Missing Marshall student’s body found

After four days of searching, officials have found the body of Marshall University student Mitchell Higgins, 22, who jumped from a bridge on Interstate 64 into the Guyandotte River after a car crash early Saturday morning.

Crews searched the Guyandotte river beginning within an hour of the report of the crash and ended around 2 p.m. Tuesday after a homeowner walking his dog along the bank spotted Higgins’ body in debris about a mile downstream from the crash.

According to the Barboursville Police Department incident report, a witness saw Higgins’ car hit the concrete barrier several times near the Merritt Creek exit on I-64 before he exited the vehicle. The incident was recorded by a truck driver’s dash cam.

Higgins was a senior history major from Sistersville, West Virginia in Tyler County.

Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert released a statement Tuesday offering sympathies to Higgins’ family and friends.

“The thoughts and prayers of the entire Marshall University family are with Mitchell’s family,” Gilbert said in his statement. “We had all hoped for a different outcome and his tragic death has touched us deeply.”

Heather Barker can be contacted at [email protected].