Police find body of missing Lake Clear woman

Law enforcement officials located the body of a missing Lake Clear woman early Wednesday afternoon.

The discovery of 37-year-old Carrie Bailey’s body ends a two-day search that launched Monday after family members reported her missing.

Troopers Jim Butzer and Raymond Caldwell found Bailey’s body in the driver’s seat of her 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser at a camp down off Hull Road in Rainbow Lake in the town of Brighton.

Officials with New York State Police Troop “B” and state Department of Environmental Conservation announced the discovery of the body at a 3 p.m. press conference at the Brighton municipal park in Gabriels.

State Police Captain Robert LaFountain said the investigation began Monday after family members reported Bailey missing.

“As a result of information developed, the family had great concern for her safety,” he said. “The investigation was intensified Tuesday, with aerial and ground searches, primarily along roadways, looking for Carrie and her vehicle. The forest rangers were kind enough to come over and set up a GPS mapping system to conduct a more detailed search of this area.”

LaFountain said Bailey was last seen at a camp in the Rainbow Lake area.

While conducting a door-to-door search of camps in the area, Troopers Butzer and Caldwell located the vehicle and found a deceased female inside.

The scene was secured and a forensic identification unit began an on-scene investigation, LaFountain said.

“One of the investigators, Senior Investigator Edward Gibbs, knew Ms. Bailey and positively identified her as the deceased subject inside,” he said.

Bailey was last scene shortly after midnight Saturday morning at a friend’s camp in Rainbow Lake. Regional Forest Ranger Captain John Streiff said the body was located about half a mile from the camp at a second camp that investigators say may be owned by one of Bailey’s family members.

There was no damage to the vehicle.

LaFountain estimated there are hundreds of camps in the area where Bailey was found. Captain Streiff says the dense forest made it difficult to locate the vehicle by air.

“It didn’t appear that people had been utilizing the camps nearby, even
though it’s busy in the area,” he said. “The vehicle was located on a road off of another road. Even though we did aerial detection, the vehicle had a black top and was under a pretty dense canopy. It was through cooperation with state police that we were able to find the body.”

Officials declined to comment on whether or not the death is being considered suspicious. Captain LaFountain said a coroner was at the scene Wednesday afternoon and an autopsy was expected to follow.

Investigators hope to announce a cause of death Thursday.

Bailey has many family members in the Tri-Lakes area and was living with her father and step mother in Lake Clear before her death. Police say her family became concerned when she stopped making calls and texting on her cell phone.

The investigation is considered ongoing.