Riley did not pick up.
Her mom then called Riley’s three roommates, each of whom shared their phone’s locations with one another, including Riley’s.
Cell phone service issues with provider AT&T that day had hindered the roommates’ efforts to locate Riley. They couldn’t reach her for hours.
Lilly Steiner and Sofia Magana, Riley’s roommates, searched the trail for her around 11:30 a.m.
Riley’s last-known Find My location in the middle of Oconee Forest Park guided them.
There was no sign of Riley.
The women instead came across a single AirPod. It was Riley’s.
With no cellular service in the woods, they returned home to call the University of Georgia police.
They reported her missing around 12:05 p.m.
Riley’s smartwatch data captures struggle
The Garmin smartwatch Riley wore captured crucial data that prosecutors say give clues as to what happened as she struggled for her life.
Around 9:10 a.m., the data analyzed by the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team appeared to show something happening that halted Riley’s morning run. She initiated her phone’s SOS function around that time. She called 911.
Data from the smartwatch showed Riley’s heart rate dropping over the next several minutes.

After a few more minutes, her smartwatch moved about 65 feet away from the trail into the woods.
Sometime during Riley’s fight for her life and the struggle over her phone, she gathered beneath her right fingernails what prosecutors say was Ibarra’s DNA.
Riley’s call to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department ended at 9:12 a.m. Her phone disconnected the call.
Dispatchers attempted to call her back. There was no answer.
Her heart rate continued to show on the smartwatch data until just before 9:30 a.m.
The data revealed a struggle that lasted several minutes.
At 9:28 a.m., the smartwatch showed no further movement. Riley’s heart stopped.