Jacobs was found by ISU Police lying in the street at Lincoln Way and Ash Avenue at 7:04 a.m. Monday. Her injuries were consistent with those sustained from being hit by a vehicle, said Jason Tuttle, Ames Police investigations commander.

Jacobs died in Mary Greeley Medical Center shortly after police found her. 

She lived at Buchanan Hall, located on the corner of Lincoln Way and Ash Avenue. Jacobs was on her way to her first final at 7:30 a.m., her father, Brad Jacobs said. 

Tuttle said the department has received more than 60 tips since the incident, but none of the tips have led to a lead. 

“A lot of the tips that we received were very generic,” Tuttle said. “We would go look at the vehicle and talk with the owner and find out the damage happened two years ago.”

The week of the incident, Tuttle said all of the department’s detectives were working on the case, which is typical whenever there is a case where serious injury or death occurred.

Police checked security cameras on buildings surrounding the scene of the incident, but they were not able to see much as it was dark and raining that morning. Detectives checked the auto repair shops in Ames, Boone, Nevada and other nearby cities but have received no leads since.

Tuttle said there is no timeline available for when they may find the person responsible for Emmalee Jacobs’ death. During a hit-and-run case in 2006, Tuttle said it was several months before police had a suspect. 

The Jacobs family may have to endure a wait, but Brad Jacobs said he is confident the person responsible or someone who knows them will eventually come forward, providing the family with some closure so they know how Emmalee Jacobs’ life ended. 

Brad Jacobs said the family is getting back to a routine after the holidays spent without one member of their family. 

“The busy parts of the day go by quicker,” he said. “The parts of the day that are slower, that’s when it’s tougher because we have time to reflect and think about Emmalee. It’s hard because you still think Emmalee will be able to walk through the door.”

Dalton Jacobs, senior in mechanical engineering, began his last semester. Brad Jacobs said the university has been supportive and made the family aware of support services like Student Counseling Services. 

The Urbana and Centerpoint communities, where the Jacobs family lives, and the Linn-Marr school district where Brad Jacobs teaches have been supportive.

Brad Jacobs said the family has received letters of support and gifts from around the state from family friends and strangers who heard of the family’s struggle. He also said someone from the Urbana area had a family member in New Jersey who organized their church and sent a prayer shawl all the way from the East Coast.  

Brad Jacobs said they want to use the donations they’ve received to create a scholarship for students at Emmalee’s high school, Centerpoint-Urbana. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 211, Urbana, Iowa 52345.

Iowa State University and Ames city officials are working to improve pedestrian safety, President Steven Leath said.

“Intellectually, I think we all knew something like that was possible, but nobody expects it,” Leath said. “When it happened it did cause us to think what other things we can do to improve.”

Leath said he reached out to Steve Schainker, the Ames city manager, to see what long-term solutions could be developed, which include ideas from a pedestrian bridge to more lighting and traffic signs. 

A long-term solution will hopefully come before the addition of a second residence hall opens in the fall next to Buchanan Hall when even more students will be crossing Lincoln Way to get to campus, Leath said. However, he said some solutions like a pedestrian bridge would not be cost-effective because it would be expensive to build and students may not be motivated to use it. 

In the meantime, Ames Police and ISU Police have emphasized pedestrian safety, handing out pamphlets and talking with students as they cross Lincoln Way on the first day of the semester about how to be safe.

Tuttle said he urges anyone to contact the police at 515-239-5133 with any information regarding the incident, even if they may think what they saw was minor.