MN MN- Georgia Smith, 76, Champlin, 30 Jun 1999

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Pennysmom1

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Name: Georgia Smith
Date of Birth: 4/2/1923
Sex: Female
Race: White
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 100
Hair Color: Red/gray
Eye Color: Blue

Date of Last Contact: 6/30/1999
Missing From: Champlin, MN
Originating Agency: Champlin Police Department

Details: Georgia left her home in Champlin, MN on June 30, 1999 to travel to her cabin in Minong, WI. She was driving a 1984 blue 4-door Mercedes similar to the one pictured below, with Wisconsin license plate TXP401. Neither Georgia nor her vehicle have been seen since. If you have any information regarding this case, please contact the MN BCA Tip Line at 877-996-6222. Click here to visit the Cold Case Playing Card Initiative homepage.
 

Georgia Ann Clock Smith​

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  • Smith, circa 1999; Smith's vehicle
  • Missing Since 06/30/1999
  • Missing From Champlin, Minnesota
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 04/02/1923 (100)
  • Age 76 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'3, 110 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A black shirt with purple flowers and black shoes with a zipper on top.
  • Medical Conditions Smith was diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease prior to her June 1999 disappearance. She may be disoriented as a result of her condition. Smith is required to take medication.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Dark metallic blue two-door 1984 Mercedes Benz 190D sedan with the Wisconsin license plate number TXP-401
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Smith's ears are pierced. Her maiden name is Clock. Some agencies may refer to her as Georgia Ann Smith. She has surgical scars extending from her chest to her groin, from the top of her left leg to her ankle, and on her right wrist. Smith wears eyeglasses for reading.

Details of Disappearance​

Smith departed from her son's home in Champlin, Minnesota at approximately 6:30 p.m. on June 30, 1999. She was planning to travel 125 miles northeast to her summer lake residence in Minong, Wisconsin.

She was driving her dark metallic blue two-door 1984 Mercedes Benz 190D sedan with the Wisconsin license plate number TXP-401. Photos of Smith's vehicle are posted with this case summary. Her car has never been located and she has not been heard from again.

Smith is described as an independent woman who lived alone at her summer residence. Her loved ones worried that she was unable to safely drive herself to Wisconsin as the result of her impaired mental state. She did not possess a valid driver's license at the time of her disappearance, but she refused to stop operating her vehicle. She normally turned the telephone ringer off inside her Minong property, causing her loved ones to have difficulty reaching her on a consistent basis.

Smith was not reported as a missing person for three days as a result of the communication problem. Her children realized she had disappeared when they arrived in Wisconsin for the Fourth Of July holiday weekend.

A salesperson at a Radio Shack in Spooner, Wisconsin said that a woman resembling Smith's description visited the store on July 2, three days after she departed from her son's home. The sighting was not confirmed by authorities.

Smith's case took a bizarre turn later in the summer of 1999, when an unidentified woman dropped a note off at a Wal-Mart store in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The message was addressed to one of Smith's grandchildren and claimed that she was being cared for by an unnamed individual who was unaware that Smith had been reported as missing. Authorities were unable to locate the woman who left the note and the possible lead was discarded.

Smith avoided driving along interstates and normally took smaller highways or country roads to reach her destination. Her family members are uncertain as to what route she may have taken to Wisconsin. She may have traveled through Cambridge, Minnesota and Siren and Spooner, Wisconsin, but the routes have never been confirmed.

Smith's son reported that his mother's behavior appeared normal at the time she departed from his home. Several of her children speculated she may have become disoriented while driving and a fatal accident may have occurred. Forests, lakes and swamps surround the majority of the roads she frequently utilized. A detour also blocked a portion of her typical route in late June 1999.

Smith has a shy nature and is described as being devoted to her family members. Her loved ones said it's uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning. Her children believe that foul play was involved in her disappearance, but there is little evidence available to support any theory.

She has relatives in Iowa and Illinois. She left behind seven children, twenty-four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Her disappearance remains unsolved.
 
ALT TXT
ALT TXT
ALT TXT

Georgia Ann Smith; Smith's automobile

Name: Georgia Ann Smith
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: June 30, 1999
Location Last Seen: Champlin, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: April 2, 1923
Age: 76 yrs old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 100-110 lbs
Hair Color: Light brown or reddish-gray, curly hair
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: None
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Triple bypass scars from from her sternum to below her belly button. Additional surgical scars along the top of her left leg to her ankle, and on her right wrist from carpal tunnel surgery. She is dependent on medication. She has a heart condition and is possibly in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Black shirt with purple flowers, black shoes with zipper on top.
Jewelry: She wore costly rings and gold jewelry.
Additional Personal Items: Reading glasses.

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Georgia Smith was reported missing from her son's Champlin home on June 30, 1999, around 6:30 P.M. At the time of her disappearance she was driving a 1984 blue, 4-door Mercedes with Wisconsin license plate number TXP401, on Interstate 90. She was supposed to go to her cabin in Minong, Wisconsin, but never arrived. She was expected to travel through the cities of Cambridge, Minnesota, and Siren and Spooner, Wisconsin.

Although she is a Wisconsin resident, Smith spends most of the year at the home of her second-oldest son, returning to her lake cabin every week or so. She was looking forward to the weekend, when four of her children and their families would meet at her cabin for July 4th.

Smith has no history of disappearing, but does have some short-term memory problems. Her family was not aware she was missing until three days after she had left to drive to her cabin. She spent much of the summer there by herself and could be hard to reach. It was only when family members came for the July 4th weekend that they discovered she was missing.

Smith is described as shy. She doesn't smoke, drink or gamble and has no close friends. She is very independent. Authorities have found no signs of foul play nor any evidence of Smith at her cabin. Her credit card and bank accounts have remained inactive. Her car has never been located.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Champlin Police Department
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 763-421-2971
Agency E-Mail: PoliceClerical@ci.champlin.mn.us
Agency Case Number: 99005370

NamUs Case Number: 344
NCIC Case Number: M225667145

Information Source(s)​

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
NamUs
Nampn
Saint Paul Pioneer Press News Archive
Star Tribune News Archive

Admin Notes​

Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr
 
Older, but good article- Aug 23, 2002
That article had exactly the info I was looking for, for my deep dive into possible routes - thank you!!! This is the part I was interested in....

"He said that she mentioned to him that she had only a half-tank of gas, so he recommended, and she agreed, to stop in the city of Cambridge to fill the gas tank of her 1984 blue Mercedes 190 four-door sedan, at a gas station there. Smith said that she always went through Cambridge on her way to Minong.
"She usually went through Grantsburg, Siren, Spooner, Trego, and then Minong." " and then he also mentions that in Trego there was some diversion of traffic.

I had considered contacting Adventures With Purpose on this case a few years ago, but when I attempted to contact the police department to ask about possible routes for doing lake searches, they were very....quick to reject my contact.
 
Last edited:
I sent the following to Adventures with Purpose also.

I'm listing my ideas of bodies of water to search, but I underlined my hunch location. I think that if she went to her cabin more than her family, she would've known of the detour and therefore taken an alternate route. I think she may have gone from Cambridge north, then east on Hwy 70, through Siren then north on Hwy 35, then after Danbury, east on Hwy 77 to Minong.

If she went the route I think she did, I would check the following:
--Webb Lake on the south side of Hwy 77 - per the DNR Lake map, it gets to 10 ft quite quickly in some places along Hwy 77
--Pear Lake along Hwy 77 - max depth 32 ft
--McLain Lake along Hwy 77 - also per the lake map, gets to 10 ft quite quickly right by the road. THIS IS WHERE I'D LOOK FIRST - there's very few homes or businesses right at that spot, so possible that no one witnessed it. Also, this route looks less traveled than her normal route so possible no passing vehicles witnessed.

If she kept to her usual route, which we know was detoured, the water spots I would think are possibilities are:
--St Croix River where Hwy 70 crosses it.
--If for some reason, in the Town of Daniels, she turned off of Hwy 70 and north onto "Old Hwy 35", then I'd check Mudhen Lake.
--Crooked Lake, Siren, WI - Hwy 70 runs right along it. Depth up to 16ft per WI DNR.
--*a skip* I'd skip the Clam Lake bridge because someone would have noticed a vehicle in that small of a channel
--Poquettes Lake - Hwy 70 runs right along it. Dept up to 23 ft per WI DNR.
--If the detour took her from Trego to Hayward, then Hwy 77 north from Hayward, Smith Lake is right at a slight curve in the highway.
 
I sent the following to Adventures with Purpose also.

I'm listing my ideas of bodies of water to search, but I underlined my hunch location. I think that if she went to her cabin more than her family, she would've known of the detour and therefore taken an alternate route. I think she may have gone from Cambridge north, then east on Hwy 70, through Siren then north on Hwy 35, then after Danbury, east on Hwy 77 to Minong.

If she went the route I think she did, I would check the following:
--Webb Lake on the south side of Hwy 77 - per the DNR Lake map, it gets to 10 ft quite quickly in some places along Hwy 77
--Pear Lake along Hwy 77 - max depth 32 ft
--McLain Lake along Hwy 77 - also per the lake map, gets to 10 ft quite quickly right by the road. THIS IS WHERE I'D LOOK FIRST - there's very few homes or businesses right at that spot, so possible that no one witnessed it. Also, this route looks less traveled than her normal route so possible no passing vehicles witnessed.

If she kept to her usual route, which we know was detoured, the water spots I would think are possibilities are:
--St Croix River where Hwy 70 crosses it.
--If for some reason, in the Town of Daniels, she turned off of Hwy 70 and north onto "Old Hwy 35", then I'd check Mudhen Lake.
--Crooked Lake, Siren, WI - Hwy 70 runs right along it. Depth up to 16ft per WI DNR.
--*a skip* I'd skip the Clam Lake bridge because someone would have noticed a vehicle in that small of a channel
--Poquettes Lake - Hwy 70 runs right along it. Dept up to 23 ft per WI DNR.
--If the detour took her from Trego to Hayward, then Hwy 77 north from Hayward, Smith Lake is right at a slight curve in the highway.
They received my email and are adding it to their file for if they get back to this one.
 
March 21, 2008


<<The BCA has sent out forensic kits to police departments across the state to help collect DNA, dental records, fingerprints and photographs from the relatives of missing people. Those relatives include the daughters of Georgia Smith.

Smith was a 76-year-old grandmother who left her Champlin, Minn. home almost nine years ago this summer. She was headed for her cabin in northwestern Wisconsin. She and her blue Mercedes have never been found.

Daughter Pam Dekok believes she was murdered. She and her sister were among the first relatives to submit DNA to the BCA to keep on file in case their mother's remains turn up some day. While they doubt she is alive, Smith's children want to find her remains to finally say goodbye.>>


I wonder what leads the daughter to believe Georgia was murdered?
 
Oh, I think I found the answer to my own question!

Aug 23, 2002


<<She suspects Smith "never made it out of Anoka" County, Minn., because Smith did not stop at a certain cafe in Cambridge, Minn., where she "always" stopped on her way to the cabin.
Smith had been going to the restaurant for 20 years, and everyone there knew her, DeKok said. But the employees told the family and police that Smith did not stop there on June 30.
"That to me says she never made it that far," DeKok said.>>
 

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