Sanford police said Wednesday night that they have found the body of a 40-year-old Sanford woman who was last seen Jan. 22.
Maine Warden Service Sergeant Tim Spahr found the body of Kerry M. Rear around 2 p.m. in a wooded area off Country Club Road, about 200 yards from where she was last seen.
Sanford police Detective Eric Small, who led the investigation of Rear’s disappearance, said in a press release that Sanford police and game wardens were searching the wooded area when they found Rear’s remains.
Rear’s body was taken to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta for an autopsy. Small did not say whether her death appeared to be suspicious.
Rear was last seen leaving the Lil’Mart convenience store in Sanford on foot on the night of Jan. 22.
In a press release issued by Sanford police around the time of her disappearance, police described Rear as being “disoriented, wet, and in stocking feet. She was extremely disoriented and believed she was in a bank.”
Sanford police said Rear left the convenience store, but returned a short time later and inquired about making a bank deposit.
She was last seen walking toward Country Club Road wearing sweat pants and a black puffy jacket with a pink-lined hood. Sanford police later said that Rear, after leaving the store, may have gotten into a vehicle.
In the days following Rear’s disappearance, friends and family members held a vigil, and her parents offered a $10,000 cash reward for anyone providing information that led to her safe return. Tips about her whereabouts began to pour in, including one from a person who said they spotted Rear in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
McCausland said the state Medical Examiner’s Office will confirm her identity and cause of death.
Rear’s family told the Press Herald earlier this year that she had been dealing with mounting issues in her life and believe the pressure may have triggered a breakdown. She had suffered from alcoholism and unspecified mental health problems in the past.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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