04 January 2024 , 23:08
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A New York woman who vanished on New Year’s Eve has been found dead at the bottom of an embankment next to railway tracks.
Jennifer Hicks, 33, went to a bar called Ziggy’s on Railroad Street, Rochester, to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her friends. She was last seen at the bar at around 2:30 am. But when Hicks’ father didn’t hear from his daughter on New Year’s Day, he phoned the police to file a missing person’s report almost 12 hours after she was last seen alive.
The search for the Hicks began, both on foot and using a police drone. Police also sent round a missing person’s notice on their social media, but a day later, the worst fears of the authorities and Hicks’ family were confirmed.
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Hicks’ body was discovered on Tuesday at around 4pm, near the railway tracks on Scio Street and Portland Avenue in Rochester. Her corpse was found at the bottom of an embankment next to the tracks.
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Hicks was last seen at 2:30am at a bar with friends - but it is unclear why she was later alone (Jenny Hicks/Facebook)
Hicks' father phoned the police after he didn't hear from her on New Year's Day (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)Authorities are now investigating her death, but Monroe County Sheriff’s Department PIO Deputy Brendan Hurley said there was “no obvious signs of foul play”. The police are waiting for the medical examiner’s report for a better understanding of how Hicks may have died, but Hurley said it is still an “active investigation” and “nothing is ruled out”, adding: “we don’t have a definitive answer on how she died”.
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It is unknown why Hicks, who is from the Pittsford suburb, was alone and unclear whether she had been attempting to walk home at the time of her death. However, the sheriff’s deputy noted that she did not walk back the way she typically would have to return to where she lives from the bar.
Hicks' body was found near this area, at the bottom of an embankment near railroad tracks on Scio Street (Google Street View)Hurley explained that Hicks’ place of death was around a 15-minute drive from where she lives and was near a major highway. There is not much foot traffic where she was discovered, especially at the time of night she is believed to have been there, the deputy said.
Hicks’ social media page says she was working for Monroe Ambulance, DailyMail.com reported. Another photo showed her giving a thumbs up alongside two friends at a car dealership earlier in the year.
She posted cryptic messages on her Facebook just months before her death, with one a photo of a journal which read: “Sometimes God puts you in places ALONE - emphasising the word by underlining it - because he needs you to realise you do NOT need Anybody but HIM!!!” More recently in October she said: “Today, I embark into the unknown. Hold my drink, while I grab my flashlight.” Friends and family were distraught to hear of her death.