Found Deceased NH - Ashley Turcotte, 31, last seen at home, her car found at the town hall with her phone & backpack, Barnstead, 4 Jan 2024

[RobinCAL]

Oh so very sad - and yet another example of how someone can be overlooked in the immediate area, despite countless searches.

Ashley Turcotte, 31, was last seen Jan. 4. A wide-scale search started Saturday morning and Turcotte was found in the woods near where her car was parked, police said.

Woman last seen months ago in Barnstead found dead, police say

A woman who was last seen in January was found dead Saturday morning after a wide-scale search for her, police said.

www.wmur.com

So wild she was near her car and they've only just found her?

 

[ch_13]

Oh so very sad - and yet another example of how someone can be overlooked in the immediate area, despite countless searches.

Ashley Turcotte, 31, was last seen Jan. 4. A wide-scale search started Saturday morning and Turcotte was found in the woods near where her car was parked, police said.

Woman last seen months ago in Barnstead found dead, police say

A woman who was last seen in January was found dead Saturday morning after a wide-scale search for her, police said.

www.wmur.com

That's surprising. I wonder how close she was to her car. I just posted last night that I didn't think she'd be found nearby as someone would have come across her body after all the previous searches they had done.

 

[IDK]

“A snowstorm following her disappearance made it difficult to search the area but recent warm weather cleared the snow and allowed teams to search the woods, authorities said.”

Woman last seen months ago in Barnstead found dead, police say

A woman who was last seen in January was found dead Saturday morning after a wide-scale search for her, police said.

www.wmur.com

 

[Hestia's Fire]

Oh, Ashley. Rest in peace, sweetheart.
I just knew they were going to find her out there. I'm glad the snow finally melted enough for them to do so.

 

[pavlovsdaughter]

Sad outcome but not surprising. I’d be curious to know what the “tip” was.

ETA: In this article they clarify there was no new info, just going back over previously searched areas since weather had improved. Large search effort for Ashley Turcotte to be conducted Saturday

 

[ch_13]

Sad outcome but not surprising. I’d be curious to know what the “tip” was.

ETA: In this article they clarify there was no new info, just going back over previously searched areas since weather had improved. Large search effort for Ashley Turcotte to be conducted Saturday

I was pretty skeptical of the post you made yesterday, but knowing what we do know, I fear your hypothesis was correct.

I’m really surprised that no one here has mentioned the possibility of drugs. Opiates especially fentanyl are a big issue in rural NH (Understanding the Increase in Opioid Overdoses in New Hampshire: A Rapid Epidemiologic Assessment) and, IMO, she looks high in the Dollar General photos, really out of it. Could she have nodded off in the woods somewhere?

There are known homeless camps in the woods in surrounding areas Laconia and Concord, I couldn’t find anything about one in Barnstead. I’ve been to Barnstead and it’s a lot more rural than either of those places so I imagine it would be much harder to be homeless there.

The purchases are interesting. There is some evidence linking salt cravings to opioid use (How opioids drive our salt consumption), and sugar cravings are also common with people in addictions (Recovery - Why Are Sugar Cravings Common in Addiction Recovery?). Of course this is reaching - candy and salt are very benign and ordinary purchases that 9 times out of 10 you wouldn’t blink at, just trying to make some connections.

I wondered if salt was a common agent used in cutting drugs but from my brief research it does not appear to be.

I like what someone said up thread about how maybe she was waiting for someone so went in for a second purchase to justify hanging around. Makes a drug deal angle seem more plausible, IMO.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sincere condolences to her family. I hope their privacy will be respected.

 

[RobinCAL]

Sad outcome but not surprising. I’d be curious to know what the “tip” was.

ETA: In this article they clarify there was no new info, just going back over previously searched areas since weather had improved. Large search effort for Ashley Turcotte to be conducted Saturday

I'm unfamiliar with the weather in that area - was it extremely bad with the snow? Because its been 2 months now. Just surprised she wasn't found sooner

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I'm unfamiliar with the weather in that area - was it extremely bad with the snow? Because its been 2 months now. Just surprised she wasn't found sooner

It has been a warmer and milder winter than usual here in New England, and as usual some parts will have a foot of snow and others get by with a dusting or none, or rain. It just all depends on the track of the bands and elevation and so on. I think there was some sort of snowfall a few days after they began searching for her, but I can't be certain. I wonder if she was located in some areas that were perhaps too muddy to reach easily initially. And of course all of the snow in the stats below doesn't indicate it was cumulative - much could have melted in-between other snowfalls.

Some stats here:

Certified Snowfall Totals

The nation's leading snow & ice verification service, providing accurate snow & ice totals for thousands of postal codes and cities across the US and Canada.

certifiedsnowfalltotals.com

 

[dalsglen]

That's surprising. I wonder how close she was to her car. I just posted last night that I didn't think she'd be found nearby as someone would have come across her body after all the previous searches they had done.

The sister in law has said on Facebook that she wasn't near the car at all, on a private dirt track to a house. Being near is relative to the individual though I suppose, my town's about 2 miles by 3 miles at the most, I'd say the first 10 mins walk is nearby.

I was pretty skeptical of the post you made yesterday, but knowing what we do know, I fear your hypothesis was correct.

If you had drugs to hand would you seriously go buy salt and candy and totter out to the woods in the dead of winter? I know I wouldn't. Home, in my cosy and comfy jammies would be my way to go if I was doing it myself. And absolutely no offence meant but Ashley was clearly obese, I certainly haven't meant an obese drug user before?

I suspect that the rumours will be what was true cause.

 

[Pugsterpig]

So sad, but I'm glad she is able to be returned to her family.

We didn't get a lot of snow this year. I'm only about 30 mins from where she was found and we have had bare ground for quite some time. It's unfortunate that it took so long to find her.

 

[Hap]

Very sad ending. RIP Ashley.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Since they mentioned the National Guard would help search today, and this quote below from the latest WMUR article linked above leads me to believe they finally were able to do a tight grid search, which perhaps they were not able to do the past 2.5 months.

It also indicates she was found off of New Road, which is just a bit southeast of her car’s location, not far from the police station. (This location was not mentioned in the first iteration of the article.)

“"It's a lot of manpower. Doing line searches is just all manpower. It's a slow process, it's systematical, the searchers are given grids to search," said Lt. Adam Cheney with New Hampshire Fish and Game.“

 

[carbuff]

ive never heard of a widespread reverse 911 call! i guess it only works with very small towns?

We got one in our mid-small city a couple of years ago telling us to boil water after there was an issue with the water supply. I guess it took them like ten minutes to notify everybody in our side of town.

I hope it generates some tips for Ashley and they find her soon.

added: I see they did find her. Condolences to her family.

 

[bombardier]

Thank you @Hestia's Fire for adding Ashley to this thread

Remains Found in Area After LE/SAR Searches

I just realized I case I had followed was never added to this list, so I'm adding him now. Eric Pracht, CO - 2020 Eric walked away from his condo at the base of Green Mountain, barefoot, on July 22, 2016, after an argument. The Green Mountain area was searched extensively by SAR, dog teams...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Hestia's Fire]

Body found believed to be missing NH woman

Authorities in Barnstead, New Hampshire, have located a body on Saturday they believe to be a local woman who had been missing since January. Authorities say the body they believe to be 31-year-old Ashley Turcotte was found by a search team shortly before 11a.m. about a half-mile from where her...

www.nbcboston.com

This article gets a bit more specific on how close she was to the place where her vehicle was found:

Authorities say the body they believe to be 31-year-old Ashley Turcotte was found by a search team shortly before 11a.m. about a half-mile from where her car was found the day she went missing.

 

[swanniee11]

I am so sad to see this outcome. Prayers for Ashley and her family.

 

[Thinker Matt]

Body found believed to be missing NH woman

Authorities in Barnstead, New Hampshire, have located a body on Saturday they believe to be a local woman who had been missing since January. Authorities say the body they believe to be 31-year-old Ashley Turcotte was found by a search team shortly before 11a.m. about a half-mile from where her...

www.nbcboston.com

This article gets a bit more specific on how close she was to the place where her vehicle was found:

If this is accurate, I'm surprised her sister in law said on Facebook that she wasn't found near the car at all.

I would consider half a mile away "near by" so doesn't surprise me it has been reported this way.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Thank you @Hestia's Fire for adding Ashley to this thread

Remains Found in Area After LE/SAR Searches

I just realized I case I had followed was never added to this list, so I'm adding him now. Eric Pracht, CO - 2020 Eric walked away from his condo at the base of Green Mountain, barefoot, on July 22, 2016, after an argument. The Green Mountain area was searched extensively by SAR, dog teams...

www.websleuths.com

I had no idea that thread existed! Yes, thank you, Hestia's Fire for adding her. I have a few cases to add to that thread as well.

 

[Seattle1]

Woman last seen months ago in Barnstead found dead, police say

A woman who was last seen in January was found dead Saturday morning after a wide-scale search for her, police said.

www.wmur.com

Updated: 6:33 PM EDT Mar 16, 2024 (News 9 video report at link)

Ashley Turcotte, 31, was last seen Jan. 4. A wide-scale search started Saturday morning, and Turcotte was found in the woods off New Road, near where police said her car was found abandoned with some of her personal belongings inside, police said.

"It's a very unfortunate outcome, but at least we've got some closure for the family, and really, that's what we've been looking for at this point," said Barnstead police Chief Paul Poirier.

Authorities said her death does not appear suspicious, and there is no sign of foul play.

"There's no reason to believe that there is any criminal element to this. We want the public to know there is no reason for concern," Poirier said.