Laci Anne Green''s father said his 22-year-old daughter had her entire life ahead of her. The Wayne State nursing student was doing well in college and had begun a job alongside her mother at MotorCity Casino.

But Wednesday morning, police found the woman''s body lying in an open field in the quiet Millpointe subdivision at Hawley near Glenwood, a half-mile south of her family''s Dunn Court home.

Police said they have apprehended Green''s ex-boyfriend but no charges have been filed against him. "He is certainly a suspect," Police Chief James Ridener said.

Ridener said Green was last seen around midnight after she dropped off her current boyfriend at his home and was contacted by her ex-boyfriend for a walk.

Laci''s mother, Barbara, saw that she was not home at 2 a.m., but noticed the ex-boyfriend milling about near the home, Ridener said. About an hour later, Laci''s father enlisted his help in searching for his daughter. He helped for a while and then left.

After the father called 911 at around 4:45 a.m., police fanned the subdivision. They found her body in the south end of the neighborhood around 6:30 a.m. Police took the ex-boyfriend into custody shortly after.

Investigators and K-9 units remained at the scene for several hours while the body remained shrouded under sheets and tarps awaiting transport to the Wayne County Medical Examiner''s Office. An autopsy was set for today.

Laci''s father, Edward Green, would not comment on the investigation, but praised his daughter, who he said was a straight-A student. "We''re grieving very hard," Edward Green said.