Six years after Ashley disappeared

On Friday, May 6, 2016, the sixth anniversary of Ashley Marie Carroll’s disappearance, her family gathered at Albany’s Eternal Flame monument. Spectrum News reported on the vigil that evening. It was not a court hearing or a police breakthrough. It was a public reminder that Ashley had been missing for six years and her loved ones still needed answers.

Ashley was 24 when she vanished in May 2010. She lived in Troy and had a young daughter. She was last seen in Albany. Her family had sought leads from the first days of the investigation and continued showing up year after year as time passed without an explanation.

Margaret Carroll continued asking for information

Spectrum reporter Tanja Rekhi spoke to Ashley’s mother, Margaret Carroll, at the gathering. Margaret described how hard it was to face another anniversary without knowing where her daughter was. She said she believed someone knew something about the disappearance and asked that person to come forward.

The report also described why Mother’s Day made the season especially painful for the family. Its timing brought together Ashley’s disappearance anniversary and the absence of a daughter and mother from ordinary family life. The family’s belief that someone knew more was their plea for answers, not an official finding that a specific person had committed a crime.

The location and the appeal

The report placed the vigil at the Eternal Flame monument in Albany. It said Ashley had been last seen near First and Quail streets in May 2010, and described a possible New York City trip as a plan the family understood, not a journey authorities had verified.

A reward had been publicized during the missing-person investigation. A reward notice cannot establish that a tip was received or that investigators had a known suspect. Spectrum’s May 6, 2016 report did not announce a recovery, a charge, or a confirmed new explanation for Ashley’s disappearance.

Why It Matters

The years between an initial search and a major discovery are easy to overlook when a timeline jumps from 2010 to 2026. The 2016 vigil shows the people doing the slow work of keeping Ashley’s name visible. It documents a real anniversary gathering, not just a plan for one.

There had also been a fifth-anniversary billboard and a proposed vigil in May 2015. That earlier report announced an event. The 2016 Spectrum report covered an actual vigil. These are different facts and should not be combined or counted as the same event.

Go Deeper: What had investigators disclosed by 2016?

The reviewed 2016 report does not include a released search warrant, a signed witness statement, a phone-record map, or a forensic finding. It documents the family’s appeal and the investigation’s continued uncertainty. Readers should not assume that an absence of public information meant police had stopped every investigative step, or that every rumor circulating then was verified.

The family had publicly maintained Ashley’s case for years. Their accounts help explain her life and the impact of the disappearance. They should remain attributed to the family rather than presented as sworn testimony or a medical finding.

What Happens Next

Ten years after this vigil, Albany police located remains during an October 20, 2026 search on Marlborough Court. On October 23, an autopsy confirmed the remains belonged to Ashley. The police said the cause of death was still being investigated and that no arrest had been announced. Her family could begin planning a burial, but the unresolved questions were not suddenly answered by the identification.