WV WV - Grace Smith 35, car found, keys on hood, belongings inside, Gallipolis Ferry, 23 Feb 2022 *Reward*

[RememberingRyan]

One other point I neglected to mention regarding the groceries. If this was a possible 'self-harm' situation, and there is no evidence at this time to support that, then the grocery store trip wouldn't make sense. Someone with the intent of harming themselves would be extremely unlikely to buy frozen groceries at a local store.

If we knew which store Grace was at, and the time, then LE could interview store employees to see if anyone remembers seeing or speaking with her, and whether she was alone at the time. Hopefully LE has already done that.

I do not necessarily agree - we had a somewhat local incident where a person stopped to purchase items at a convenience store on their way to end their life. They picked up a medication (likely used in their death) but also purchased food items (possibly as a diversion, possibly because they thought they might want food as comfort or distraction during the act). I think there are reasons to suspect something other than self-harm in this instance, but I think it is not uncommon for people contemplating end of life choices to pick up things they do not actually need on their final trip to a store.

 

[RememberingRyan]

MOO, that shopping bag does not actually look “new” to me. It looks crinkled in the way that thicker shopping bags tend to look after you’ve been moving them around a lot, like one might if they were reusing it for other purposes. I don’t see any clarification on that post whether that bag contained groceries, a receipt, or even if it came out of the car at all or was just used to bag up some of what they pulled from the car in their search. With that much coming out of the car we can consider a living in the car situation, but it could also be a simple hoarding problem. There are many people who have a tendency to store an unusual volume of clothing, mail, objects, and garbage in their vehicles. in either case, the expired food may be completely unrelated to the disappearance and instead might have just been lost in the car at some point weeks earlier.

 

[DeDee]

A neighbor was a hoarder. Her car was packed full of NEW items that included her trunk. Her home was filled with new stuff even filling the bathtubs in her home. Based on that experience, this lady is not a hoarder.

"Hoarding disorder
The first signs are build-up of clutter and refusal to throw away things that are not needed.
Other symptoms include:

• Acquiring a lot of items that are not needed despite lacking space
• Persistent difficulty throwing out things
• A need to keep items
• Filling up the rooms with clutter rendering some things unusable
• Indecisiveness
• Procrastination
• Avoidance personalities"

MSN

Grace's sister stated "Everything she owned was in the car." Grace's car is not packed full of stuff as much as it is items she owned such as bedding, a coat, etc etc. See images attached.

In the news clip, the reporter stated the car had been moved to its present location and the keys were on the hood. So, I'm not sure if the keys were on the hood in both locations or not.







Fri March 4, 2022
Searches for missing Mason County woman so far unsuccessful

 

[ConcernedVA]

Speculation only, but perhaps she was staying with someone, overdosed, and the drug buddies just loaded up her car and ditched everything.

The footage from that March 4th video shows the dry and well-kept part of the TNT area. If you look at the section of the video with the 4 wheeler, you can see where the road is built up from the natural terrain (swamp with some small hills). There are probably a dozen of those roads over there in various states of repair/overgrowth.

The swamp part of the area is in easy walking distance of the dry portions. People who are familiar would be able to navigate it fairly easily. I think they would need dogs who can work in water to search well.

 

[RememberingRyan]

A neighbor was a hoarder. Her car was packed full of NEW items that included her trunk. Her home was filled with new stuff even filling the bathtubs in her home. Based on that experience, this lady is not a hoarder.

"Hoarding disorder
The first signs are build-up of clutter and refusal to throw away things that are not needed.
Other symptoms include:

• Acquiring a lot of items that are not needed despite lacking space
• Persistent difficulty throwing out things
• A need to keep items
• Filling up the rooms with clutter rendering some things unusable
• Indecisiveness
• Procrastination
• Avoidance personalities"

MSN

Grace's sister stated "Everything she owned was in the car." Grace's car is not packed full of stuff as much as it is items she owned such as bedding, a coat, etc etc. See images attached.

In the news clip, the reporter stated the car had been moved to its present location and the keys were on the hood. So, I'm not sure if the keys were on the hood in both locations or not.

View attachment 335907

View attachment 335908

View attachment 335909

Fri March 4, 2022
Searches for missing Mason County woman so far unsuccessful

Not all hoarders have the same acquisitions or focuses. I lived with a hoarder for sixteen years. Age (both current and onset), social supports, finances, current mental health, and even underlying cause (hoarding disorders can be associated with trauma, OCD, and autism - all three can be similar but have different mechanisms and early signs) all impact the type and degree of hoarding you’ll see. That does not mean that this was happening in Grace’s situation but I did want to clarify this point because incorrectly believing that a disorder is only present when the most extreme manifestations are obvious can lead people to overlook early signs of developing mental illness.

 

[mlhenn]

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Update:
March 09, 2022
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is still actively investigating the disappearance of Grace Allison Smith. We need the public’s help so we can bring this young lady home.

 

[Dargon335]

I'm trying to catch up with this case. There have been a number of changes since I last checked it.

From the looks of what was in her car, I'd say she likely does not have a permanent residence.
Was the separation from the spouse recent?
Was the rehab appointment due to substance abuse?
Was she homeless and living out of her car?
Was she couch hopping from place to place?

Many good questions here. Do the FB links reveal any new information? I'm only able to see the public FB pages.

I agree, the scenario has changed a bit since I last looked at this case.

So current thinking is that Grace possibly lived in her car, or at least didn't have a permanent residence? From the photos posted above it appears her car contained bedding and perhaps clothing, among other items. Do we know if all of the bags and plastic tubs seen in this photo were originally found in Grace's car?

As mentioned above, do we know anything about the relationship between Grace and her estranged husband? How long have they been separated, and is he aware of any MH or substance abuse issues Grace may have had?

 

[mlhenn]

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March 19, 2022
Another search for Grace was done yesterday in the McClintic Wildlife area.
The Mason County Prosecutor’s Office obtained the help of WV K-9 Search and Rescue Inc.
The investigation is still ongoing and multiple air & land searches have been conducted over the last 3 weeks.

To Note: The photo shared with this particular post from LE shows Grace the day she disappeared.

 

[DeDee]

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March 19, 2022
Another search for Grace was done yesterday in the McClintic Wildlife area.
The Mason County Prosecutor’s Office obtained the help of WV K-9 Search and Rescue Inc.
The investigation is still ongoing and multiple air & land searches have been conducted over the last 3 weeks.

To Note: The photo shared with this particular post from LE shows Grace the day she disappeared.

Ok. Who snapped the photo? Grace looks marvelous and tranquil so that's a relief. moo

The Sheriff's Office's first comment written one week ago reads, in part:
"We have thoroughly vetted area security cameras on the routes possibly taken."

 

[azure]

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March 19, 2022
Another search for Grace was done yesterday in the McClintic Wildlife area.
The Mason County Prosecutor’s Office obtained the help of WV K-9 Search and Rescue Inc.
The investigation is still ongoing and multiple air & land searches have been conducted over the last 3 weeks.

To Note: The photo shared with this particular post from LE shows Grace the day she disappeared.

FYI, your link goes to a post from February 26.

 

[azure]

Ok. Who snapped the photo? Grace looks marvelous and tranquil so that's a relief. moo

The Sheriff's Office's first comment written one week ago reads, in part:
"We have thoroughly vetted area security cameras on the routes possibly taken."

Hoping this will take you to the correct post, it looks like a CCTV image.
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[DeDee]

FYI, your link goes to a post from February 26.

Thank you! The comments by the Sheriff's Office are dated one week ago in the link I followed.

Appreciate your sharing the Sheriff's Office post from yesterday showing that Grace has lovely silver hair and appears to be munching on fresh fruit while wearing the same clothings she wore the night she went missing.

Wonder where she and her car were located when the image was scooped?

 

[Dargon335]

Wonder where she and her car were located when the image was scooped?

Yes, I'm wondering the same thing. Would be helpful to know where she was at this time. It's a clear photo for a CCTV image.

 

[mlhenn]

Thank you! The comments by the Sheriff's Office are dated one week ago in the link I followed.

Appreciate your sharing the Sheriff's Office post from yesterday showing that Grace has lovely silver hair and appears to be munching on fresh fruit while wearing the same clothings she wore the night she went missing.

Wonder where she and her car were located when the image was scooped?

Her sister shared the when & where on her Facebook page

 

[dealee44]

So it sounds to me like the bill stop being paid or the number was changed.

I’m not real familiar with the area but I do live in WV and have been through there.

 

[Dargon335]

So it sounds to me like the bill stop being paid or the number was changed.

Yes it's possible someone changed the phone number for some reason, or the cell service provider closed her account. If Grace was behind in paying her cell phone bill then this could be the cause.

Do we know if anyone besides Grace has access to her phone plan? If so, they could check the status of Grace's account.

 

[Dargon335]

Her sister shared the when & where on her Facebook page

@mlhenn is that a public FB group where Grace's sister posted this? I tried the link above but without a FB account I can't log in to see what she posted regarding the time/location of the CCTV image. Thanks.

 

[dealee44]

I've made an attempt at a time line if anyone would like to look it over. I have not been able to stop thinking about this. I really feel for this family and the lack of coverage. Especially being from WV I really want to help. I may reach out and ask her some questions myself.

 

[Dargon335]

There are a number of questions in this case that have been asked previously, including:

- What kind of 'rehab' appointment did Grace have? Physical, MH, substance abuse, etc?
- Why and how was Grace's car moved from where it was found?
- Did Grace know anyone who would want to cause her harm?
- Did Grace live in her car, or was she moving out of a residence before she disappeared?

If I'm understanding this correctly, Grace going to this "TNT area" was not uncommon, implying that Grace was at least somewhat familiar with the area. Also, it appears Grace didn't have much money at this time, so a random robbery scenario would be unlikely IMO.

 

[Dargon335]

I've made an attempt at a time line if anyone would like to look it over.

This timeline looks good. Nice work compiling all of this.