A 22-year-old transgender college student vanished on their way to class in northern Kentucky one week ago, and their family, partner, and friends are now desperately spreading Murry Foust’s name across social media in the hope that someone, somewhere, has seen them.
Murry “Alexis” Foust, a fine arts major at Northern Kentucky University who was set to graduate on May 9, was last seen on the evening of Monday, April 27, in the Latonia neighborhood of Covington, just south of Cincinnati. They never made it to class.
Foust has not been heard from since.
According to the Covington Police Department, surveillance footage captured Foust just before 6 p.m. that Monday, walking alone in a dark jacket and T-shirt, loose patterned pants, black sneakers, and a yellow backpack. Those images, released on Friday, are the most recent confirmed sighting investigators have been able to find.
What Was Left Behind
The details that have emerged in the days since paint a picture that has loved ones terrified.
Foust’s car was found parked about a block from their apartment in Latonia. Their cellphone was inside the home. A bag believed to belong to them was later recovered on the NKU campus, the place Foust was supposed to be heading but never reached.
In other words: Foust “left” without the things people don’t usually leave without.
“There is not a trace of Murry anywhere, and their friends, family, and one of my best friends, who is their partner, are all very worried,” Charlie King, a friend of Foust’s, wrote in a Facebook post that has been circulating since April 30. “At this point, it is crucial we begin spreading the word and searching for them.”
King also disclosed that Foust is “early into their transition” and lives with documented mental health conditions for which they take medication. Foust had been in good spirits in the days leading up to the disappearance, friends said, and had given no indication that anything was wrong.
“Murry has never done this,” King wrote. “This behavior is unheard of for Murry, and we are all panicking.”
A Community in Disbelief
Classmates at NKU’s School of the Arts have echoed that disbelief. Foust was the kind of person who built community around their work, fellow student Maddie Ulbricht told local outlet WKRC, recalling that just last week the two had been messaging about trading artwork rather than money for a piece from Foust’s show.
“Murry wasn’t a person who seemed like they were at risk of just suddenly getting up and leaving,” Ulbricht said.
NKU released a statement saying the university is “deeply concerned” and is fully cooperating with the police investigation. Covington police, for their part, said they have deployed multiple resources in the search, including water rescue teams and drone operators.
Captain Justin Bradbury told Newsweek there is currently no indication of foul play. Foust’s father told WCPO on Friday that there have been unconfirmed reported sightings since the disappearance, including one that day.
For now, every sighting matters. Every share matters. Every person who recognizes the face matters.
Why This Story Demands Attention
Missing person cases involving trans people too often slide off the front page within a news cycle. The reasons are familiar: deadnaming in early bulletins, confusion over pronouns, the casual erasure that happens when a person’s identity is treated as a complication rather than a fact.
In a political climate where trans Americans are facing escalating legislative hostility, denial of healthcare, and a constant drumbeat of dehumanizing rhetoric from elected officials, that erasure becomes more than a journalistic failing. It becomes a safety issue.
Murry Foust is a student. An artist. A partner. A parent’s child. Someone who was a week out from graduation. Someone whose friends describe being a fan of Foust because they were a fan of theirs right back. Foust is a person who is loved, and they are missing, and the people who love them are asking the rest of us to look.
How to Help
Murry Foust is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, with brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair. They have several visible tattoos, including a striped pattern on their elbow, a ram skull on their arm, and a depiction of Jesus on their shin.
Have Information?
Anyone with information about Murry Foust’s whereabouts is asked to call the Covington Police Department at 859-292-2234 or to dial 911.
Share Murry Foust’s name. Share their photo. Share the case number. The hours since April 27 are stacking up, and the family is asking us all to help bring them home.
