Colleen Ritzer Dead: Danvers High School Math Teacher Found Slain in Massachusetts Woods, 14-year-old Student Arrested, Charged with Murder [VIDEO]

Reports confirm that Colleen Elizabeth Ritzer, a beloved 24-year-old math teacher at Danvers High School in Massachusetts, was found dead in the woods right behind the school early Wednesday morning (Oct. 23). An unidentifed 14-year-old male student was recently arrested and charged for Ritzer's murder.

Ritzer was reported missing on Tuesday evening after she did not return home from work (she was also not answering her cellphone). Authorities later searched the school and found blood in a second-floor bathroom. Details about the investigation still remain unknown, but Ritzer's slain body was discovered shortly after.

Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett identifed the victim on Wednesday, although he did not state how Ritzer died. The young suspect will face arraignment on a murder charge in court later today. The student was not identified by police because of his age. The boy was also reported missing on Tuesday after not returning home from school. He was spotted walking along a road in Topsfield at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday when authorities finally picked him up.

According to Assumption Director of Media Relations Lorraine U. Martinelle, Ritzer graduated magna cum laude from Assumption College in 2011 with a bachelors degree in mathematics and a minor in psychology. She had a concentration in secondary education.

"She was a very, very respected, loved teacher," Blodgett said in a statement, deeming the troubling incident a "terrible tragedy."

Ritzer was an avid tweeter, who updated and encouraged students on her popular Twitter page. She described herself on social media as a "math teacher often too excited about the topics I'm teaching."

Authorities have no reason to believe anyone else was involved and there is no public safety danger, Blodgett claims. All Danvers public schools were closed on Wednesday (Oct. 23).

A vigil is scheduled at the high school for Wednesday night at 8 p.m., according to the DHS Class of 2016 Twitter page.

Thoughts and condolences go out to Ritzer's family, friends, students, and colleagues during this tragic time.

UPDATE: 14-year-old Philip Chism was named suspect in the murder of Colleen Ritzer.