Family remembers Winchester woman as fun-loving, simple

Published 9:56 am Tuesday, February 5, 2019

The family of a young Winchester mother who was found dead last week after a two-day search say they are still waiting for answers.

The family of 26-year-old Amanda Bailey knows very little about what happened last week after she missing in Madison County.

Bailey’s aunt, Rosemary Hampton, said she went missing Monday after she met up with an ex-boyfriend near Lake Reba in Richmond. Her body was found Thursday morning on a farm about three miles from the place she was last seen, Hampton said.

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According to media reports, Bailey’s ex-boyfriend alleged she walked away from him at around 4 p.m. Monday and she had not been seen since.

“It’s all just a total, total shock,” Hampton said. “She was supposed to take her little girl to get ear tubes (Tuesday) and when her dad hadn’t heard from her, he started trying to figure out where she was. He learned she hadn’t taken her daughter for the appointment and called her in as missing after that.”

Hampton said police have still not recovered Bailey’s cell phone and say it will be at least two weeks before they can release autopsy results.

Hampton said Bailey was a fun-loving and easy-going country girl who would have celebrated her 27th birthday Wednesday.

“She had a 4-year-old daughter that she absolutely adored,” Hampton said. “She was her world. She looks and acts just like Amanda. We always told Amanda that if anything ever happened to her, she would live on through Addalyn because she is just so much like her.”

Hampton said Addalyn returned the affection for her mother.

“She would always say, ‘I love my mommy. She’s so pretty,’” Hampton recalls.

Bailey was born in Winchester, but grew up in Richmond. Hampton said she recently returned to Clark County, where she lived in an apartment in her dad, David’s, home. She was employed at New Leaf Staffing.

Hampton said she enjoyed hunting and fishing and her friends remember her as being friendly and easy to get along with.

“She was a good girl,” Hampton said. “She didn’t ask for much. She was simple. Everyone who met her loved her. We’ve gotten so many messages from people taking about how sweet she was and how she was always fun to be around.”

Currently, no funeral arrangements have been made, Hampton said. The family is asking for help paying for Bailey’s funeral expenses.

A GoFundMe account has been established at gofundme.com/amanda-bailey-fund. All proceeds will go directly to funeral expenses and anything left over will be used for Bailey’s daughter.

About Whitney Leggett

Whitney Leggett is managing editor of The Winchester Sun and Winchester Living magazine. To contact her, email whitney.leggett@winchestersun.com or call 859-759-0049.

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