A Phoenix woman was found dead along a hiking trail — and police believe foul play may have been involved and have released a video of a person of interest spotted running near the scene.

Lauren Heike, 29, was found on Saturday at around 10:30 a.m. along the trail on 6500 East Libby Street near her home, nearly 24 hours after she went out, police said.

Phoenix officers originally received a call about an injured person spotted on the trail, but it was confirmed to be Heike’s body, which appeared to have suffered “trauma.”

Phoenix Homicide Lt. James Hester told reporters Wednesday that Heike was likely attacked from behind due to her injuries, and that her body was found in an area that was not easily visible from the hiking trail.

Hester believes that the alleged murder was so terrible, that the killer would have likely stuck out to anyone who came across them on the hiking trail, with police releasing a video of a person spotted near the area where Heike was found.

“The behavior, in my opinion, was so heinous that I would imagine that the subject would be displaying behavior symptoms that just would look out of place,” Hester said.

The short surveillance video appears to be of a man between 5-foot, 8-inches and 6-foot tall, running on the trail while wearing dark clothing and a backpack.

Police and Heike’s family are calling for anyone with any information on the death or the person of interest to contact law enforcement.

Heike’s mother, Lana, said on Wednesday: “It’s horrific. As hard as this is for us, we’re grateful because we had such a beautiful child. We’re grateful because she had such beautiful friends.”

Her father, Jeff, added: “She was my little girl. I’m really going to miss her. I know someone knows something and they can help us.”

River Hubbel, Heike’s friend, told AZCentral that he had spoken with her just before she went out on the Friday morning hike because they have a ritual of calling each other every day to talk about what they were grateful for.

“I had asked what we were all thankful for that day and she had specifically just said that she was so thankful to just wake up another day so positive and to be able to go get a coffee and go on a walk,” Hubbel said, trying to hold back tears.

Police have also put up an advisory warning residents to take safety precautions when hiking or walking, and to avoid doing so alone.