LA- Pastor's Wife, Mary Byrne "Beth" Smith, Missing 3-24-07 from LA Church Conference

englishleigh · #1 03-28-2007, 03:10 PM

Alabama Pastor's Wife Disappears After Attending Christian Conference

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

SUMMERDALE, Ala. — Police said Wednesday they have no reason to believe that the wife of an Alabama minister, who disappeared after a religious conference this past weekend, was the victim of foul play.

Authorities did not disclose specifics but spokesman Mark Natale said that, "something of a private, personal nature we learned" indicates 30-year-old Mary Byrne "Beth" Smith was not abducted.

Natale said the Smith's family said it is out of character for her to disappear and no one has heard from her.

Smith, the mother of two, was last seen Saturday morning at the Living Proof Live women's conference at CenturyTel arena. Police said she told a friend at 11 a.m. that she was going to the concession stand but never returned to her seat.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,262022,00.html

PaperDoll · #2 03-28-2007, 03:26 PM

Hi English

Hum, no foul play? I wonder if she decided to just run away from it all.. I'd like to know more..

concernedperson · #3 03-28-2007, 03:29 PM

Private, personal nature? Did she run off w/ a boyfriend? Why are they looking for her if it were private and personal....something is odd here.

englishleigh · #4 03-28-2007, 04:07 PM

Agreed, guys....very weird. Maybe she was just sick of being a pastor's wife. If so, at least she just ran off and didn't shoot her hubby like Mary Winkler.

I am in Alabama but I hadn't heard of this 'til I saw it on FNC today. Summerdale is a tiny town down near the Gulf Coast, 4 hours away from me. This is one to watch, though, for sure. I pray she really did just take off and didn't meet with anything evil.

PaperDoll · #5 03-28-2007, 04:19 PM

Gosh, even I feel like running away from time to time and I certainly wouldn't want it to hit the news then have everyone out looking for me.. hehe However, I would tell my family I was doing that ...

I wonder if she was having an affair? To make it more interesting, maybe the husband was.. hum... lets start rumours here...

texasgirl · #6 03-28-2007, 06:51 PM

WOW! Very interesting that they are saying that they do not suspect foul play... Very telling IMO.

I'll be watching for updates on this one.

TGIRecovered · #7 03-28-2007, 08:30 PM

I wonder where this information of a private and personal nature came from.
There are plenty of true, private and personal pieces of information about me which could be spun or mis-construed to make someone believe I could decide to run away or kill myself. Just for the record, I am not at all suicidal or inclined to run away from my life, even if it isn't perfect.
Whatever it is, I hope the police carefully consider whatever motive might be behind the source of the information.

Susan

Bobbisangel · #8 03-29-2007, 02:15 AM

She is only 30 yrs old so her children must be young yet. Another mother that just decided to run away and leave her children behind? Doubtful. Where was the husband when the wife disappeared? Was he at the conference or did he stay home? How far away from their home was the conference? I wonder if the husband has a solid alibi if he stayed home. Maybe he was the one that had a "friend." It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I just hope that she is safe somewhere.

Jodibug · #9 03-29-2007, 08:10 AM

This was on the front page of CNN and FOX news yesterday.... but is gone today. Does anyone know if there are any updates?

englishleigh · #10 03-29-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbisangel

She is only 30 yrs old so her children must be young yet. Another mother that just decided to run away and leave her children behind? Doubtful. Where was the husband when the wife disappeared? Was he at the conference or did he stay home? How far away from their home was the conference? I wonder if the husband has a solid alibi if he stayed home. Maybe he was the one that had a "friend." It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I just hope that she is safe somewhere.

Hi, Bobbisangel....she was at the conference with a friend, I assume female. Hubby stayed home in Summerdale, AL, which is on or near the AL Gulf Coast. The conference was in Bossier City, Louisiana. Right now the police say he is not a suspect. I agree this will be interesting.

Jodibug, I know of no updates to the story as of now.

Trino · #11 03-29-2007, 05:43 PM

No new news that I've found.

It seems mighty strange to either go to the concession stand or restroom, depending on which story one reads, then disappear. Wouldn't it be easier to disappear from a hotel room at night?

Then, too, it seems strange to think a person could be abducted with 14,000 people around.

I think she took off, but why?

texasgirl · #12 03-29-2007, 05:48 PM

Here's the story on Fox News for today....doesn't seem to be anything new unfortunately!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,262385,00.html

Six days after an Alabama minister's wife disappeared from a religious conference in Louisiana, police say they haven't gotten very far in their search.
"We're still at square one," Mark Natale, spokesman for the Bossier City Police Department, told FOXNews.com on Thursday. "[We] haven't received any notification from anybody who may have had contact with her."
Mary Byrne "Beth" Smith, 30, disappeared March 24 from Living Proof Live, a women's religious conference, held at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La., in the northern part of the state. Smith, the wife of the Rev. Jason Lee Smith of the First Baptist Church in Summerdale, Ala., had traveled to the conference with a friend.

(MORE AT LINK)

BethInAK · #13 03-29-2007, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by englishleigh

Hi, Bobbisangel....she was at the conference with a friend, I assume female. Hubby stayed home in Summerdale, AL, which is on or near the AL Gulf Coast. The conference was in Bossier City, Louisiana. Right now the police say he is not a suspect. I agree this will be interesting.

Jodibug, I know of no updates to the story as of now.

I'd say that the "private personal nature" may mean that the "friend" was a love interest. Whether male or female, i do not care to speculate.

Julie · #14 03-30-2007, 04:44 AM

Well I live right here where it happened and it's not that big of a news story here, either. The local paper has only had 1 article on it (2 days after the fact.

) and one or two little blurbs since. I have searched and searched for info on this and have found nothing!
Depending on where Summerdale is near the coast, it's probably about an 8 hour drive from there to here. We occasionally vacation in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Alabama and it's about an 8 hour drive.
One thing that really got me was this

Quote:

“We’ve looked over some video taken from the event and there were no signs of Mrs. Smith. ... There was no one else that we know of who saw her but the friend. And we aren’t aware of any connections she had with this area.”

I KNOW the Century-tel Center has video surveillance. I wish they would say what hotel they stayed at, the hotel might have had video surveillance too.

more at link (this was the only article in our paper, aside from the blurb.)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...GNEWS/70326018

Bobbisangel · #15 03-30-2007, 07:15 AM

This is just really strange. She wasn't seen on the video that was viewed but then was everyone there viewed on the video? Was that a video that would have filmed her if she left out the gate?

I would love to know what the friend had to say. I'm sure it was a female friend as they went to a women's conference. Probably a yearly event in different places. Was Mary acting differently during those two days. Did they meet anyone new? Must have been all women there with the exception of some speakers. This is just a puzzle. I'm beginning to wonder if she did just take off.

I want to know what this personnal stuff is. Depression...discontent with the marriage.

Pandora · #16 03-30-2007, 08:33 AM

I wanted to check out this "Living Proof Ministries," so I googled it then gawked around. Their blog has some info. . . .
http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/

Snip:
Thursday, March 29, 2007
You Brighten My Day

You Darling Things, I am chasing my tail right now and overwhelmed about a number of things. Feeling down over our sister from the Bossier City event that still hasn't surfaced and, as long as I keep it healthy, I think that's appropriate. My heart aches and breaks just like I know yours does. I've got a lot of concerns for hurting loved ones right now and someone dear to the ministry, a college student at that, has recently learned that her cancer has returned with gusto. Man, life is hard. But in the middle of it, God blesses us with His glorious Ever-Presence in our time of tribulation and, to top it off, He gives us one another and lets us brighten up some cloudy days. I got on the blog a few minutes ago and read your comments to Amanda's entry on critical moments. I got so tickled that I nearly called up the Grande Non-Fat Cappuccino I had right after lunch. You are so funny. Delightful. No kidding. A few minutes earlier, I wanted to stop what I was doing, lay my head down on my desk and cry HARD. As God would so lead, instead, I clicked open the blog, read what you had written, and laughed my head off. I could quote from 25 of them but how about little Sarah Jane noting that one of mom's friends had gained a few pounds and asking, "Mom, do you ever think your bottom will be that big?" Do you just LOVE younguns'? The little dickens are humbling, aren't they? I make it a point to surround myself with a whole mess of them.

Hey, you know what just occurred to me? I am teaching on parenting out of the Book of Proverbs in a few weeks on a Tuesday night. It would be fun to hear from some of you regarding ONE of the most hilarious or profound things your child has ever said or done. Remember to keep it brief so I can read all of them! Oh, this is going to be a blast!!!

I love you, Sistas. You brought some pure-dee Sonshine to a cloudy day.

Posted by Beth at 3:18 PM 108 comments

Concerns for a missing sister

I cannot think of a good way to begin this post so I'll just jump right in. Last weekend one of the conference attendees in Shreveport disappeared during the last session. Beth was contacted within a few hours and, as you can imagine, was devastated. She has been in touch with those who are close to the situation every day. I have heard from many of you who are concerned that we might not know about the disappearance of this sister because we have not mentioned it publicly. Since it appeared early on that there was most likely no foul play involved, we desired to protect the dignity of this family as much as possible. I know many of you have already been in prayer for this sister. Please continue to ask God for the complete restoration of this family. This post is for information and intercession rather than discussion, so I am going to keep comments closed. Here is a link to the most recent Shreveport Times article I could find.

Here is Beth's response to a respectful request from one of the news networks for a press release:
"I am tremendously concerned about Mary Byrne Smith and her family. We have never had anything like this happen before at an event but, even if we had, I can't imagine we'd be any less moved. I care deeply about the women who attend the conferences, about their families and the challenges they may be facing. Mary and her family have been on my mind constantly since I learned about her disappearance. I have spoken to and prayed with her husband by phone and have been in touch daily with others close to the situation in order to be of any possible help. I would ask all who have learned of Mary's disappearance to join us in earnest prayer that God will restore her to her family and community."

sleuthin4fun · #17 03-30-2007, 09:00 AM

A little off topic. Living Proof Live hosts many womens conferences every year. Women all over the country to participate in this event that takes place in many major cities through out the US. I would encourage any of you that have the opportunity to hear Beth Moore speak to do so, she is amazing!!!!

MrsG728 · #18 03-30-2007, 11:47 AM

I hope Mary is safe and well, and if she chose to just disappear/change identity, that she did it for her own safety and well-being. I hope God does watch over her.

My life isn't so bad, and everything in my marriage is healthy, but even I have had delusions of "peacing out" for some alone time occasionally. Just to be alone with ME. Haven't any of you ever thought of "disappearing"? I really think this is what she did.... deep down, this is my suspicion, even though I know nothing about her.

Something in those blogs struck me as funny - they mention prayers to restore the family... if she had children it will be difficult to say "oh she just ran away". As we know, it is harder to make that assumption about her disappearance if she did indeed have kids. Such a shame though. She is so young.

MG

englishleigh · #19 03-30-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie

Well I live right here where it happened and it's not that big of a news story here, either. The local paper has only had 1 article on it (2 days after the fact.

) and one or two little blurbs since. I have searched and searched for info on this and have found nothing!
Depending on where Summerdale is near the coast, it's probably about an 8 hour drive from there to here. We occasionally vacation in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Alabama and it's about an 8 hour drive.

That's right about where it's located, Julie...looks right above the coast.

Julie · #20 03-30-2007, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbisangel

This is just really strange. She wasn't seen on the video that was viewed but then was everyone there viewed on the video? Was that a video that would have filmed her if she left out the gate?

I would love to know what the friend had to say. I'm sure it was a female friend as they went to a women's conference. Probably a yearly event in different places. Was Mary acting differently during those two days. Did they meet anyone new? Must have been all women there with the exception of some speakers. This is just a puzzle. I'm beginning to wonder if she did just take off.

I want to know what this personnal stuff is. Depression...discontent with the marriage.

The reason the article bothers me is because he says 'there was no one else we know of that saw her, except her friend.'
Do they mean no one saw her after she got up, or do they mean no one SAW HER at all at the conference?? Do they mean no one saw her at the hotel??
Watching too much CSI here, but maybe she never came here at all.

texasgirl · #21 03-30-2007, 10:56 PM

Saw this on NG tonight and there hasn't been any activity on her credit cards or cell phone according to police. I still think this was a premeditated situation and that she left of her own accord. I'm interested in hearing more about what the cameras at the Century-tel Center show.

Also, there seems to be confusion about where she was going when she left her seat. Was she going to the bathroom or to get something to eat?

Bobbisangel · #22 03-31-2007, 02:59 AM

I wonder if there were other people from her church that went to the conference? Her and her friend must have ridden together. I wonder whose car they took? This woman has two children at home. I would like to know if her friends think that she would just take off and leave her children. I guess I have a hard time thinking of anyone just taking off and leaving their children behind. I would never have dreamed of leaving mine and so I want to believe that everyone else is the same way...they aren't though. I guess we all make judgments according to who we are.

I wonder if this woman had any money with her? There is just something disturbing about this case to me. I guess cause it doesn't make sense to me. How do you disappear in the middle of a christian conference full of women if you didn't just take off? That is probably why LE doesn't think there is foul play. I want to know what the personal stuff is. That would tell us a lot I'm sure. If she wanted a break I wonder why she didn't just tell her husband so he wouldn't worry about her? Will she return and if she does how will she face the congregation...she is the minister's wife.

Julie · #23 03-31-2007, 03:49 AM

hmm it seems the family isn't even wanting LE help??
This is an interesting article in our local paper today.

Police still seeking clues in Alabama woman's disappearance

Relatives of an Alabama woman who disappeared March 24 during a women's ministry conference in Bossier City apparently are keeping quiet about the situation.

Mary Byrne Smith of Summerdale, known to her family and friends as Beth, headed to a concession stand during the Living Proof Live conference at CenturyTel Center and never came back. Police have no evidence she was abducted nor that foul play occurred, although they haven't ruled out foul play. They couldn't spot Smith in surveillance videos shot at the arena during the conference.

"The family over here, it's kind of odd, they want to keep it hushed," said Dwain Riebeling, Summerdale police chief. "Talking to the detective over there (in Bossier City), who was talking to the husband, (the detective) said it was family problems."

more at link http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...0326/1002/NEWS

I just tried to get on her schools website and it's acting weird, I'll try again later. I'd like to see another picture of her, the one they keep showing is grainy.

Julie · #24 03-31-2007, 03:57 AM

OMG, I just realized by re-reading that article that her husband is already back home in Alabama!

I think she left on her own accord. Sounds like marital problems to me.
Why doesn't the husband just make a damn statement that she left on a 'sabbatical' or something to that effect, instead of keeping mum?

txsvicki · #25 03-31-2007, 04:16 AM

I don't know what it's like now, but Bossier City used to be a really bad town years ago. I hope this woman walked away on her own, but it seems strange that she wouldn't take her purse or anything.