Mom: Missing Peconic teen left ‘suicide note’
Charlotte Murray said she hasn’t slept since her teenaged daughter, Ashley, went missing Monday morning.
“You just keep hoping that the game is up and she’ll come walking through the door,” the mom said.
Ashley, who lives in Peconic with her family, left a “suicide note” mentioning a “watery grave” before she vanished, Ms. Murray said.
Ashley is 5-foot 4-inches and 140 pounds with reddish-brown hair, her mother said. She was last seen wearing red sweatpants “four sizes too big,” black boots and a zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, her mom said.
“She didn’t even leave with a winter coat,” her mom said. Ashley also left behind medication she must take for anemia, Ms. Murray said.
Ashley left the house about 8:30 a.m., the same time she normally leaves to get on the school bus, but police said she never arrived at school.
School officials contacted Ms. Murray that morning when some students told social workers that they had gotten texts from Ashley that said she would kill herself, her mom said.
Southold Superintendent David Gamberg said the district has been cooperating with the Southold Police Department since the investigation began Monday.
“We have deep, deep concerns about her whereabouts and her safety,” Mr. Gamberg said. “Anything and everything we can do we will do.”
Ms. Murray said her daughter’s phone is turned off or not working, her mom said.
“This was all thought out and planned the night before,” Ms. Murray said.
Ashley has never run away from home before, her mom said.
“I’d like for her to come home,” Ms. Murray said.
Police initially employed a marine patrol, its canine unit and a Suffolk County Police helicopter Monday. Believing Ashley may have left the area, investigators ended the active search near her home later in the day.
Investigators were working with her family and friends, and checking phone records, they said. Anyone with information should contact Southold Police at (631) 765-2600.
With Tim Kelly and Jennifer Gustavson.
