Local superintendent found murdered

CLYMER, N.Y. (WIVB) - The well-liked superintendent of a small, rural community on the southern tier was found murdered Monday. Police say 51-year-old Keith Reed was shot multiple times and left on his front yard, about 100 feet from his home.

Reed, who was recently divorced, lived alone on Clymer-Sherman Road in the Town of Clymer. Friends had not heard from the 51-year-old man since Friday evening. When they didn't hear from him over the weekend, they entered his home Sunday and not finding him, called police. Authorities came out to investigate, but wouldn't find Reed's body in his front yard until Monday morning, when a K9 unit came out and searched the grounds.

So far, police will not say what evidence was recovered, or if they have any suspects in the homicide. An autopsy Tuesday morning will determine how many times Reed was shot. Authorities spent the entire day at the home. At one point, recruits from the police academy walked across the lawn shoulder-to-shoulder.

Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace said, "We're doing a ground search here. We have recruits from our police academy. They're just doing a search of the front yard for potential clues. This investigation is pretty early on. From what I know at this point, the last that we can confirm he was seen was Friday evening. Our report came in last night that he was missing and our investigation began there."

"We're meeting tomorrow morning to interview people and interview them again and see if we can move it forward," said Chautauqua County DA David Foley.

The FBI is assisting the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office in the investigation. Anyone who may have information on the crime is asked to call 753-4241.

The school district had no comment on Reed's murder, though after school activities, including a school board meeting and girl's volleyball, were canceled.

Reed's current girlfriend, who lives in Horseheads, NY near Elmira, was at the scene Monday afternoon. Since last November, Reed has served as the Clymer School District superintendent. Since 1984, he taught at multiple schools throughout Central New York after getting his undergraduate degree at St. Bonaventure University.

Students and the Clymer community are remembering Reed on a Facebook page dedicated to his memory. You can leave your own thoughts by following this link.