My apologies in advance if this has already been discussed. And this is mostly due to the fact that English is my second language, but according to David's mom:
"He had 2 small suitcases, and
4 shoeboxes for his shoes (he keeps all of his shoes at home in boxes)." (BBM)
https://www.facebook.com/MissingDavidGipsonSmith/posts/172635806621122
Is it safe to assume he took the shoes, not just the boxes (I'm sorry ... I know this is a silly question, but I wanted to make sure)? Or did his parents find the shoes without boxes at home? And if they didn't, have the shoes been located, and if so, where (e.g., still in his car, in the womens' possession, or yet someone else's)? I also find it somewhat interesting that the parents know how many boxes/pairs of shoes David took. Maybe they were checking his closet on a regular basis to make sure he wasn't hiding any drugs in there ...
.
I am wondering because one theory I can think of is that David was intending to sell the shoes for drugs or for cash to buy drugs with ...
. In any case, it may be worthwhile for LE to try to locate the shoes (no easy task, I'm sure). Or maybe if the parents or friends have pictures of these shoes, they can post them on the FB page (or at least descriptions).
I also think it would be helpful to have a VI with this case in particular. I don't believe I have seen any posts from David's friends or family, other than his mom, on the FB page, either. It would be nice to get someone else's perspective, IMO.