An upstate New York woman was found dead on Tuesday morning — days after she went missing in freezing temperatures.
Leah Bellitto, 29, walked out of her home in Amherst — about 10 miles from downtown Buffalo — on Saturday at around 9 p.m. and wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, black pajama pants, and a blue flower-pattern backpack, according to WKBW.
She was reportedly last seen walking into the snow-covered woods behind her home, where temperatures reached as low as 25 degrees and snow covered the ground.
Bellitto’s family reported her missing on Monday, igniting a search throughout the area.
During the search, barefoot prints and handprints were found near a creek and pond in the direction she was believed to be heading.
A civilian volunteer found the 29-year-old’s body in a body of water in East Amherst at 9:55 a.m. on Tuesday, three days after she vanished.
The Amherst Police Department is currently investigating Bellitto’s death.
Law enforcement doesn’t suspect foul play was involved and shared that there doesn’t appear to be any “danger to the public.”
A neighbor who lives near where Bellitto’s body was found called the discovery “devastating.”
“It’s been so cold and however it happened, maybe going for a walk and just getting disoriented and just been freezing out here and it’s just incredibly sad,” Trisha Tower told WKBW.
A volunteer who helped search for Bellitto’s, Alesha Conte, said “it hits home” when someone in the community goes missing.
“Me and my husband and our kids…we live in Amherst and you know it hits you and it hits home when you see this happening in your community,” Conte shared.
“And everybody needs help there can’t be enough help…with something like this.”
Nearby resident Tom Chiaramonte said he and his son joined the search for the missing 29-year-old after hearing about the disappearance during Sunday’s Super Bowl.
After learning about Bellitto’s death, Chiaramonte couldn’t believe her body was found so close to his home.
“They found her at the creek right up here on Dodge Road…,” he said. “Unfortunate for the family. Very, very sad for the family.”
Nardin Academy, the private catholic girls’ school Bellitto attended for high school and graduated from in 2015, posted on Facebook saying they were “saddened” to hear the news of her death.
“The entire Nardin community prays for and offers its heartfelt condolences to the Bellitto Family, Leah’s friends, and her loved ones. Our thoughts are with them all,” school officials wrote.
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