Found Deceased TN - Blake Smith, 20, Knoxville, 3 Feb 2018

[Harmony 2]

mod note: Posts were removed. The rules from the school are irrelevant and off topic to this discussion.

 

[rsd1200]

I must say, when they found the body yesterday, I was prepared for a long wait. I thought it would be at least a few days for a cause of death and many, many more for a manner of death.

And in less than 24 hours we have had both a cause and a manner of death?!? I am a bit flabbergasted! For it to have been declared accidental the sheriff must know either:
-There is other no other party involved and suicide is not evident
-Or, there is another party involved and this other party have provided evidence/statements to allow the conclusion of 'accident' to be drawn.

They said that the cause of death was drowning/hypothermia, and appears to be accidental. I think they're still looking into things.

FWIW I have seen people do some strange things if they were in a position that they didn't want to call for assistance. Raises hand...

He had a phone. His parents used the app to ping his phone. Did they ping his phone often? Why? They were able to use the app, to zoom into:

Jim Smith said he first realized something was unusual late Saturday when he used an app he uses to track his son's location to zoom in on residential location. Smith said he knew something was wrong when he woke up the next morning and saw Blake was still at the same location.
"I called his roommate in the dorm and he said he didn't make it in that night," Smith said. "At that point, I became alarmed and began making phone calls to security at Crown College."

Not to be snide, but why not call BS that night when things seemed "unusual" late Sat. night? Maybe he did, but he never voiced that. Did BS possibly not know about the tracking app on his phone? It's possible to do that. Here's a brand new iPhone son/daughter. Enjoy.

 

[hotpa2d]

Could it have been a faked disappearance gone wrong? Perhaps he was with someone, and they were planning to start a new life over somewhere else away from all the restrictions, and when Blake tried to hide the car in the water, he put it in reverse by mistake, got dragged (if it was drivers door bent backwards), broke necklace and lost shoe in process, accidental death, then his companion freaked and just put him in the water and fled? If it were a carjacking, normally they just ditch the cars wherever. The whole case is odd, and this is the only scenario that makes sense to me.

 

[eucalyptuz]

mod note: Posts were removed. The rules from the school are irrelevant and off topic to this discussion.

May I ask for clarification as it seems that other posts besides the ones mentioning the school rules have been lopped off:
Are we not to mention any kind of life situations that might cause a young man anguish?
I'm all for keeping a discussion on track and not stirring the pot of grief but sometimes it's hard to know what line posts are stepping over...

 

[VanillaRose]

My quote of your post is not showing the part about his being dropped off at at his dorm (and not sure how to do that from my phone), BUT did he or did he NOT go back to the dorm between work and the park (and subsequent "accident")?!?

This article says he did not as opposed to the interview link you posted which says he did and which also mentioned his sending W2's:

http://www.wbir.com/mobile/article/...student-appears-to-be-accidental/51-514827106

Apparently the parents were aware of Blake's location because of the 360 Life app and when they called the college with concerns they were able to pass on the location co-ordinates so fellow students could follow-up. This was all in an interview with parents that Gardener linked to earlier...
...I'll be back with the link:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13912421#post13912421

 

[Stunned]

O/T I'm so sorry, Stunned. Their parents sound like they're making them miss out on a really fun Grandmother. I don't get to see one of mine. I use my sleuthing skills to snag a photo, here and there, so I can at least watch, from afar. Life isn't fair sometimes, is it? <cyber-hug>

To clarify, I was pretty much raised by nuns. I left my children to their own devices, giving them all kind of options. All was good till it wasn&#8217;t. My sons in laws have a pretty big ministry going. My son obviously needed more spirituality than I gave him. And so it is what it is.

 

[VanillaRose]

Looks like they didn't delete it before the news picked it up though.

Funny, they must of heard you...the post questioning the Sherriff's findings has been taken down from the Blake Smith - Missing person FB page.

 

[Dalebecky1]

Im really on the fence with this one. Although I don’t see much of a motive, I’m leaning toward carjacking unless Blake had already visited the construction site before. Whoever left the car like that didn’t want to drown in that car. They just wanted it to disappear. The SAR dogs not finding a scent outside the car also makes me lean away from suicide, but they did find his stuff outside the car, so that doesn’t really make sense. It was mentioned somewhere that they scaled back volunteers because the dogs were getting confused. I think the autopsy will reveal a lot. If drugs (painkillers, etc.), then I’m going with self-harm. So sad regardless.

Maybe his body was carried out of the car and that is why his scent wasn't found by dogs on the outside of his car? Also, remember that he use to go to jails and juvenile homes to preach and talk with inmates. Possibly he found out something he shouldn't have?

 

[eucalyptuz]

My quote of your post is not showing the part about his being dropped off at at his dorm (and not sure how to do that from my phone), BUT did he or did he NOT go back to the dorm between work and the park (and subsequent "accident")?!?

This article says he did not as opposed to the interview link you posted which says he did and which also mentioned his sending W2's:

http://www.wbir.com/mobile/article/...student-appears-to-be-accidental/51-514827106

His parents and most news sources say he was dropped off at his dorm after finishing work at 2pm. They also state that he must have left soon after in his own car to be at the location of the lake photo when it was posted. A few MSM/SM accounts mention him NOT making it back to the dorm after work, but I think these must be inaccurate as the parents have that app that allows family members to see travelled routes etc...

 

[Gardener1850]

They said that the cause of death was drowning/hypothermia, and appears to be accidental. I think they're still looking into things.

FWIW I have seen people do some strange things if they were in a position that they didn't want to call for assistance. Raises hand...

He had a phone. His parents used the app to ping his phone. Did they ping his phone often? Why? They were able to use the app, to zoom into:



Not to be snide, but why not call BS that night when things seemed "unusual" late Sat. night? Maybe he did, but he never voiced that. Did BS possibly not know about the tracking app on his phone? It's possible to do that. Here's a brand new iPhone son/daughter. Enjoy.

Here is an additional video interview where his dad says he texted and called Blake several times in the morning and he did not respond: http://www.wvtm13.com/article/trussville-parents-talk-about-search-for-missing-son/16615481

It was only after his son didn't answer in the morning that they called the roommates and found out he never came back to the dorm.

 

[Dalebecky1]

From all of the reports I have read the car was found over 3/4 of a mile away from water!!!! Meaning he didn't plan to drive it into the water and mess up or any of the other driving it into water scenarios.

 

[Dalebecky1]

Maybe BS went to the lake to meet someone to counsel them, help them and pray for them like he does for inmates. The people he meets have ulterior motives and knock him unconscious and take him back to his car. From there they drive to the scene where his car is. They take his body out of the car losing his chain and shoe along the way and carry his body (remember his scent was not found at the car scene), although he is still alive (that's why there is fluid in his lungs and looks like a drowning) 3/4 of a mile to dispose of it in the creek. Then go back to the car and place the cinder block on the accelerator and crash it into the deck in hopes the car will overheat and catch on fire destroying any evidence.

 

[eucalyptuz]

From all of the reports I have read the car was found over 3/4 of a mile away from water!!!! Meaning he didn't plan to drive it into the water and mess up or any of the other driving it into water scenarios.

Can you please link your source? Everything I have read/seen says that he was found within a 1/4 mile of where his car was found. Google maps shows Ballads Way is within 100yrds from water for its whole length.

 

[rsd1200]

Could it have been a faked disappearance gone wrong? Perhaps he was with someone, and they were planning to start a new life over somewhere else away from all the restrictions, and when Blake tried to hide the car in the water, he put it in reverse by mistake, got dragged (if it was drivers door bent backwards), broke necklace and lost shoe in process, accidental death, then his companion freaked and just put him in the water and fled? If it were a carjacking, normally they just ditch the cars wherever. The whole case is odd, and this is the only scenario that makes sense to me.

It's not easy to make a vehicle go where you want it to, especially backwards, by putting an object on the gas pedal and sending it on its' way. The movies make it look super easy. If it was a construction site, there's gonna but ruts and mounds, and such all around, to throw it off course, too.

A m/c or car, 3-4 wheel vehicle, in good balance/alignment can roll on, hands free, in a straight line, without bumps, or obstructions, for quite a long distance, but once they hit a bump, you're off course. If this was a construction site it seems it would be difficult and appears it was. To a young person, who may have seen it in the movies, they may not realize these things.

He left from work, at Weed Man, which closes at 5 p.m. on Fridays. We don't know what time he left though.
He drove to Crown College and went to his dorm (likely to change/clean up)
It is presumed he then went to Farragut Park, and at this point, light was starting to fade (It appears from the photo).
Finally, he goes to this out of the way, residential area, at a construction site, 25 miles from the college. It has to be dark at this point, or getting dark. It's dark by 6:00 and darker a bit faster in regions with that topography.

Was he out rambling around alone? Did he meet someone at Farragut? Did they not show? Maybe they did and he followed them to Ballards Way. Maybe they didn't show, and he became depressed, and was just driving around, and it was just a freak thing, trying to get his vehicle un-stuck and he ends up dazed, and it is dark, so he falls into the water. That water would be shockingly cold too.

 

[Elainera]

Could it have been a faked disappearance gone wrong? Perhaps he was with someone, and they were planning to start a new life over somewhere else away from all the restrictions, and when Blake tried to hide the car in the water, he put it in reverse by mistake, got dragged (if it was drivers door bent backwards), broke necklace and lost shoe in process, accidental death, then his companion freaked and just put him in the water and fled? If it were a carjacking, normally they just ditch the cars wherever. The whole case is odd, and this is the only scenario that makes sense to me.

bbm He drowned per ME report, so he was still alive when he entered the water. He did not die in the car or close to the car.

Whether he was conscious when he entered the water we don't know, of course. Someone could've put him in the water.

 

[rsd1200]

There are two places called Georges Creek. One is up next to where the bridge connects across the water source. That may be where some confusion is coming in. I think he was found at the "B" Georges Creek, bridge location. Just a hunch.

 

[Stunned]

bbm He drowned per ME report, so he was still alive when he entered the water. He did not die in the car or close to the car.

Whether he was conscious when he entered the water we don't know, of course. Someone could've put him in the water.

Has anyone mentioned wether he could swim?

 

[SpanishMossAntiques]

In freezing cold water you won't be able to swim for long, maybe a minute or so before your muscles cramp up and stop working, and hypothermia sets in quickly from there. You're dead before you even know what happened to you... (I used to work as a Park Ranger...)

 

[charminglane]

A cinder block on the gas pedal = #%+$*!!!

 

[rsd1200]

It's too late to edit my post, #194, but BS left work, at Weed Man, at 2:00 p.m., according to the original search release.

Blake Smith, 20, is the son of Kim and Jim Smith and the nephew of Trussville realtor Jill Williams.


Smith was last seen leaving work at Weedman Lawn Care at 2 p.m. on Saturday and never returned to his dorm. He hasn&#8217;t been heard from since.

Then:

The Instagram posts puts him at Farragut not long after leaving work which is only 8-ish miles from his place of employment. The pic, posted to his Instagram was nothing incredible, iirc. Was it memorable to him, though? He added it to a Story. He'd started a "story" recently. A "Story", on Instagram, is short-lived (1-2 days). It then disappears.

Family members say the last interaction they can find was an Instagram photo posted about the time he went missing. The photo is of a lake that has been identified at Admiral Farragut Park.

http://www.trussvilletribune.com/2018/02/04/trussville-man-missing-in-knoxville-tennessee/