Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Anonymous calls and letters to police have renewed hopes of finding a Southwest Roanoke County woman who disappeared mysteriously more than a year ago.
On the morning of June 6, 1994, Carol Smith walked into the car of an unknown man and vanished, according to her husband, David Smith. Since then, no one has heard from the mother of two - not her children, her husband or her family in Maryland.
Carol Smith was 37 when she disappeared.
Roanoke County detectives dug up the Smiths' patio in August 1994, believing her remains might be buried there. They discovered nothing.
Over the course of a year, detectives have interviewed more than 100 people. None of the information has led them to Smith.
But in the past three weeks, Detective Rick Moorer has received several letters and telephone calls that he says may lead him closer to Smith.
He characterized the information as "encouraging" but would not elaborate. Moorer said he wants to speak with the people again to gather more details.
"The information is possibly beneficial to the case, pending additional contact with the sources," Moorer said.
David Smith said he recently spoke with Moorer, but he was not told about any new leads in the case. He believes his wife is alive.
"I'm hopeful that someone knows where she is," Smith said. "I'd certainly encourage anybody with information to come forward."
From the onset, investigators, friends and family were baffled by the complex case.
A month after she disappeared, David Smith documented in divorce papers the last day he saw his wife. He said that she had an affair and that they quarreled about the issue the morning she disappeared.
Carol Smith told him "that he would not have to worry about her any longer," according to the affidavit.
Police did not get involved with the case until a month after Smith vanished from her Southwest Roanoke County house. They were notified only after her family in Maryland was unable to contact her. When family members finally reached Smith's husband and were told what happened, they called police.
The 30-day lag cost detectives time, Moorer said.
In an interview earlier this summer, David Smith said he didn't notify police or his wife's parents because he believed his wife would not have wanted anyone to know why she left.
"I was willing to protect that secret if that's what she wanted," he said in June.
Detectives kept an eye on Carol Smith's credit card and bank accounts. Each showed no activity. They checked airports, bus stations and other jurisdictions that had unidentified bodies. Each time they turned up empty-handed.
"We know where Carol is not," Moorer said. "If Carol was alive, I probably would have already found her, with all the resources we have to find live people."
As the investigation passed its first anniversary, the leads thinned and much of the information investigators had gotten was stale. That is, until last month. Moorer said the new information contains details that detectives did not know before.
"It has put a spark back into the case," he said, adding that the case will remain active until Carol Smith is found.
Anyone with information can call Roanoke County Detective Rick Moorer at 561-8098.
by CNB