An upstate New York woman was found dead on Tuesday morning, just days after she went missing in subzero temperatures. Leah Bellitto, 29, left her home in Amherst, roughly 10 miles from downtown Buffalo, around 9 p.m. on Saturday. She was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, black pajama pants, and carrying a blue flower-patterned backpack, WKBW reported.
Bellitto was last seen walking into the snow-covered woods behind her house, where temperatures dropped as low as 25 degrees and the ground was blanketed in snow. Bellitto's family reported her missing on Monday, prompting a search across the surrounding area. On Tuesday, she was found dead close to where she went missing.
Grim Discovery
During the search, barefoot prints and handprints were found near a creek and pond that Bellitto was believed to be heading toward. At 9:55 a.m. on Tuesday, a civilian volunteer located the 29-year-old's body in a body of water in East Amherst, three days after her disappearance.
The Amherst Police Department is investigating Bellitto's death. As of now, authorities do not suspect foul play and have said there is no apparent "danger to the public."
A neighbor living close to where Bellitto's body was found described the discovery as "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.
Alesha Conte, a volunteer who helped in the search for Bellitto, expressed, "It hits home" when someone from 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."
Community Devastated
Local resident Tom Chiaramonte shared that he and his son joined the search for the missing 29-year-old after hearing about her disappearance during Sunday's Super Bowl. Upon hearing about Bellitto's death, Chiaramonte was stunned to learn that her body had been found so near 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 graduated from in 2015, expressed its sorrow on Facebook upon hearing 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.
