New York City

What Happened to Carolyn? New York State Police Seek Help Solving Case of Long Island Mother Found Dead in Snow

What to Know

  • Carolyn Smith vanished on March 6, 1986, on her way to Newark Airport after leaving a co-worker's apartment in the Bronx
  • The Long Island mother of two's body was found the next day in the snow off the Southern State Parkway near Bayshore
  • NY State Police say they've followed hundreds of leads over the last 33 years; anyone with information is asked to call 631-756-3300

New York State Police are asking for the public's help cracking the stabbing death of a 29-year-old Long Island mother whose body was found in the snow just off the Southern State Parkway more than three decades ago. 

Carolyn Smith, a mother of two young children who lived in Central Islip, vanished on her way to Newark Airport after leaving a co-worker's Bronx apartment on March 6, 1986. Her body was found the next day by a tow truck operator looking for a disabled vehicle on the eastbound side of the Southern State Parkway, not far from Bayshore. Smith's body, stabbed multiple times, was just off the side of the highway's south shoulder in the snow, authorities said. 

Interviews at the time determined Smith worked for Digital Equipment Corporation in New York City; she would commute to work in a 1985 white Ford LTD station wagon. Her station wagon was found April 8, 1986, more than a month after she vanished, at the Taft Housing Projects on Park Avenue in Manhattan. 

New York State Police said they've followed hundreds of leads over the last 33 years and the investigation remains active. Smith was known to frequent Huntington Station as well as New York City. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 631-756-3300. 

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