Wayland Town Crier 7/5/11: Body confirmed as Wayland teen, death declared apparent homicide. A young woman was apparently killed sometime between last night and this morning, when her body was found in a marshy area off Rte. 27, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a press release tonight.

Lauren Astley, 18, a recent Wayland High School graduate, was last seen around 8 p.m. Sunday, her father Malcolm Astley said. Her body was found by a bicyclist who was riding along Water Row Road.

The cause of the woman’s death is under investigation and an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

“She was spunky and ferocious with me, in a wonderful way,” said Malcolm Astley, a member of the Wayland School Committee. “(She had) a good laugh and (was) a great enjoyer of life.”

Leone’s office, which is investigating the death, had originally termed it “suspicious” and remained tight-lipped for most of yesterday about whether the body was Lauren Astley. The death is now being called an apparent homicide.