<p>MU student found near tracks</p>
<p>Oxford police find another intoxicated woman only a week after sophomore was killed.
By Joe Giordano</p>
<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Tuesday, April 24, 2007</p>
<p>OXFORD Six days after a freight train ended the life of a Miami University sophomore, Oxford police were again at the crash site confronting another incident that sounded frighteningly familiar.</p>
<p>Police received a call in reference to a female down near the South Locust Street rail crossing at 12:35 a.m. Friday. It was only a weekend prior that Miami sophomore Beth Speidel was killed by a 53-car freight train at the same location.</p>
<p>When police arrived Friday, the woman was nowhere to be found. A block from the crossing, officers spotted a 19-year-old female sprawled on a side yard near the corner of Locust and Church streets.</p>
<p>"The woman had an odor of alcohol and slurred speech," Oxford Police Sgt. Jim Squance said. "She had two large 'X' marks and stated she got (drunk) in a dorm."</p>
<p>In the wake of a tragedy that has reignited concern over underage binge drinking, students continue to ignore the pleas to stop, officials said. Over the weekend, police charged eight people for underage intoxication or alcohol possession.</p>
<p>In one case, an 18-year-old Miami student told police she felt obliged to down shots at an Uptown bar because a group of men continued to buy the drinks for her Friday. When officers arrived, police said 18-year-old Marisa R. Shepherd, of Elida, thought Bill Clinton was the current president of the United States.</p>
<p>As officers questioned the woman near the Locust Street rail crossing Friday morning, police said the woman identified as 19-year-old Elizabeth C. Cote, of Dayton said it's easy for underage people to obtain alcohol.</p>
<p>"Cote stated she was 19 years old, and at that age, anyone could get alcohol in this town," Squance said.</p>
<p>Both Cote and Shepherd were charged with underage intoxication.</p>
<p>On April 14, police found Speidel's body near the tracks with bar markings on her hands. The alcohol level in the Strongsville resident's body was more than twice the legal driving limit of .08, the Butler County Coroner's Office said.</p>
<p>On Friday, police brought alcohol-related charges against five underage Miami sophomores who allegedly furnished Speidel with alcohol on the last day of her life. Police continue to investigate Speidel's death.</p>
<p>Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139 or <a href="mailto:jgiordano@coxohio.com">jgiordano@coxohio.com</a>.</p>