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Person of interest in 2004 New York murder case likely in Citrus County, detectives say

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Published  September 11, 2024 9:58pm EDT
Citrus County
FOX 13 News

Search for person of interest in cold murder case

Twenty years after the death of Yolanda Bindics in New York, detectives believe the sole person of interest is in Citrus County.

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. - The sole person of interest in a 2004 unsolved murder in New York is believed to be located in Citrus County.

Yolanda Bindics, a 25-year-old mother of four went missing after a work shift on Aug. 10, 2004 in Chautauqua County, New York.

"She was just that kind of person that if you met her, you'd never forget her," Yolanda's sister, Margaret Queen, said.

Bindics was also the youngest of 11 children.

Two years after her disappearance, Bindics' remains were found by a hunter in the Boutwell Hill State Forest.

"It was a lot of emotions," Queen said. "A lot of scary, sad, concerned... we knew... we knew that something had happened."

Queen said she was close with Bindics. Earlier that day, Bindics told Queen she had something to tell her over the phone.

"There were some concerns I had prior to her disappearance regarding her demeanor," she said.

But Queen said the call never came.

READ: Grady Judd says teen accused of murdering his mother also killed his father: 'Violent predator'

The case eventually went cold until the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office reopened the case in 2022 and released photos of the father of Bindics' youngest child, Clarence Carte, leaving a gas station across the street from Bindics' work the night she disappeared. As of last week, he is the sole person of interest in her murder.

Queen said Carte was dangerous.

"What I've witnessed myself, he's just always been violent," she said.

Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone said investigators believe Carte is currently somewhere in Citrus County, in the Crystal River area.

"There's a number of people from this area, the Chautauqua County area that some who are definitely associated with Clarence Carl Carte, who have migrated down to the Tampa area," Quattrone said.

Meanwhile, Queen has turned the tragedy into a way to help others. Nine years ago, she became a victim's advocate and finished writing the first book, part of a trilogy in honor of Yolanda: "The World Moved on But A Sister Never Forgets."

The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office asks anyone with information on this case or Carte's whereabouts to contact a tipline created specifically for this case, 716-703-5955.

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