By KEVIN NEVERS

The woman whose body was found Wednesday on the grounds of the Brassie Golf Course was a junior at Michigan State University (MSU).

Chesterton Police identified her today as Rylan Cotter, 20, of Okemos, Mich.

Cotter’s parents made the identification today from photographs, Det. Lt. Dave Cincoski told the Chesterton Tribune early this afternoon from Michigan. They last saw their daughter over Christmas vacation and have no idea why she might have been in Chesterton or in Indiana, he said.

Classes have resumed at MSU.

Meanwhile, an autopsy conducted on Thursday in South Bend has determined the cause of death: massive blunt trauma to the chest and abdomen but not to the head, Porter County Coroner Victoria Deppe said.

Cincoski said that a criminal investigation into Cotter’s death is pending but emphasized that there is no cause at present for undue concern “We have no reason to believe that residents or visitors are in any immediate or prolonged danger,” he said. “We have no reason to believe right now that there is any threat to the safety of neighbors, users of the Prairie Duneland Trail, or golfers.”

Cotter’s fully clothed body was found by a Brassie employee around 1:15 p.m. in the northwest corner of the golf course, in the area of the fifth and sixth holes, near an electric tower. She was wearing brown trousers, a sweatshirt-type jacket, and shoes.

A passenger car believed to be Cotter’s was recovered from the parking lot of the Prairie Duneland Trail off Babcock Road, approximately half a mile from the scene. It is currently being processed for physical evidence.

The forensic pathologist was unable to determine with any specificity the time of Cotter’s death, but the Brassie was open on Monday, closed on Tuesday for flooding, and Deppe believes that she died between 24 and 36 hours before the discovery of her body. “That’s based on what I’ve been able to piece together, from when the area was last seen and from what the body looked like.”

At this point Cincoski is trying to find the person or persons who last saw Cotter alive. “I’ve got some first names and phone numbers,” he said. “That’s where the investigation is going now.”

Anyone with information to offer is encouraged to call Cincoski at 926-1136.

Posted 1/11/2008