WA WA - Shantina Smiley, 29, & Azriel Carver, 8 (fnd deceased), Olympia, Mar 2010 - #2

[Chili Fries]

My guess is that she is an alcoholic, and has been having problems for awhile, and he has been trying to hide it for some reason. Maybe he felt like if people thought she was drunk they wouldn't look so hard?

I think it's a natural response to not bring something like that up. It's like Somer Thompson's mother (she was the little girl in Jacksonville who went missing and was found deceased in a landfill a few days later). Her mother said that she didn't wander around the neighborhood, she always came straight home. Later we found out from a former babysitter that she did often wander around the neighborhood and that her mom had a list of people to call when Somer didn't make it home on time with the other kids.

Oh! The other thing I have heard is speculation that her lightning bolt tattoos on her back are a white power symbol. Which seems completely unrelated to anything, but since people on this site like to analyze every detail, I thought I would throw it out there.

Double lightning bolts can signify White Power because that was the symbol of the Nazi SS, which were the main instrument of Hitler's power. I haven't seen her tattoos, though, so I can't tell. Anyway her fiancee describes himself as latino, a committed White Nationalist wouldn't go for that.

Really a sad, sad story. I think she just decided to sleep off her drunkeness on the beach and picked the wrong spot. A commenter on one of the news sites who may have been her fiancee said she might have visited that spot on a photoshoot once. And like others have said...chest high, very cold and fast moving water is deadly, especially if you are somewhat drunk and groggy from sleep. She probably panicked trying to get Azreal out of the van, maybe tried to grab some belongings also, and couldn't figure out which way to go in the dark.

 

[Chili Fries]

I've had raccoons bang on my garage door before, trying to force their way through a small crack. Freaked me out the first time it happened.

 

[Donjeta]

Police on Wednesday confirmed to KIRO 7 that a wine bottle, like the one Smiley purchased, was found washed up on the beach overnight. It was capped, unbroken and half empty.

Also found on the beach were two mismatched leather shoes, an inhaler that may have belonged to Azriel, a baseball and water bottles. The items may have come from the van.

On Thursday, authorities said one of the shoes and other items found most likely belonged to Smiley.

Dana Passage is about 12 miles from Fox Island.

Looking at the map, it seems pretty incredible to me that all this stuff ends up in the same place if it all came from the van. It seems to me that a bottle, an inhaler, shoes, a baseball bat and a child's body would all behave differently, sink and float differently, be thrown by the currents differently. How did they all end up on the beach close to each other? Is this spot a common dumping ground where the currents eventually bring everything, given time? Or is the article using the beach as a generic concept and mean that the stuff was found somewhere on a beach in the area but not necessarily close to Azriel at all?

 

[polevaultpower]

I think the shoes and such washed up on the same beach as the van, or at least in that area, while the body got taken by the currents and was found much farther away.

 

[jamiect]

Looking at the map, it seems pretty incredible to me that all this stuff ends up in the same place if it all came from the van. It seems to me that a bottle, an inhaler, shoes, a baseball bat and a child's body would all behave differently, sink and float differently, be thrown by the currents differently. How did they all end up on the beach close to each other? Is this spot a common dumping ground where the currents eventually bring everything, given time? Or is the article using the beach as a generic concept and mean that the stuff was found somewhere on a beach in the area but not necessarily close to Azriel at all?

According to this article the items were found approx quarter mile away from the minivan.
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/18/1176732/belongings-of-missing-mom-son.html

 

[Calliope]

I was following this pretty closely before I headed out of the country on vacation...

Simmons was on the Ron and Don show a few days ago and there were some things from that interview that I haven't seen posted on here. You can listen to the interview here, they were nice enough to post it as a standalone clip: http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=108&sid=298515


The big thing that I haven't seen posted on this site, is that, based on that interview and the other stuff I have read, I _think_ that Shantina's mom was the only witness to her ex's abuse of Azriel. I am not sure that the seriousness of it was outlined here, I think his arm was broken and he was choked and he ended up in the hospital. Anyway, sometime after that happened, the grandmother committed suicide, and since she was the only witness, the charges were dropped. Thinking about it later, that doesn't make a ton of sense, Shantina must have chosen not to pursue charges, but that's pretty common in abusive relationships.

Where have you read this? ETA: nvm, I see now what you mean. He does say that the ex she'd contacted was not the one who abused Azriel. I'm confused about the charges being dropped in that case; most places don't require domestic abuse victims to press charges any longer.

My hunch is that there is foul play involving Azriel, probably by his mom. Maybe she was suicidal. Simmons said she recently got in touch with an ex to tell him she forgave him. She also got in touch with step-relatives for the first time in years. Azriel was out of touch with his biological dad for years, and it sounds like they were only relatively recently put back in touch. Maybe she was trying to say goodbye.

It does sound suspicious for that, although from all accounts it doesn't seem likely. But who knows?

 

[Calliope]

According to this article the items were found approx quarter mile away from the minivan.
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/18/1176732/belongings-of-missing-mom-son.html

Do you know what direction?

 

[Calliope]

Looking at the map, it seems pretty incredible to me that all this stuff ends up in the same place if it all came from the van. It seems to me that a bottle, an inhaler, shoes, a baseball bat and a child's body would all behave differently, sink and float differently, be thrown by the currents differently. How did they all end up on the beach close to each other? Is this spot a common dumping ground where the currents eventually bring everything, given time? Or is the article using the beach as a generic concept and mean that the stuff was found somewhere on a beach in the area but not necessarily close to Azriel at all?

Good point about the items. They all were found together.

 

[FUNNYGIRL101]

http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/03/19/13285571.html

Azriel Carver found deceased. Still no sign of the whereabouts of his mother.

Here's a snip from the Article:

SEATTLE - A child's body found Thursday on an island beach in Puget Sound is that of an 8-year-old boy who vanished last weekend with his mother, a Pierce County sheriff's spokesman said.

Positive identification was based on Azriel Carver's clothing, mohawk haircut and "looking at pictures of him," spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The Pierce County medical examiner's office plans an autopsy Friday to determine cause of death.

The body was found on Fox Island, southwest of Tacoma.

No sign was found Thursday of the boy's mother, Shantina "Kat" Smiley, 29, of Silverdale, who disappeared with him on Saturday night. Troyer said the beach was searched about 500 yards in each direction from the boy's body. Divers on a boat searched as well and a Coast Guard helicopter and sheriff's office plane flew overhead.

That search may resume Friday, depending on weather, he said.

Smiley's abandoned minivan, partially submerged with its doors open, was found Sunday on a remote Olympia-area beach about 12 miles south of Fox Island.

A wallet containing her driver's license, some cash and credit cards was found in the van, but neither she nor her son was anywhere in sight.

Jay Carver, Azriel's father who flew here from Buffalo, N.Y., this week, went to the beach where the boy was found. Troyer said the father was not involved in identifying the body.

"You really don't know what you have in your life until they're gone," Carver told KING-TV. "It's a sad turn of events."

Two mismatched shoes, a partially full and corked wine bottle, an inhaler and an orange ball have washed ashore since the van was found.

Thurston County sheriff's Lt. Chris Mealy said the items apparently belonged to the boy or his mother.

Smiley was heading from her home in Silverdale to her stepfather's house in southwest Washington when she and her son disappeared Saturday night. Silverdale is about 16 miles west of Seattle, across Puget Sound.
____________________________________

 

[Mia]

It's obviously not compared to the other items in the picture.

I'd also like to say there is a difference between someone who drinks (even at inappropriate times) and an alcoholic, and that you don't have to be an alcoholic to get a DUI. When did she complete her schooling? I've read interviews from others that she did very well in college and had a high GPA. Also, other comments about her don't mesh with being a full-blown alcoholic. Perhaps she was, but I'd like to remind people that the one calling her an alcoholic is the same person who diagnosed himself using the Google.

Regardless, drinking while driving with her child (or even if she did so after they got stuck) was an incredibly stupid and irresponsible thing to do.

Does anyone know if autopsy can determine if she was drinking / drunk?

SS is 29, so she likely graduated from college many years ago, although she could have gone later in life than most. Even so, there is such a thing as a functioning alcoholic/addict. I know someone who obtained a Master's degree while being addicted to heroin - no kidding. Just because someone isn't falling over drunk and slurring their words 24/7 doesn't mean they are not an alcoholic. There are millions of Americans who continue to go to work or school each day while hiding their addiction to alcohol or another drug. That's the nature of the disease - they become VERY adept at hiding it.

 

[jamiect]

The boy’s body was found Thursday afternoon on the southern tip of Fox Island.

The Fox Island beach is about 16 nautical miles from where Smiley’s van was found Sunday morning, stuck on a beach at Little Fishtrap, northeast of Boston Harbor.

A small shoe, an inhaler and a half-full bottle of white wine washed up this week about a quarter-mile east of where the van was found.


http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/18/1176982/body-of-child-washes-up-on-shores.html

 

[Mia]

I'm happy for everyone who can pass the responisible of this child's life off on alcohol, and/or alcoholism, but imo, she isn't any different than KC.

I think she drugged her son, waited for him to fall asleep, and opened every door, so they would both wash away in the tide, and I think she did it on purpose.

If she wanted to take her own life, no one can stop her, but to take her son with her is no different than someone who gets a gun.

Next we'll probably be putting the blame on the prescription drugs she was alledgedly taking.

But she drove around town, stalling for time, waiting for low tide.

She then opened every door, and if I'm correct Az's body will have her prescription drugs in it.

This post will probably disappear too, but I don't care.

It's the only reasonable explanation for the doors all being wide open.


moo

I hope your post doesn't disappear, Yosande. I sympathize with your feelings of anger, and I'm angry too. Also your theory is certainly valid and could very well be the case. I'm sure they'll run a tox screen on Azriel, and if he has any prescription drugs belonging to his mother or alcohol in his system, then likely you are right on target. I couldn't sleep last night thinking of little Az's last moments, and how scared he must have been, and how the one person in the world he trusted the most and who was meant to protect him, failed him when he needed her most. Ugh, it's just horrifying. When I watch the videos I want to jump through my computer screen, grab little Az, and save him from what was coming.

 

[Mia]

Oh! The other thing I have heard is speculation that her lightning bolt tattoos on her back are a white power symbol. Which seems completely unrelated to anything, but since people on this site like to analyze every detail, I thought I would throw it out there.

Oh, gross. If true, this detail is particularly disgusting and makes me want to throw up. Please let this not be true, otherwise my sympathy level for this mother is going to drop to zero.

 

[NHscs]

Been following this every day in the news since the first day. I feel sick to learn what happened to the little guy.

I think Shantina got that wine and started to drink it to calm her nerves over seeing her step-family and about being lost. She obviously drank a huge amount since there was only half left of that huge bottle.

I don't think she did any of this intentionally. It's obvious she was nervous, disoriented and lost, based on reports from the people she was asking for directions, and even seen on video trying to figure out a map. When people were giving her directions, she just wasn't processing what she was told, either because of nerves or she was a bit tipsy from drinking. I do believe she wanted to make her way to her step-father's house, but just couldn't process the information she was given, or even function, due to nerves and possibly drinking.

The report of banging on a nearby house that morning at 1 AM...... and Shantina is known to have done the same thing earlier by stopping at the other house to get directions, I think the chance is very strong it was her knocking on that house at 1 AM. Her son some how ended up out in the water and she was trying to get help. Maybe she did knock on doors of houses closer to where the van was found, but no one might have heard the knocks in their sleep.

I think she either went out in the water again to try and find him, or she took off in the woods to hide. Since her shoe was found, it is more than likely she is in the water too.

Just incredibly unfortunate and sad

 

[Allyne]

Maybe she bought the jug of wine to take with her to Castle Rock, and didn't intend on drinking it until she arrived at her destination. But after getting lost & stuck in the sand, no phone, dark, cold night, they decided to stay put til morning, so she pops the cork (or unscrews the cap). She drank half the jug, they fell asleep, the tide came in, and...

What happened after that is anybody's guess. I just hope this was all a tragic accident. Not that it makes it any less of a loss, but the alternative (suicide attempt gone wrong?) is even worse to contemplate.

What EVERYBODY seems to have forgotten: THE TIDE WAS OUT AT 10:30. She didn't "drive into the water". She drove onto a beach. I'm from Kitsap, and in a few situations in my younger pre-cell-phone life (missed ferry, etc), I've been forced to sleep in my car. I am a responsible person, but it happens. I've always headed to a beach. It "feels" safest. It's peaceful.
Take it from there.

This from the comments in the Kitsap Sun

 

[Lipin One]

I've been checking RS's webpage for updates, but nothing so far.

http://www.robbsimmons.com/

 

[reen]

Nooooooooooooooo!! I was hoping to check in here today and find completely different news. This is beyond awful...poor sweet Azriel.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

SS is 29, so she likely graduated from college many years ago, although she could have gone later in life than most. Even so, there is such a thing as a functioning alcoholic/addict. I know someone who obtained a Master's degree while being addicted to heroin - no kidding. Just because someone isn't falling over drunk and slurring their words 24/7 doesn't mean they are not an alcoholic. There are millions of Americans who continue to go to work or school each day while hiding their addiction to alcohol or another drug. That's the nature of the disease - they become VERY adept at hiding it.

So true, Mia....I recently found out that my family physician of 10 years is an alcoholic (now recovering). In all those years I have never noticed anything "off" in the least with him. He truly covered it unbelievably well. I, myself am a recovering addict of pain pills so you would think that I would have noticed something but never had a clue.

 

[trigger]

Just on Fox news. Autopsy to be released within the hour. Any locals here? Hows the weather, are they still searching for mom?

 

[BeanE]

Search For Missing Mom Resumes Today; Son's Body Found On Fox Island
Pierce County deputies confirm to Q13 FOX News that 8-year-old Azriel Carver's body washed up on a beach Thursday.

6:40 AM EST, March 19, 2010

The Pierce County medical examiner's office is planning an autopsy today to figure out how 8-year-old Azriel Carver died. The boy went missing along with his mother, Shantina Smiley, last weekend. Smiley is still missing. The search for her will resume today.

snip

But what happened to his mother? Investigators believe if Smiley hasn't reached Fox Island yet, she soon will. If not, it is very possible that her body may have floated past the south end of the island.

"It's not unusual for a body to travel through a few different counties during a tide change, especially through here because the water moves really fast through some of these channels and we could have a body in Thurston County and through a tide change end up in King County," said Troyer.

A ground search along the beach turned up no sign of Smiley. Divers on a boat searched as well and a Coast Guard helicopter and sheriff's office plane flew overhead.

http://www.fox59.com/news/nationworld/kcpq-031810-boy,0,1409501.story

Video also included in article.

BeanE