Murder suspected after remains of missing Penngrove woman found

More than two years after she went missing, the skeletal remains of a Penngrove woman were discovered at a national park in Marin County last month, prompting a multi-agency homicide investigation, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s department announced Tuesday.

Annie Bailley was 63 when her husband reported she was missing from their Penngrove home on Dec. 7, 2014. Her car, keys and purse were all left at the residence, with no signs of forced entry, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Spencer Crum said. A $10,000 reward was offered by the family for leads in what police have long considered a suspicious case, with no bank activity or sightings after Bailley “vanished into thin air,” he said.

On Feb. 27, motorists involved in a collision in Point Reyes National Seashore near Lagunitas Creek off Platform Bridge Road, between Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Petaluma-Point Reyes Road, found a decomposed body over an embankment, Crum said. Based on dental records, the remains were identified as Bailley, Crum said.

Murder is suspected based on autopsy reports, though Crum declined to release further details about the report, or the state and exact location of the body amid the ongoing investigation.

It’s unclear how old the remains were, Crum said, adding it appeared Bailley had been deceased for “a long time,” possibly since the day she vanished.

Sonoma Sheriff’s Violent Crimes Detectives have been working the case with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the National Park Service, Crum said.

“This is a starting point,” he said. “We’ll see where the investigation takes us. The detectives are working really hard to try to find out who may have done this.”

He said the detectives are exploring leads about motivation and potential suspects, though exact details remain murky and there are no named suspects. He said the department is “keeping all options open.”

“(We need to) find out who knew her and where she was going on that date and time, what issues were going on in her life and find out what the motive was for the killer,” he said.

Bailley’s brother Daniel Bleman said Tuesday evening that he was in the process of seeking additional details of the case.

“I’m sad and I’m in shock and I don’t know what else to say,” he said. “I hope the cause of death will be discovered if it hasn’t already been discovered and if she was the victim of foul play as I suspect she was, then I hope the justice will be done.”

Those with information are encouraged to call Sheriff’s Investigations at 565-2185.