ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996                  TAG: 9606210057
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-4  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA
SOURCE: Associated Press 

COLLEGE ATHLETE MISSING GEORGE MASON STUDENT'S CAR FOUND NEAR PHILADELPHIA

Police conducted an extensive search for a George Mason University athlete whose car was found with its engine running near some blood on a suburban highway early Thursday morning.

Aimee Willard's blue Honda Civic was discovered at 2 a.m. on U.S. 1 southbound at the Interstate 476 exit ramp in Delaware County, state police said. Blood was on the highway near the vehicle.

Willard, 22, of Brookhaven, is a record-setting athlete in lacrosse and soccer at George Mason in Fairfax, Va., where she is majoring in physical education.

``She's great. She is a great student athlete, a great addition to our program, so we are very distressed as we hear this news,'' said Wendy Holt, an athletic department official.

``We just hope that they find her,'' added Lisa McQuiggan, an assistant sports information director.

A woman who answered the telephone at the Willard residence in Delaware County declined to speak with a reporter. Willard's father is a sergeant in the Chester Police Department, according to broadcast reports, but the department wouldn't confirm the information.

Scores of officers from the state police and Delaware County combed the grassy hillside near where Willard's car was found.

Late Thursday afternoon, police reported the discovery of a woman's body in North Philadelphia. Its identity was not immediately known.

Willard, who has a brother and a sister, was headed into her fifth year at George Mason, where she holds numerous school records in lacrosse.

She led the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring with 50 goals this year, including seven in one game - both team records. She was named All-America in lacrosse and was the only Mason soccer player to start every game.

A midfielder in both sports, Willard is no longer eligible for soccer because she already has played four years. She was scheduled for another year of lacrosse.

``She's an intense competitor, that's for sure. She's more quiet off the field,'' McQuiggan said.

LENGTH: Short :   49 lines