On October 13, 2021

Police find remains of missing Weathersfield woman, probe into her death continues

By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger

Police say they believe they have recovered the remains of a Weathersfield woman who had been missing since July.

The Weathersfield Police Dept. had been leading the investigation into the disappearance of 50-year-old Tonia Bushway.

As part of the investigation, Weathersfield police on Wednesday, Oct. 6 sought help from the State Police Search and Rescue Team and New England K9 to search properties in the area of Bushway’s home on Little Ascutney Road, state police said in a press release.

New England K9 located human remains around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday on a parcel of land next to Bushway’s property, according to state police.

The Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Crime Scene Search Team went to the location and spent the day collecting information.

“Investigation at the scene indicates that the remains are those of Bushway,” police said in the statement Wednesday night.

The remains were brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and confirm the decedent’s identity.

Those autopsy results were still pending on Thursday, according to Vermont State Police Capt. Scott Dunlap, head of the state police Major Crime Unit.

“We have to rule out any foul play, and that’s what we’re trying to rule out now,” Dunlap said. “The autopsy will tell us more.”

Dunlap described the location of the remains as being in a wooded area and behind a large rock, about 50 to 75 yards from Bushway’s residence.

According to the release, Weathersfield police received a report July 13 that Bushway was missing, with her family telling authorities that a friend of hers told them she was last seen at her residence on July 2.

“Tonia has not been seen or heard from since,” Weathersfield police said in a press release this summer. “Tonia was believed to be walking to Springfield when she was unable to get a ride.”

Dunlap and state police spokesperson Adam Silverman on Thursday referred questions about why the search teams and dogs hadn’t been called in earlier in the investigation to the Weathersfield police.

Weathersfield Police Chief William Daniels did not respond to an email asking the same question. Through a dispatcher, he referred questions about the case back to Vermont State Police, who are now heading the probe into Bushway’s death.

Silverman said state police “cannot speak to what [Weathersfield police] did — their investigative efforts, their investigative steps prior to VSP taking the case.” State police would not object to Weathersfield police commenting on those efforts, he said.

A GoFundMe page set up this summer attempted to raise $2,500 “to offer a reward to help get her home.”

“When family realized she was missing they went to her home and there were squatters living there,” the authors of the GoFundMe page wrote at the time. “Her home was ransacked and the property was trashed. After the family & police showed up at the house, they all scattered leaving a mess that needs to be cleaned up.”

Toshia Emery, Bushway’s daughter, told WCAX-TV in a story that ran earlier this week that she didn’t believe police were doing enough to try to find her mother.

“The police did not put an official missing person post online for people to see and be aware of until July 23rd,” Emery told WCAX. “People were not immediately questioned and not seized and searched.”

Emery could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Killington receives positive snow control for Audi FIS Ski World Cup race Nov. 30-Dec. 1

November 21, 2024
KILLINGTON—Killington Resort received a positive snow control announcement from FIS (International Ski and Snowboard Federation), the governing body of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup. With this announcement, Killington Resort can assure international race teams and ski racing fans traveling to central Vermont for Thanksgiving weekend that both the giant slalom and slalom races will…

Killington community donated winter wears at Mission Farm coat drive

November 20, 2024
BROC Community Action was the beneficiary of the Mission Farm Veteran’s Day coat drive event in Killington. BROC received a significant donation of new and lightly used winter coats from the coat drive. These coats are essential to keeping area friends and neighbors warm during the cold winter months. If anyone is looking to contribute,…

One dead, two arrested in Rutland shooting

November 20, 2024
By Alan J. Keays / VTDigger Two Massachusetts men pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon, Nov. 18, to charges in the killing of a Rutland man. The prosecutor said the Friday night shooting was drug-related, and the two suspects may have been targeting someone else. Dylin Wainscott, 28, of Westfield, Massachusetts, faces charges of first-degree murder,…

Mountain Top Resort’s cross-country ski routes caught up in legal dispute

November 20, 2024
By Greta Solsaa/VTDigger Generations of cross-country skiers have flocked to Chittenden’s Mountain Top Resort to spend wintry days gliding along bucolic, snow-capped paths nestled in the shadow of Killington. As the popular cross-country skiing destination celebrates its 60th year in business, Mountain Top finds itself locked in a legal battle with its neighbors, John and…