OK OK - Timothy Smith, 25, Duncan, 15 Apr 1985

[Coffee56]

Name: Timothy Howard Smith
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: April 15, 1985
Location Last Seen: Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma

Physical Description
Date of Birth: circa 1960
Age: 25 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 250 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Otis
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance
Timothy Smith was last seen in Duncan in 1985. Smith had moved from Tennessee to work in the oil industry.

Smith went to a home and asked to borrow the phone to call his mother in Tennessee. He was heard saying that an individual was after him and planned to kill him. The witness said Smith was scared and needed his mother to wire him money for a bus ticket home. About three weeks after Smith called his mother, she called Duncan Police Department to tell them her son had not made it home. Smith had a car, but it was a week or several days later when the car was being driven around town by another individual, and Smith was nowhere to be found.

The car, a white 1965 Ford Galaxy, had been seen with a different tag, by one of the police officers and eventually it was impounded. The female driving the car had said Smith had bought it but never finished paying for it and she decided to take it since he wasn’t around. The car was sold to a salvage yard for scrap and it was months later before it was even searched. Foul play is suspected.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Duncan Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Dustin Smith
Agency Phone Number: 580-251-3220
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 85-M-40



NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 40201

Information Source(s)
NamUs
The Duncan Banner

Admin Notes
Added: 10/15/10; Last Updated: 12/8/17

4335DMOK - Timothy Howard Smith

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Atombudd]

1980s oil boom was time of money and murder
1980s oil boom was time of money and murder

• 

This is a photograph supplied by Duncan Police Department Capt. Jay Evans of Timothy Howard Smith, who was believed to have been murdered in the 1980s.

The 1980s in Stephens County were an active time. People had jobs, money was rolling and the oil industry attracted a wide range of characters. It was also a time of violence and murders.
One of those people attracted to the oil belt of Oklahoma was Timothy Howard Smith, aka “Otis” who came out from Tennessee.
Most of the murders were easily solved, but the story of “Otis” Smith and his “disappearance” in 1985 remains a topic of conversation among many of those who lived here during that time. While most murder cases have a body, this one doesn’t, but the stories over the years have convinced Duncan Police Capt. Jay Evans that Smith is indeed, dead.
“The early 80s, it was a crime spree around here and there were so many homicides. That was our most violent time that I can remember,” Evans said. He said there’s been enough people share the same story that he’s sure Smith is dead.
Still, Evans believes it’s still a solvable case, even though the body hasn’t been discovered. “A body would help us solve this case. It’s been interesting all the places we’ve looked for.”
In 2009, Texas Equusearch was called in to help with ground penetrating equipment, but they were on a time limit and Evans said there were specific areas, which helped solve another missing person case. “They have some very sophisticated equipment,”
The story circulating was that Smith went to someone’s home and asked to borrow the phone to call his mother back in Tennessee. Someone heard him say that an individual was after him and planned to kill him. Evans said this witness said Smith was scared and needed his mother to wire him money for a bus ticket home.
Smith had a car, but it was a week or several days later when the car was being driven around town, and Smith was nowhere to be found.
About three weeks after Smith called his mother, she called Duncan Police Department to tell them her son had not made it home.
“He said this person (suspect) had gone berserk,” Evans said. Apparently, drugs were involved and “chemists” were far and few. Smith wasn’t a chemist, but it was likely that a large quantity was stolen, Evans said. “He never did get home,” Evans said.
The car, a white 1965 Ford Galaxy, had been seen with a different tag, by one of the police officers and eventually it was impounded. The female driving the car had said Smith had bought it but never finished paying for it and she decided to take it since he wasn’t around. The car was sold to a salvage yard for scrap and it was months later before it was even searched, Evans said.
Evans said that the case came to his attention in October 1985, when a person he was interviewing for another unrelated case, began talking of Smith.
“Out of the blue, we weren’t talking about any of this, he was telling me about this guy that was killed over a drug deal who was close to his mother,” Evans said.
It was enough to peak Evans interest. Several months later, Evans began actively pursuing the case, interviewing individuals. Each interview brought the detective back to three particular people, yet there’s been no concrete evidence, not even enough to interview the persons of interest.

 

[Pennysmom1]

Timothy Smith - Oklahoma Cold Cases

Missing Since: April 15, 1985Location Last Seen: Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Date of Birth: circa 1960Age: 25 years oldRace: WhiteGender: MaleHeight: 6’1″Weight: 250 lbs.Hair Color: BrownEye Color: BrownNickname/Alias: OtisDistinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown Circumstances of...

oklahomacoldcases.org

Cold Cases | Duncan, OK

List of Duncan Police Department Cold Cases and Information on cases.

duncanok.gov

Timothy Howard Smith – The Charley Project