Campus Alert Archive
CAU

The Last Night of October: Clark Atlanta's Alexis Crawford and the HEOA Notification Her Roommate Helped Trigger

GAmissing personmissing studentmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Clark Atlanta University senior Alexis Crawford, 21, was last seen at her off-campus apartment on October 30, 2019 and reported missing by her family on November 1. CAU coordinated with Atlanta Police Department on a HEOA missing-student notification. Her body was found in a DeKalb County park on November 8; her roommate Jordyn Jones and Jones' boyfriend Barron Brantley were charged with malice murder. The case became a national symbol of intimate-partner violence risks facing HBCU students.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
Clark Atlanta University
Hbcu · GA
~3,500 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction509 chars
Clark Atlanta University is seeking the public's assistance in locating Alexis Crawford, 21, a senior student who was last seen on October 30, 2019. Crawford resides off-campus and was reported missing by her family on November 1, 2019. She is described as an African American female, approximately 5'4", 130 pounds, with natural hair. If you have seen Alexis or have any information about her whereabouts, please contact the Atlanta Police Department at (404) 546-4235 or CAU Campus Police at (404) 880-8911.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; Crawford's family had last spoken to her the evening of October 30 and attempted to reach her through the week before filing a police report November 1 -- the off-campus residence means HEOA procedures applied only loosely, as the mandate covers on-campus housing residents
CAU President George T. French Jr. confirmed the university had coordinated with Atlanta Police on missing-person assistance, consistent with HEOA section 485(j) voluntary cooperation framework for off-campus students
Crawford was a senior and a student government member; her disappearance quickly mobilized the CAU campus community through social media sharing before formal campus alerts
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Verified verbatimCAU community message quoted in 11Alive reporting on November 8, 2019484 chars
Panther Family, we are devastated by the tragic reports regarding our own Alexis Crawford. Investigators say this was an isolated, off-campus incident and there was never a threat to any other members of the community. We are here for you. Additional counselors have been made available on campus. Clark Atlanta University stands with Alexis's family as they grieve this terrible loss. We ask that all members of our campus community look after one another and seek support if needed.
Verbatim from the CAU community communication quoted by 11Alive on November 8, 2019 confirming Crawford's death
President French's statement 'this was an isolated, off-campus incident and there was never a threat to any other members of the community' is consistent with Clery Act guidance that post-incident notifications should calibrate whether a continuing threat exists
The 'Panther Family' salutation is CAU's standard community-address form, confirming institutional authorship of this communication
Context

Background

Alexis Crawford was a 21-year-old Clark Atlanta University senior from Maryland who lived off-campus. She was last seen by her roommate, Jordyn Jones, on the evening of October 30, 2019, after asking Jones to take her to a liquor store at around 11:30 PM. Her family, unable to reach her for several days, filed a missing-person report with Atlanta Police on November 1. CAU coordinated with Atlanta Police and amplified the search publicly. On November 8, Atlanta Police announced that her body had been found in Intrenchment Creek Park in DeKalb County -- a week after she was reported missing. Jones and her boyfriend Barron Brantley were arrested and charged with malice murder; a medical examiner determined Crawford died from suffocation. Both were convicted. The case drew national attention to intimate-partner violence risks at HBCUs and generated widespread media coverage of the disparity in attention given to missing Black women versus white women in national media -- a recurring theme in HBCU missing-student cases following the Jelani Day and Latasha Norman precedents.
Analysis

Key Findings

Crawford's off-campus residence illustrates the boundary of HEOA's formal missing-student mandate: the law's notification requirements primarily cover on-campus housing residents, but institutions can and do voluntarily extend cooperation to off-campus students
The perpetrators were Crawford's roommate and the roommate's boyfriend -- a pattern of intimate-campus-network violence that differs structurally from stranger-abduction scenarios
CAU's calibrated post-discovery communication ('isolated, off-campus incident, no continuing threat') demonstrates appropriate post-incident Clery messaging to prevent campus-wide fear while acknowledging community grief
The case became a focal point in national discourse about missing Black women and the disparity in media attention compared to high-profile white missing-person cases
Outcome
Body found in Intrenchment Creek Park, DeKalb County, Georgia, on November 8, 2019. Medical examiner ruled cause of death as suffocation. Jordyn Jones and Barron Brantley were arrested on malice murder charges. Both were later convicted.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Clark Atlanta student missing: Alexis Crawford (11Alive)
    11alive.com
  2. News
    Missing Clark Atlanta student Alexis Crawford found dead (11Alive)
    11alive.com
  3. News
    Police are searching for a missing Clark Atlanta University student (CNN)
    cnn.com
  4. News
    Missing Clark Atlanta student Alexis Crawford found dead, roommate charged (NBC News)
    nbcnews.com
  5. News
    Where Is Alexis Crawford? Everything To Know About Missing HBCU Student (NewsOne)
    newsone.com
Tags
missing-studentmissing-personhbcugeorgiaoff-campusintimate-partner-violencehomiciderace-equitymedia-coverage
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion