Missing Basking Ridge Teen Found Dead

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — A missing Basking Ridge teenager's body was found in a remote wooded area in the Liberty Corner section of the township on Thursday afternoon, police announced.

This is the second teen found dead in less than a month. Frances Wang, 16, of Bridgewater went missing on Jan. 27 and was later found dead at Chimney Rock Park. (See Related: Missing Bridgewater Teen Found Dead)

Lydia Comtois, 19, of Basking Ridge was reported missing a few minutes before midnight on Valentine's Day, Bernards Township Police Lt. Mark Leopold said.

She was last heard from around 5 p.m. when she was leaving New Brunswick to go back to Basking Ridge, according to police.

Police sent out an alert of her disappearance to residents through social media and a notification phone system around 9 a.m. Thursday.

"There is no danger or threat to the public," the alert stated.

Comtois had been described as a white woman who is 5'7" tall, 155 pounds with hazel eyes, brown hair, and hair complexion. She also has a tattoo of a "heart symbol" on her left wrist and a scar on the right side of her forehead.

A search using K-9 units as well as personnel and volunteers from numerous public safety agencies began around the township.

Comtois' body was found around 11:30 a.m. in the woods in Liberty Corner by search teams, Leopold said.

There was nothing suspicious about Comtois' death and there is no evidence of foul play at this time, according to a preliminary investigation.

Bernards Township Police, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Medical Examiner’s Office continue to investigate.

Anyone with additional information should contact the Bernards Township Police at 908-766-1122.

The following agencies assisted in the search: Bernards Township Police, Bernards Township Office of Emergency Management, Liberty Corner Fire Company, Liberty Corner First Aid Squad, Basking Ridge Fire Company and First Aid Squad, Somerset County Office of Emergency Management, Somerset County Sheriff’s Department, Morris County Office of Emergency Management, Federal Bureau of Investigation and US Postal Inspectors.

(Image via Bernards Township Police Department: Lydia Comtois, 19, of Basking Ridge)

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