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

[charminglane]

Is there a coffee place or restaurant near the town hall where AT may have met up with anyone?

 

[Rosiebones]

I wonder if LE has access to her computer, what her search history and contacts might show. MOO MOO MOO

 

[ifindedout]

ETA Does anyone know if that waterway is close to Ashley's home?

Ashley Turcotte missing - Google Search

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The bridge is the railroad bridge over the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay and Bourne, Massachusetts. So no, not close to home.
ETA Wikipedia

Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[dotr]

The bridge is the railroad bridge over the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay and Bourne, Massachusetts. So no, not close to home.
ETA Wikipedia

Thank you, it looks very pleasant!

 

[Tealgrove]

We clearly do not have all the info on this and my spidey sense is telling me that a lot of things are being kept under wraps.

I think LE knows WAY more than what we are hearing.

MOO

 

[StarRemy8]

Does the surveillance video just show her car driving by it and not parking or anything?

 

[Hap]

Assuming the trunk of Ashley's car was checked....

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Here's an article from local news with a bit of new (to me) information on the search:

Laconia Daily Sun

Of note, no CCTV covers the part of the parking lot that Ashley parked in.

 

[Stunned]

Here's an article from local news with a bit of new (to me) information on the search:

Laconia Daily Sun

Of note, no CCTV covers the part of the parking lot that Ashley parked in.

Wonder if she or someone else knew that.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Some questions that would fill in gaps:
- What time on Thursday was she last seen? (I've seen "morning" mentioned but can't find a reference on a reputable sight)
- Where in the parking lot was her car?
- What footwear was she wearing? The article I linked above mentions she maybe had a winter coat.
- Was Ashley someone who'd be apt to take a quick jaunt for hiking? Photography? Birdwatching?

With so little info my best guess is a slip and fall scenario.. God forbid if self harm was involved, I just don't think she'd be so difficult to find. About 700 feet from the town hall is a very small bridge over what looks like a small river (suncook?) - I don't think it's something that would draw someone to jump but hopefully this and other parts of the river and trails to the south are well covered in the search activities so far - doesn't seem to be all that much ground to cover down there.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

I think LE knows WAY more than what we are hearing.

Have to agree on that. This is a very small town though (population under 5k) so they might not have had many resources to begin with.

Probably irrelevant, but possibly a little interesting; as small as it is, Barnstead (as of 2018) had the third highest violent crime rate in NH - ahead of several larger cities.

Macrotrends Barnstead violent crime rate

Of course with such a low population, a crime rate of 430/100k only translates to 20 violent crimes a year - but that still sounds like quite a lot for such a small rural community. (2018 might have been a blip, it was quite a bit lower in prior years)

The closest registered sex offender is .5 miles away, and I don't see the type of offenses that would be ringing alarm bells re: a 31 year old woman.

 

[ifindedout]

With so little info my best guess is a slip and fall scenario.. God forbid if self harm was involved, I just don't think she'd be so difficult to find. About 700 feet from the town hall is a very small bridge over what looks like a small river (suncook?) - I don't think it's something that would draw someone to jump but hopefully this and other parts of the river and trails to the south are well covered in the search activities so far - doesn't seem to be all that much ground to cover down there.

BBM
There is a dam on the river to the south but still within town limits that impounds a small reservoir.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[acutename]

Here's an article from local news with a bit of new (to me) information on the search:

Laconia Daily Sun

Of note, no CCTV covers the part of the parking lot that Ashley parked in.

This is plain weird. In water or some one picked her up IMO- still would she not tell her family she was going somewhere? And she lives 2.6 miles from that parking lot so a friend would have just picked her up at home...right? Weird that she left her phone.

No one has said how long she lived in this area- forever or moved recently? I am thinking bears or bad actors off the interstate. In a town with <5000 ppl, everyone kind of knows each other... please not another (Delphi).

 

[White_Mountains]

This is plain weird. In water or some one picked her up IMO- still would she not tell her family she was going somewhere? And she lives 2.6 miles from that parking lot so a friend would have just picked her up at home...right? Weird that she left her phone.

No one has said how long she lived in this area- forever or moved recently? I am thinking bears or bad actors off the interstate. In a town with <5000 ppl, everyone kind of knows each other... please not another (Delphi).

Very good points. I live a bit north of Barnstead and had a close call yesterday when I was off trail due to rushing water on the trail. As others have mentioned, we have had warmer temps and rain. Yesterday, I nearly took a spill while crossing a fairly deep, fast moving body of water. Things can go sideways so quickly. I wonder if she went for a walk and there was an accident.

I’d be less concerned about bears this time of year…I’m in the woods daily and haven’t seen any signs for almost a month (although I am in the colder mountains). I would be worried about bad actors. It is something I think about a lot as I am hiking, walking, and running on trails. Although, where would she have ventured to without her phone - and what was in the backpack? Is that what she used as a purse? It sounds like there is no history of an Apple Watch or other watch with gps. I hope she is OK.

 

[acutename]

Very good points. I live a bit north of Barnstead and had a close call yesterday when I was off trail due to rushing water on the trail. As others have mentioned, we have had warmer temps and rain. Yesterday, I nearly took a spill while crossing a fairly deep, fast moving body of water. Things can go sideways so quickly. I wonder if she went for a walk and there was an accident.

I’d be less concerned about bears this time of year…I’m in the woods daily and haven’t seen any signs for almost a month (although I am in the colder mountains). I would be worried about bad actors. It is something I think about a lot as I am hiking, walking, and running on trails. Although, where would she have ventured to without her phone - and what was in the backpack? Is that what she used as a purse? It sounds like there is no history of an Apple Watch or other watch with gps. I hope she is OK.

no one has said that she hikes- some one who does would have places they usually go- especially so close to home. And most people who hike leave a message or a note just in case. IMO

 

[KindMind1ofA]

The town has evidently held fairie house events on that two rivers trail across the street as well. I'm sure no event like that was going on now, but just to note that there are a few possible draws for someone to go on a little excursion even if they aren't much of a hiker in general.

 

[White_Mountains]

no one has said that she hikes- some one who does would have places they usually go- especially so close to home. And most people who hike leave a message or a note just in case. IMO

I probably wasn’t very clear. I was responding anecdotally to the statement about bears and my recent experience of not seeing signs of them in northern NH while I am hiking. I wondered if maybe she went for a walk…I suppose for the sake of discourse, we could operationally define the term hike for clarity. However, again, just my experience, many, many people do not leave a note when they are going on a hike/walk in nature with minor elevation change.

 

[acutename]

I probably wasn’t very clear. I was responding anecdotally to the statement about bears and my recent experience of not seeing signs of them in northern NH while I am hiking. I wondered if maybe she went for a walk…I suppose for the sake of discourse, we could operationally define the term hike for clarity. However, again, just my experience, many, many people do not leave a note when they are going on a hike/walk in nature with minor elevation change.

yes- I knew you meant bears. and bears often leave evidence- they are messy and dogs would smell them; if they are hibernating, we can cross that off the list.

 

[charminglane]

Perhaps she had a hired car meet her for pick up?
Burner phone?
I just don't know.

 

[IDK]

Here's an article from local news with a bit of new (to me) information on the search:

Laconia Daily Sun

Of note, no CCTV covers the part of the parking lot that Ashley parked in.

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.”