Community activist Amber Evans, 28, was last seen alive on Jan. 28. Her vehicle was found later that day in the Scioto Mile area Downtown. [Dispatch file photo] ▲ As lead organizer for the People’s Justice Project, Amber Evens raises her fist alongside other protesters as they interrupt a Columbus City Council meeting on Sept. 26, 2016. The group, organized by the People’s Justice Project, caused council members to leave and brought police officers into chambers before the protesters also left. [Jonathan Quilter/Dispatch File Photo] ▲

Updates to this story:

Amber Evans put all she had into activism, helping others, family says

Amber Evans death ruled likely suicide

Previously:

A body recovered Saturday from the Scioto River has been identified as community activist Amber Evans, who had been missing since Jan. 28.

Evans, 28, reportedly had a dispute with her boyfriend the afternoon of her disappearance, and her vehicle was found in the Scioto Mile area Downtown. Police found her phone in another part of the Scioto Mile.

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Police have said since the beginning of the investigation that there were no known domestic violence issues in Evans' relationship and there was no reason to suspect foul play.

The Columbus Police Special Victim's Unit and Dive Team found the body Saturday morning near the Whittier Peninsula and the Brewery District, police said.

Evans had been active in community justice organizations for several years. She was a key organizer of protests at Columbus City Hall, was heavily involved with the People's Justice Project and recently had become executive director of the Juvenile Justice Coalition.

The night she disappeared, a search was conducted along the river by canine units and patrol officers as well as a sheriff's office drone using infrared technology, said Commander Alex Behnen of the police Special Victims Bureau.

The next day, the dive team went out in boats and made a search of the river. Additional searches were conducted by the dive team, but the weather and water levels and current were not cooperative through much of the winter, he said.

Evans earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio State University and a master's in Library and Information Sciences from Kent State University.

According to a biography on the Juvenile Justice Coalition website, she began student organizing in 2011 with Occupy OSU, a group inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Tonya Fischer, Evans' mother, posted a message on her Facebook page on Sunday, asking reporters to "give her a moment."

"I just lost my first born child," Fischer said.

Fischer said the family plans to have a memorial vigil at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Scioto Mile. Other arrangements are pending.

Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this story.

jfutty@dispatch.com

@johnfutty