The human remains found during the search of an Albany property belong to Ashley Carroll, Albany Police confirmed Friday.
Police discovered the remains in a shed at 7 Marlborough Court in Albany's Whitehall neighborhood while executing a search warrant Tuesday. An autopsy on Friday found that the remains belonged to Carroll.
The autopsy results end the more-than-15-year search for Carroll, who went missing from the City of Rensselaer in 2010, when she was 24.
Carroll's cause of death is still under investigation. No arrests have been made, but Albany police called their investigation "active and ongoing."
"Ashley was more than just a name or a face. She was a sister, a loved one and someone whose life mattered deeply to the people who knew and loved her," Carroll's sister, Caitlyn Mitchell, said in a written statement. "As our family tries to process this unimaginable loss, we are left grieving, holding onto our memories and trying to find the strength to navigate the difficult days ahead."
Mitchell started a GoFundMe Wednesday to raise money for Carroll's funeral. The page had raised $6,600 as of midday Sunday.
Mitchell indicated in a Facebook post Saturday that Carroll "was taken" by someone close to the family, which she called a "betrayal beyond words."
