Only a few days ago, Reagan Tokes' dad asked her to pick out a special frame for the psychology degree that she was set to earn from Ohio State University in May.

But life changes in an instant, and now the Tokes family is traveling from Florida to Ohio to plan the 21-year-old's funeral.

Tokes' life came to a violent end sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning after someone shot her in what police termed a homicide. Her body was found just after 1 p.m. Thursday by a passer-by about 100 yards off the driveway into Scioto Grove Metro Park in Grove City.

“I knew before I found out. I can only tell you it's parent's intuition,” Mr. Tokes, 49, of Lakeland, Florida, told The (Toledo) Blade.

He described his daughter as ambitious and kind, and said she will be missed by all who knew her.

“It's completely a tragedy she was taken from us,” he told The Blade.

Makenzie Tokes, 17, told The Dispatch that she and her family are devastated by her sister's death and remain confused about how this could have happened. She posted her sorrow Friday on Twitter, one of the social-media sites that she and Reagan's friends first turned to for help in locating Reagan:

You hear about these things on the news but you never think it could happen. I love you with all my heart gee gee pic.twitter.com/GG9Rq9FLk5

— Makenzie Tokes (@makenzietokes) February 10, 2017

A Columbus police report said Reagan Tokes was last seen at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday leaving work at Bodega Cafe, 1044 N. High St. in the Short North, not quite 11 miles from the park where her body was found. On Thursday, her co-workers and roommates at her off-campus residence grew worried and reported her missing after she had failed to return home.

The report said Tokes' co-workers told police that she had stayed at the restaurant to have dinner after her shift. One co-worker said Tokes thought about going with him to the restaurant's sister bar, Balboa in Grandview, but decided to go home instead. Co-workers also said a bartender normally walks Tokes to her car, but didn't on Wednesday.

Tokes' two roommates told police that it appeared she had never come home Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Her bed appeared as if no one had slept in it. Her laptop, which roommates said she would have needed for class, was still in her bedroom.

On Thursday night, police aired a description of her car — a silver, 1999 Acura with Miami Dolphins and Block O (Ohio State) stickers in the window — saying it was missing and possibly stolen. On Friday, Grove City police found the car in the 700 block of Oakwood Avenue on Columbus' Near East Side.

Paul Fogarty, who has lived on Oakwood Avenue for nine years, said he first noticed the silver Acura parked in front of a vacant home Thursday afternoon. He said he knew the car hadn't been there long because his partner's car was parked in the same spot that morning.

"I feel horrible for her family," he said of Tokes.

Grove City Police Lt. Brian Davidson wouldn't say whether it appeared Tokes had been shot at the park or somewhere else, but said an initial search of the scene turned up no shell casings. He did say that Tokes had no identification on her so authorities waited until an autopsy was done Friday before confirming her identify.

Brian Swanson, who owns Bodega, said the employees there are close-knit like a family.

"They live together, they room together, they work together. This is something we don't know how we'll get over," Swanson said. He said that Tokes, who had worked there about six months, was a bright spot on even bad days.

"She was always bouncing around, happy and never complaining," he said. "Everyone loved her."

He said he and authorities have gone through the business's inside security-camera footage and found nothing unusual. The business doesn't have its own parking lot, he said, so she would have parked her car off-site.

Tokes was a fourth-year psychology major at Ohio State and expected to graduate in May. The last tweet on her Twitter account, from four days ago, said: "Today my dad emailed me diploma frames and told me to pick one out and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up."

OSU, which made grief counseling available Friday at the Ohio Union, said in a statement: "We extend our heartfelt sympathy to her family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this extremely difficult time."

Campus police issued a safety warning Friday reminding students to be cautious, to be aware of their surroundings and to walk with someone when possible. Columbus police said they believe the case is an isolated incident.

Tokes also worked at Fusian restaurant's East 11th Avenue location in the campus area, which closed Friday so employees could mourn together.

Tokes originally was from Monclova Township near Toledo in northwest Ohio. She graduated in 2013 from Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse, where she was a four-year varsity tennis player and also played on the varsity lacrosse team, her father told The Blade.

A private prayer service was held Friday night — just for the family and the congregation — at the Maumee United Methodist Church, where the family had attended before moving to Florida about four years ago. Tokes told The Blade that Reagan had been heavily involved with church mission trips.

Visitation for Reagan Tokes will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with a funeral service 10 a.m. Wednesday, both at the church at 405 Sackett St., Maumee, Makenzie Tokes tweeted Friday.

Authorities request anyone with information on the case to contact the Ohio BCI at 1-855-BCI-OHIO (1-855-224-6446) or the Grove City police at 614-277-1710.

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