Gasquet Gazette
Community Asked to Help Solve Mystery of Young Woman’s Death
Shea Montgomery (24) of Ridgefield, Connecticut, was found dead in the Gasquet Nature Reserve on Christmas Eve.
A circle of melted snow surrounded her along with unidentified white flowers blooming. The only wound was a precise incision along her femoral artery near her groin. No weapons were found nearby.
Her skin was uncommonly pale, and her face appeared serene with her hands crossed over her heart. Her eyes, heart, and brain were all absent upon medical examination, with no incisions explaining their extraction. Semen was found in her vaginal cavity without any signs of trauma or struggle. The DNA of the sperm sample was nonhuman with speculation of shared markers of its origin being related to that of a deer.
Nothing was detected in a toxicology report, and hypothermia has been ruled out as the cause of death.
Montgomery was wearing an elaborate crown of antlers, holly, and pine. She was wrapped in the skin of an elk that went extinct in New England in the late 1800s. Along with these peculiar items, a detailed report of her falling in love with a mysterious warden was recounted in her personal journal, along with a sketch of a buck with an elaborate rack and a man with antlers she believed to be an ancient fertility god.
Several witnesses saw Montgomery in town over the past few weeks. Two of those occurrences were at Gasquet Goods Market with a man named Dianus, who witnesses described as in his early thirties with a muscular build and long, dark hair and a beard.
She was last seen at the Gasquet Winter Market with a man matching the previous description. The man explained he lived in Gasquet and worked as a warden for the U.S. Forestry Service. Several eyewitnesses reported the couple seemed very much in love and mentioned they were interested in starting a family before they ran off into the forest together, laughing. Upon research into the county and employment records, no evidence of Dianus was found.
Montgomery was spending her winter break from college in a family cabin nearby, where she was expected to catch up on her reading before returning to her studies.
A professor who was accused of sexual misconduct in a case involving Montgomery is still the prime suspect in her death.
This case remains open, and if anyone has information, please call the Gasquet P.D.
Miss Montgomery’s remains will be cremated and sent to her next of kin. In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be made in her name to a public library.