BEAVERTON, Ore. — The death of Beaverton teen Milana Li has been ruled a homicide, according to the Beaverton Police Department. For the time being, investigators said they can't release a lot of details surrounding the 13-year-old's death.
Li was a 6th grader at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton. She was last seen on Sunday at her apartment in the Murray Hill area, and family members reported her missing the next day.
On Tuesday, Li's body was discovered in a small stream within Westside Linear Park near Barrows Road in Beaverton. In the days since, a memorial has been growing on the sidewalk near the park, and people continue to bring flowers to pay their respects.
Gary Stein has lived in the area for more than 30 years, and he's a frequent visitor to the trail that runs along where Li's body was found.
"It's really unusual, I think people are probably pretty shaken by this," Stein said. "There's probably some second thoughts on whether to let your kids walk out on the trails by themselves."
The medical examiner's office did an autopsy of Li's body Wednesday afternoon, and that's how it was determined her death was a homicide. Authorities have followed up on several leads in the case.
"We are following up on every lead," said Matthew Henderson with Beaverton Police. "I would encourage people, no matter how small they think their tip is, to call in — because that could lead us to the portion of the case we need to solve."
Authorities say they do not believe there's still a threat to the community. Still, Stein said he can't help but feel a bit uneasy about the tragic situation.
"I kick myself a little bit because I walk the trail every day ... I would have walked past her at 11:30 in the morning on the day her body was found," Stein said.
"It's devastating — it's so crazy," another local man told KGW on Thursday. "I couldn't even imagine my kids ... I wouldn't want them to go before me. Not at all."
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Detective Cindy Herring at 503-526-2280.