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

[fcavanaugh]

Been following. This is close to home for me as well. We live approx 45 minutes southeast on the seacoast and have friends that live near Barnstead in Strafford on Bow Lake. Beautiful area up there, typical quaint little New England town with several nice lakes and waterways. For the most part, I would say overall it’s a pretty safe area but as we know, bad actors can be living and/or passing through anywhere.

Very concerned for Ashley. Her backpack, wallet and phone being found in the car is worrisome since if she’s missing voluntarily and just needed some time away/take a break, I’d think she would have taken those things, as well as her vehicle, with her. Maybe not her phone if she didn’t want to be tracked but wallet, backpack, and vehicle seem like necessary items to take with you if you’re planning on being gone for awhile. Unless she was just stepping out of her car to do something quick- run quick errand? Take quick little walk? But then what happened? Misadventure? As in, had some sort of accident, slipped and fell before making it back to her vehicle? I think she would have been found by now if it was a slip/fall/injured type of misadventure. Unless (god forbid) she slipped and fell into the river, could take some time to find her in that case. Unless it wasn’t her that parked/abandoned the car at Town Hall, but who? Perhaps she was meeting up with someone who knew there were no cameras there? If foul play is involved, all her personal items left behind in the car make more sense to me than a voluntarily missing or misadventure really because I think more likely than not, people grab their phone even if they’re just doing a quick errand or going for a walk. I know I always do but that’s me. We would need to know more about her personal habits otherwise it’s just guesswork at this point.

There are alot of holes/unknowns in the timeline making it difficult as far as what her exact movements were from the time her family last saw her on 1/4 to a few days later when she was reported missing. But at least LE have her phone which will hopefully be able to shed some light on her movements/locations during the critical time period. Without more facts, imo everything’s still on the table including self harm (unfortunately) although way down on my list atm.

My heart really goes out to Ashley’s family and loved ones. I really hope she is ok, just needed some time away, is inside somewhere warm and found safe very soon.

 

[charminglane]

It bothers me that she was parked in the one spot that there were no cameras. Makes me wonder that either she or someone she was meeting there knew that and knew they wouldn’t be seen meeting up. Who was that other person and why was there secrecy needed? IMO and imagination at this point.

"IMO and imagination."
Yes, I like that.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

The Town Hall parking lot is teeny tiny. Perhaps parks 15 cars. It’s centered between the fire department and a church who has a parking strip for about 10 cars. The police department is off a side street right behind all of those buildings. See Google maps sat view below.

I cannot imagine someone dumping her car there, even in the middle of the night, as that area is so incredibly rural. There would be countless places that would go unnoticed for weeks or months. You would risk FD or PD spotting headlights pulling in.

 

[acutename]

She lives with her sister and her family a shade over 2.5 miles from where her car was found. You would end up on the road of the town hall to either towards Rochester or the other way would take you towards the lights, to which would take you onto Rt. 28. There is also the road called Maple St, which is on the way towards the lights, that would also take you to Rt. 28.

have not specifically been to this town but it does not seem to have sidewalks- that rural- so if you were going to the Post Office, you would park at the Post Office- not at the Muni Bldg. Not even sure where you would walk-are there paths along the Suncook or Perry Creek? Or would you just walk along, say, Depot St because here is so little traffic?

 

[KindMind1ofA]

have not specifically been to this town but it does not seem to have sidewalks- that rural- so if you were going to the Post Office, you would park at the Post Office- not at the Muni Bldg. Not even sure where you would walk-are there paths along the Suncook or Perry Creek? Or would you just walk along, say, Depot St because here is so little traffic?

There are paths on the south side of the road across from the town hall;. "two rivers trail". Doesn't seem like that trail can be too extensive based on satellite images but I haven't seen more information about it other than it's name.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Her backpack, wallet and phone being found in the car

I hadn't seen mention of the wallet (or keys for that matter)

 

[fcavanaugh]

I hadn't seen mention of the wallet (or keys for that matter)

Hmmm thought I had read somewhere that her phone, backpack and wallet were found inside her vehicle but after seeing your post, I went back and rechecked all MSM articles I could locate and they report that backpack and cellphone were found in her vehicle. Thanks for catching that and apologies for the confusion!

eta-punctuation

 

[charminglane]

Bumping for AT.

 

[Rosiebones]

Why has this gone so quiet?

 

[MassGuy]

Why has this gone so quiet?

I think it’s just because this doesn’t appear to be a criminal investigation. Also, it doesn’t look like there’s a major search or anything going on today, and this point the sense of urgency in regards to those searches would have decreased. It’s not like they’re searching the woods for a person who would still be alive.

 

[borndem]

Great search information at your link:

“On Thursday, a search involving eight trained dogs took place, covering a radius about a half-mile around the Town Hall lot. Joining the effort were commercially licensed drone operators, who used aerial devices that had thermal imaging as well as night vision.

Earlier in the week, horse-mounted police officers from Manchester helped to search in the hopes that a more elevated vantage point might reveal something that was missed.
The search on Thursday included personnel from NH Fish and Game, as well as from New England K9 Search and Rescue.”

This sentence is quite bothersome -- and it could be very telling about the location she used:
"Of note, no CCTV covers the part of the parking lot that Ashley parked in."
Source:
Dogs, horses, drones join search for missing Barnstead woman
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Did she park in this area knowing that CCTV did not have cameras in that spot, as many of us have considered? If so, we may be going down a very sad path... And, of course, leaving her belongings in the vehicle is very worrisome, IMO.

It does appear that LE has done a lot of looking around and covering a good bit of ground, bless them. SMH
Still trying to think positive thoughts for her and her loved ones.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Based on what we know, and given what appears to be pretty thorough searches of the area, my best guess has to be that Ashley disappeared intentionally.. she left the car where she knew it would be found and left her phone so she wouldn't be tracked. All *very* MOO of course. I only hope she met up with someone well intentioned and is healthy and happy and will at some point reach back out to her family to let them know she is ok.

 

[borndem]

@KindMind1ofA -- Totally agree.
Hoping Ashley has found some respite and relief about the things that worry her, but if she is by herself, that may not happen. Being alone doesn't always help. SMH

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Barnstead, NH Police Continue Search for Missing Woman

Ashley Turcotte left her home on Jan. 4. Her car was located at Barnstead Town Hall with her keys, backpack, wallet and cellphone all inside.

seacoastcurrent.com

Barnstead Police are still looking for help to locate a missing 31-year-old woman last seen at the beginning of January

*********
The Barnstead Police department has their flagpoles lit in Ashley's favorite color of teal to help light her way home.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Based on what we know, and given what appears to be pretty thorough searches of the area, my best guess has to be that Ashley disappeared intentionally.. she left the car where she knew it would be found and left her phone so she wouldn't be tracked. All *very* MOO of course. I only hope she met up with someone well intentioned and is healthy and happy and will at some point reach back out to her family to let them know she is ok.

It is just so so hard to consider this. She knows what grief her mother and family have experienced over her brother's death.

As we see over and over, certain states of mind can override logic or compassion.
But she could have just left a simple cryptic note... and none of this would be happening.

 

[kitkat89]

There definitely are a lot of holes here . The family is asking for help but if you ask questions on Facebook you get met with a lot of anger. Now, I've never experienced this & pray I never do but I would expect you'd want to be as open as you can so you can find her. Something seems super fishy ,but then again I could be reading into it. So very worried about this girl. I live half an hr from them & we just want to help

 

[ChatteringBirds]

but if you ask questions on Facebook you get met with a lot of anger.

Try to imagine the stress and pain her family is under, the not-knowing, fearing what may be, the helplessness 24/7. People are asking inappropriate questions in the Facebook group and then acting as though the questions are fine, and they have a right to the answers.

And yet her family has no choice but to ask for people to help search, etc. These are probably some of the hardest days of their lives. I think they have a right to feel anger, because they nor their daughter asked to have her photos, personal information, etc. released to the whole world.

 

[kitkat89]

I think it’s just because this doesn’t appear to be a criminal investigation. Also, it doesn’t look like there’s a major search or anything going on today, and this point the sense of urgency in regards to those searches would have decreased. It’s not like they’re searching the woods for a person who would still be alive.

I 100% agree I think they're looking for a body at this point. <modsnip: rumors> It's so sad absolutely so sad such a beautiful young girl. I just keep praying they're going to find her

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Hmmm thought I had read somewhere that her phone, backpack and wallet were found inside her vehicle but after seeing your post, I went back and rechecked all MSM articles I could locate and they report that backpack and cellphone were found in her vehicle. Thanks for catching that and apologies for the confusion!

eta-punctuation

It looks like you were just ahead of the game - I'm now seeing the wallet and keys reported

NH police renew call for help in search for missing artist who hasn’t been seen in more than 10 days

The woman's car was found abandoned at a town hall building with her keys, backpack, wallet, and cellphone inside, police said.

www.boston25news.com

 

[zucchinibread]

This case is interesting to me because I'm probably a similar build/weight to Ashley, and I often take comfort in the fact that I'd be harder to takeover and harder to hide at my size.

So, given that there is no bloody or violent scene in her car, I'd be willing to bet this is not a homicide but rather a mental health break/suicide.