Manorville woods body identified as missing Riverhead woman Kathleen Trent

Suffolk County Police announced Monday that the body discovered in a wooded area of Manorville on Feb. 11 has been identified as Kathleen Harrison Trent, 63, of Riverhead. Trent’s son reported her missing to the Riverhead Town Police Department on Jan. 29, and Homicide Squad detectives say “detectives believe it to be criminal in nature” while the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner completed an autopsy and the identification.

Trent was last seen at her Forge Road home in Riverhead on Tuesday, Jan. 27, just days before her 63rd birthday on Sunday, Feb. 1. While multiple police statements and local coverage cite Jan. 29 as the date her son filed the missing-person report, one brief internal update listed Feb. 2; the Jan. 29 reporting date is reflected in the majority of official notices and media accounts.

Suffolk County Police Seventh Precinct patrol units were searching a wooded area off Connecticut Avenue, south of River Road in Manorville when they located the remains at around 3:21 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Photographs from the scene showed crime-scene tape on Connecticut Avenue on Feb. 12. After patrol units located the body, Homicide Squad detectives assumed the investigation and reiterated that the “official cause of death remains under investigation.”

Friends and longtime coworkers described Trent as a fixture in the Riverhead community. She worked for more than 40 years at Riverhead Raceway, where sources say she served as a security guard, and was described in prior missing-person information as blond-haired, blue-eyed and 5 feet, 2 inches tall. Family members and acquaintances circulated missing-person flyers widely on social media in the weeks before the discovery.

Community members reacted with shock and grief. Kelly Turbush, identified as a godsister in local coverage, said, "She didn't have a bad bone in her body. Anybody who knew her loved her, anybody. She came in contact would if they needed anything. If she could give, she would." Friend Tanya Burriss said, "Oh, God, I was just destroyed. I was like, oh lord, you know, let everything be fine, because that's what we all wish, that everything is fine."

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives asked anyone with information to call 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS (1-800-220-8477). No arrests have been reported in connection with the case in the notices and coverage that followed the Feb. 11 discovery. Detectives continue to investigate while awaiting the Medical Examiner’s final findings, which officials say “will be determined by an autopsy conducted by the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.”