Body of missing Lake County attorney found

The body of a missing Lake County defense attorney has been found on his family’s property between Hidden Valley Lake and Lower Lake, authorities said Wednesday.

Evidence found at the scene indicated Stephen Carter, 48, died of self-inflicted injuries, Lake County sheriff’s officials said. They did not specify the type of injuries.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and members of its search and rescue teams had been searching for Carter since Saturday, when his family reported he’d disappeared after sending them a text message.

The content of the text message was not revealed. Carter’s body was found Tuesday afternoon.

Carter was well known in the legal community. He had operated Lake County’s contract indigent defense program until September, when county officials became concerned about his erratic behavior.

They canceled his contract and turned operations over to Carter’s wife, Angela, following his arrest in September for breaking into two residences, one of them a home where his wife and daughter were staying. Carter reportedly told deputies responding to the calls that he believed his family was in danger. He was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism.

Carter had been suffering from progressively worsening seizures following a series of traumatic head injuries, Angela Carter said in an email.

She described her husband as a “generous, kind man with a beautiful heart.”

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.