Searching for clues in Crystal Beach murder

Anyone who's been to Crystal Beach knows it can be busy — but is it dangerous? We wouldn't have thought so, but we might have to think again after a woman was found raped and murdered on the beach early Sunday morning. The victim was 28-year-old Bridgette Gearen of Orange, who was visiting friends at a beachhouse near the corner of Crystal Beach and Redfish roads. After they spent Saturday at the beach, the group decided to take a midnight ride along the beach; Gearen went outside first, and when her friends went out a few minutes later, she was nowhere to be found. Around 6:20 a.m. Sunday, a group of campers about 100 yards from the beach house found Gearen's body near the water's edge; according to the results of a medical examination released Monday afternoon, Gearen had been "very brutally" raped, assaulted and strangled. However, Galveston County sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said strangulation hadn't been determined as the cause of death.

It's still not clear who killed Gearen, who worked as a legal secretary at a Beaumont law firm, or why they targeted her. On Monday afternoon, deputies set up a command post on the beach, searched Gearen's car and brought in dogs to trace her scent; they also spoke with her friends at the beach house, who have reportedly been cooperative. So far, Tuttoilmondo said investigators aren't sure whether Gearen knew her attacker or whether the crime was a crime of opportunity: "There are so many details we don't have because of a lack of leads," he told the Chronicle. Police are hoping someone on Crystal Beach saw something around the time Gearen disappeared and was attacked — with hundreds of people weekending there, deputies said they feel sure someone saw something. Gearen was about 5 feet, 3 inches and weighed around 110 pounds; she had brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing a red halter top and blue jean shorts when she disappeared. Anyone with information should call the Galveston County Sheriff's Office at 409.766.2222 or 866.248.8477.

Tuttoilmondo said the sheriff's department can't recall such a violent crime anywhere on the beach. A stabbing occurred about a half-mile from the beach house where Gearen was staying shortly after she disappeared, but investigators don't think there was any link between the two crimes. The Galveston County Daily News reports that the last murder in Crystal Beach was in November 2004, when Daniel Kohlofer was shot four times during a robbery. James Earl Cutsinger was convicted of capital murder in connection with that crime in August 2006.