A steady stream of friends offered their love and support Saturday to Dennis and Barb Morgart, a day after the tragic death of their 18-year-old daughter, a recent Seaman High School honors graduate who was hit by a car while jogging along a gravel road northwest of Topeka.

The body of Brenna Morgart, a homecoming queen and Sunday school teacher who graduated summa cum laude May 20 from Seaman High School, was found in a field Friday night in the 6800 block of N.W. Huxman Road, about three miles from the 6600 block of N.W. Jennings Road where sheriff's officials said she was hit by a car.

A former schoolmate, Dustin Leftwich, 20, of 4621 N.W. 70th, was arrested Friday night and booked into jail at 2 a.m. Saturday in connection with Morgart's death.

Leftwich, a 2010 Seaman graduate, is suspected of hitting Morgart with his vehicle, then taking her body to the 6800 block of N.W. Huxman Road where Shawnee County sheriff's officials said he dumped it in a field.

Leftwich was being held without bond in the Shawnee County Jail in connection with first-degree murder, kidnapping, giving false information, failure to report an accident, failure to stop after an accident and reckless driving.

The Morgart family, though in "shock," was leaning on their faith as they were coming to terms with their daughter's death, said their pastor, the Rev. R.D. Cogswell, of Northland Christian Church, 3102 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

"That's really what's getting them through it — their faith in God, and that his word is true and his promises are true," Cogswell said. "They know Brenna had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that she's in heaven now.

"It doesn't take the pain away. It just brings perspective in dealing with it."

Late Saturday afternoon, the family and Cogswell met with a local funeral home to determine service times for Brenna.

Throughout the day on Saturday, the Morgarts were nearly overwhelmed with support from friends from Northland Christian Church and the Seaman school district.

"Hundreds of people from the church have showered them with tangible love," Cogswell said, "whether that meant bringing them food, hugging them or crying with them."

Cogswell on Saturday afternoon said he was acting as the Morgarts' spokesman, not because the family couldn't bring themselves to talk with the media, but because their priorities were focused on being together during this difficult time.

The Morgarts have an older daughter, Arianna Morgart, and a younger son, Reid Morgart.

Brenna Morgart, who was a member of the Seaman cross country team, was reported missing about 3:45 p.m. Friday when she failed to return home after going on a jog about 10 a.m. from her home in the 4600 block of N.W. Timber Court.

Sheriff's authorities asked for the public's help to find Morgart about 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Several local agencies, including the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office, Soldier Township Fire Department, Silver Lake Police Department and Kansas Highway Patrol, assisted in the search, as did a couple of hundred of Morgart's friends and neighbors.

Morgart's eyeglasses were found about 6:15 p.m. Friday in the 6800 block of N.W. Jennings Road, a gravel road about two miles northwest of her home. Sheriff's deputies blocked off the area and identified the scene as the location of a car-pedestrian collision.

Sheriff Herman Jones told WIBW-TV on Friday night that Leftwich's parents had come to authorities saying their son had been involved in a collision. Sheriff's investigators confirmed the report that his car had struck Morgart that morning, the station reported.

Leftwich was located at his residence on N.W. 70th, another gravel road about a half-mile north and east of the accident site.

The sheriff's investigation found that Morgart's body had been moved from N.W. Jennings Road and left in a field in the 6600 block of N.W. Huxman Road, a remote area of northwest Shawnee County about three miles west of the collision site.

Leftwich, whose Facebook page said he studied collision repair at the Washburn Institute of Technology, was taken into custody Friday night and transported to the Law Enforcement Center for questioning. He was booked into jail at 2 a.m. Saturday.

Morgart was Seaman High School's homecoming queen this past school year and was a standout in the classroom, as well as in musical and athletic endeavors at the school, where she was a member of the swim team, cross country team, show choir, student council, band section leader and senior class vice president.

She also was a member of Northland Christian Church, where she was active in the youth group and was a Sunday school teacher for the kindergarten class.

Cogswell said Brenna was "the real deal" and lived life to the fullest every day.

"She was real, she was genuine, she was caring," Cogswell said. "She was living out her faith, and she was living out her convictions. She was the same person whether she was at school or church."

Upon learning of Morgart's death, Cogswell, who was out of town at the time, drove four hours back to Topeka and met with Morgart's parents from about midnight to 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

In visiting with her parents, Cogswell said, the term that kept coming up to describe Brenna was that she "got it" and understood that "life's a gift and you live each day to the fullest. You appreciate your parents, your siblings and the opportunities you get at school."

Cogswell said Morgart, who was planning to attend Kansas State University, gave back to others as a way of life.

"As God was writing Brenna's book, we all hoped there'd be more chapters to it," Cogswell said. "But she lived life to the full. She had a full 18 years and was where she needed to be spiritually, with her parents and with her siblings. She was as connected as she could be."

Meanwhile, a man and woman who were seated in lawn chairs outside Leftwich's residence Saturday morning declined to comment about the incident.

Efforts to reach Jones and District Attorney Chad Taylor weren't immediately successful.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Northland Christian Church, where Morgart will lie in state from 1 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with visitation from 6 to 8 p.m.