Gina Nicole Bryant was 25 and a nursing student at the University of Michigan-Flint when she was fatally shot on October 12, 2023. Bryant had recently left an 11-month relationship she described as abusive and moved out of the Grand Blanc Township apartment she shared with her ex-boyfriend, Justin S. Wendling, with help from her mother and sister. Two weeks after moving out, Bryant returned home for lunch on October 12 and did not return to work; coworkers received unusual texts from her phone and reported her missing.

Surveillance footage showed Wendling waiting at Bryant’s home that day and leading her to his car. Bryant’s body was found October 13 at a Flying J Travel Stop on Interstate 80 and Civic Road in LaSalle, Illinois, about 350 miles southwest of Grand Blanc Township; she had been shot in the head. Wendling called his parents and said he had taken Bryant to Illinois and killed her and intended to kill himself. He was later located in Bettendorf, Iowa, and fatally shot himself as officers approached.

Bryant’s family and the nursing school remembered her as compassionate and giving, active in volunteering for families with special needs children. Questions remain about the timeline and how Wendling came to intercept Bryant that day. If anyone knew Gina, her routine, or saw her between leaving home and the discovery in Illinois, please share information.