Sheriff releases statement on missing MU student case

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department has issued a statement regarding the search for the body of missing Marshall University student after a social media post about the case has been making the rounds.

Samantha Burns, 19, was kidnapped from the Huntington Mall parking lot in 2002 by Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who had escaped a Kentucky jail and to go on a 17-day interstate crime spree.

After a social media post on the case began spreading this last week, Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless released the following statement on his department’s Facebook page on Saturday:

“I know that many of you are concerned about the Samantha Burns situation, and I wanted to take a minute to ease everyone’s minds,” Lawless said. “The FBI has been in charge of this investigation for over a decade, and we are working closely with them on the reported information. I am not at liberty to discuss this case at this time; however, there is no need for the public to be in a panic. This case is being actively worked, and information will be provided to the public at the appropriate time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Burns family.”

Lawless could not be reached by press time.

Basham and Fulks were convicted for the murder of Burns, as well as that of Alice Donovan, 44, of South Carolina, but Burns’ body has never been found, despite numerous searches of Wayne County, West Virginia.