichole Lovell is found dead.

Blacksburg Police Lt. Mike Albert announced the arrest of 18-year-old David Eisenhauer after new developments were made in the four-day investigation of Lovell's disappearance. He was brought into custody without incident.

During a press conference on Saturday night police said they had found the remains of Lovell in North Carolina.

"It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce that we have located the remains of 13-year-old Nichole Lovell, said Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson. "As investigators progressed through the afternoon we were able to determine an approximate area where she might be found. Virginia State Police were dispatched to that approximate area around 4:00 p.m. and she was located just inside the North Carolina border."

Eisenhauer, who was facing charges of felony abduction, is now being charged with first degree murder.

The Virginia Tech Police identified Eisenhauer as a freshman majoring in engineering from Columbia, Maryland.

According to our media partner The Baltimore Sun, Eisenhauer is a former high school track star from Columbia, Md. He was one of Howard County's top runners with Wilde Lake in 2014 and 2015 and named the Howard County indoor track Athlete of the Year in 2015.

Lovell's family says she pushed a dresser in front of her bedroom door and climbed out a window on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Police say the teen was without the medication she needs due to a liver transplant.

Eisenhauer was arrested at his residence on the Virginia Tech campus. Police say he's being held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail in Virginia.

"This has been an extremely fast investigation within the just past 12 hours," said Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson. "And we still have a great deal to do as there are multiple interviews to conduct and evidence to [be] collected and analyzed, as we reconstruct the timeline of events leading up to Nicole's tragic death."