SAN ANTONIO -- Grief counselors have been called to Churchill High School after the body of a former graduate was found in the back seat of his burning car.
Will Patterson's Cadillac was found Thursday morning on a rural road outside Waco. Police said a body was found in the back seat, but was too badly burned to identify.
On Friday afternoon, McLennan County Chief Deputy Randy Plemons confirmed that the body was Patterson.
Patterson was a freshman at Baylor University, where he was studying film and digital media.
The body was taken to Dallas for an autopsy.
Churchill officials said grief counselors were on campus Friday as students braced for the bad news.
The Baylor Lariat, the university's student-run paper, reported on its website Thursday evening that Patterson had been missing since Thursday morning and that students met that afternoon with the campus chaplain to pray for the missing freshman.
Patterson was an Eagle Scout and former Churchill football player.
