Deceased/Not Found VA - Eric Smith, 42, Cedar Bluff, 8 Nov 2013

[beachlvr0810]

read this article today and it made me think of this case. perhaps he was shot accidently and was too injured to walk/call for help?

Man Shoots Friend In The Head In Virginia's 19th Hunting-Related Shooting Since September

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/31/hunter-shot-in-head-virginia_n_4523435.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=DC

I was thinking something along those lines too...years ago when I was married to my first husband, he fell backwards out of a tree stand. His gun fell as he fell and went off, barely missing him. He was lucky. He only suffered some broken bones. My cousin was not so lucky. He fell out of a tree stand not too long ago, his friends heard him holler as he fell. He was rushed to the hospital, had internal injuries which required surgery, he was getting better and was up and walking but died a few hours later. I have been wondering if Eric fell, injuring himself and tried to get back home and died from his injuries.

 

[JnRyan]

I've done a search on Google to try to find any kind of update. The latest is the 15th and 16th on a link that has been provided previously:

http://www.tazewellcountyonline.com/reward-offered-for-information.html

However, they deal only with the reward. Nothing more on searches or any different approaches to finding him.

When I hunt I usually want to be in the woods by sunup. He was last seen going out at 10 AM. Kind of a late start. Where I grew up, the deer were starting to bed down between 10 and noon. And he was hunting with a muzzle loader at that. Only one shot.

 

[JnRyan]

Cedar Bluff Police Chief David Mills discusses the case of missing person Eric Smith:

Cedar Bluff Police Chief David Mills Discusses Case of Hunter's Disappearance - YouTube

Kudo's to the Police Chief for publicly discussing the case. Not really a press conference, but after some other cases where LE says almost nothing, this is refreshing. No, he doesn't offer much, but it has to be a bit more reassuring to the public.

 

[JnRyan]

This is disappointing to say the least. Nothing in the news for the last week and this happened in November.

Now if this were the case of a young good looking girl, we'd have a dozen threads opened and closed by now. Not to mention having Nancy Grace involved.

I know that if they are going to find him, the chances are better now than after March when the leaves are on the trees and shrubs. But the weather is so bad that searching is tough. I don't recall if they used dogs to try to track him. That would seem to hold the answer here. It's not like some of the other missing cases where someone is abducted and driven off in a vehicle leaving no trail for the dogs to follow.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Smith family ups reward amount

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and birthdays have been celebrated since Eric Smith’s family heard from him.

The Cedar Bluff man has been missing since early November and his family and friends have now increased the reward for information on his whereabouts to $18,000. Smith’s mother, Drema, said Feb. 17 that she believes someone has information on her son and she hopes the reward will prompt them to contact authorities.

http://www.swvatoday.com/news/richl...cle_93ee4094-9808-11e3-ac0f-0017a43b2370.html

 

[JnRyan]

Another month and not even any updates. If spring comes and he isn't found, it will be that much more difficult to find anything. I would hope they would try at least one more search in the areas he frequented.

 

[summer_breeze]

http://www.swvatoday.com/news/richl...cle_81c1e76e-c1b5-11e3-81d4-0017a43b2370.html

Posted: Friday, April 11, 2014 4:12 pm
JIM TALBERT

A rural section on the Tazewell-Russell County line is the latest place to be searched for a missing hunter.

 

[vasportsmom]

Idk how I have missed this thread. I live in Richlands/Cedar Bluff and actually encouraged the family to come here but was never able to get them to. I have many family members that attend church with Eric's mother and my heart breaks every time one of her posts pops up on my FB feed. She wrote a post a day for several months begging for info but had to quit because her granddaughter (one of Eric's 2 daughters) was becoming increasingly upset.

The last I recall the reward was at $20,000 but I don't think there has been any updates published since late May. I never dreamed that he would still be missing. The family has a FB group where things are posted occasionally. I can't get it to link for some reason but it is titled "Online Vigil for Eric G Smith". They also have a petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/...ocial&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=button

 

[vasportsmom]

Nov 8 will be 1 year since Eric disappeared. His mother remains desperate for answers. The reward remains at $20,000. This article is 2 months old but it is the most recent that I am aware of.

http://m.bdtonline.com/news/local_news/article_c31e55f4-37d4-11e4-b505-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm




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[Soulmagent]

I really thought they would have found him.

Everyone tells their girls not to go out alone, but here Eric is hunting by himself. By the grace of god I hope he is found.

There are lot of things that could have happened and none of them good.

 

[vasportsmom]

I really thought they would have found him.

Everyone tells their girls not to go out alone, but here Eric is hunting by himself. By the grace of god I hope he is found.

There are lot of things that could have happened and none of them good.

I thought for sure he would be found by hikers or perhaps hunters this year. If you aren't local all the mountains and thick forests in this area look pretty daunting but Eric hunted these woods year after year and knew them inside out. He was sick that day and not planning to go far. His tree stand was less than a mile from his home so if he was overcame by illness/weakness he should have been found quickly. There has never been any sign of him, his clothing or his weapon despite extensive searches in the first weeks.

I fear that he hasn't been found because he isn't in the woods and there is no way in heck he ran off and left his daughters so that leaves an option that I would prefer not to think about. The Cedar Bluff sheriff is a man that I've always thought highly of (he was my oldest son's baseball coach) but the fact is local LE doesn't have much experience, or a great record, when it comes to investigating anything major. Eric's family has begged for other agencies to get involved but they have never been invited in to help. With the one year anniversary coming up maybe there will be a new push to get Eric found.


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[Roselvr]

Idk how I have missed this thread. I live in Richlands/Cedar Bluff and actually encouraged the family to come here but was never able to get them to. I have many family members that attend church with Eric's mother and my heart breaks every time one of her posts pops up on my FB feed. She wrote a post a day for several months begging for info but had to quit because her granddaughter (one of Eric's 2 daughters) was becoming increasingly upset.

The last I recall the reward was at $20,000 but I don't think there has been any updates published since late May. I never dreamed that he would still be missing. The family has a FB group where things are posted occasionally. I can't get it to link for some reason but it is titled "Online Vigil for Eric G Smith". They also have a petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/...ocial&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=button

he is finally in NamUs - Date entered 10/16/2014
I spoke to his mom back in Sept; she said he was supposedly there. Does anyone have a flier? My friend Still Seek Answers & I have a page on FB called Never Forget Me; I'd like to make a post for Eric's mom.

Online Vigil for Eric G. Smith FB group - closed meaning the world can't read posts

 

[Roselvr]

I've done a search on Google to try to find any kind of update. The latest is the 15th and 16th on a link that has been provided previously:

http://www.tazewellcountyonline.com/reward-offered-for-information.html

However, they deal only with the reward. Nothing more on searches or any different approaches to finding him.

When I hunt I usually want to be in the woods by sunup. He was last seen going out at 10 AM. Kind of a late start. Where I grew up, the deer were starting to bed down between 10 and noon. And he was hunting with a muzzle loader at that. Only one shot.

That's a really late start. I wonder if that was typical. I also wonder when that last time he was seen by anyone else.

 

[JnRyan]

I thought for sure he would be found by hikers or perhaps hunters this year. If you aren't local all the mountains and thick forests in this area look pretty daunting but Eric hunted these woods year after year and knew them inside out. He was sick that day and not planning to go far. His tree stand was less than a mile from his home so if he was overcame by illness/weakness he should have been found quickly. There has never been any sign of him, his clothing or his weapon despite extensive searches in the first weeks.

I fear that he hasn't been found because he isn't in the woods and there is no way in heck he ran off and left his daughters so that leaves an option that I would prefer not to think about. The Cedar Bluff sheriff is a man that I've always thought highly of (he was my oldest son's baseball coach) but the fact is local LE doesn't have much experience, or a great record, when it comes to investigating anything major. Eric's family has begged for other agencies to get involved but they have never been invited in to help. With the one year anniversary coming up maybe there will be a new push to get Eric found.


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I wasn't aware that his stand was less than a mile away. Irregardless, if they used dogs they should have been able to track him. I've watched the annual recertification that the SAR dogs and their handlers have to undergo here in Virginia. Those teams are good. I learned that they use other dogs than bloodhounds that can pick up the scent in the air and can find a person when the bloodhounds cannot. Such as in a case where a person was lost and walking in circle over their older tracks repeatedly. If they brought the dogs out within a short period of time and he was there then there is strong possibility he would have been found.

Something about this is just not right.

 

[Roselvr]

I wasn't aware that his stand was less than a mile away. Irregardless, if they used dogs they should have been able to track him. I've watched the annual recertification that the SAR dogs and their handlers have to undergo here in Virginia. Those teams are good. I learned that they use other dogs than bloodhounds that can pick up the scent in the air and can find a person when the bloodhounds cannot. Such as in a case where a person was lost and walking in circle over their older tracks repeatedly. If they brought the dogs out within a short period of time and he was there then there is strong possibility he would have been found.

Something about this is just not right.

I was reading the county page this morning; they had a lot of specialty SAR there. I also find it strange he went out so late. According to one article he had flu like symptoms but from what I've heard, he still went to work. I'm curious when was the last time someone other then family last saw him.

Posted on Never Forget Me - Eric Smith Flier

 

[vasportsmom]

I was reading the county page this morning; they had a lot of specialty SAR there. I also find it strange he went out so late. According to one article he had flu like symptoms but from what I've heard, he still went to work. I'm curious when was the last time someone other then family last saw him.

Posted on Never Forget Me - Eric Smith Flier

My understanding is that he didn't go out to hunt that morning, he was actually just checking his stand and such as. I don't hunt so I'm a complete fail at the proper terms but there was some sort of day/occasion coming up that he would have been taking his youngest daughter out for. Apparently it was something they did every year and was really special to Eric and M.

I've never been able to narrow down when he was last seen. I think, him and his wife had been on vacation (a cruise maybe) 2 weeks prior and the week prior he was sick with the flu or a pneumonia like illness and I was told Teresa called him in sick to work all that week. The day he went missing his mom has said that his wife came to her church and told her that he hadn't came home so her and much of the congregation left right then to begin searching. Searches continued for quite a bit and were pretty wide spread. Helicopters and dogs were both used at various points but there were concerns that he would not be spotted from the air because of his camouflage and that whatever hunters use to cover their scent would throw the dogs off. Initially it was assumed he was injured or overcome by illness so the woods were flooded with searchers long before the dogs were brought in. His phone was also left at home, something that I am told was very out of character for him.

There isn't much on the private group page (I have no clue why it is private) but I'm going to link your flier and page if you don't mind. I know that Dreama and the rest of the family will really appreciate the support. They feel like everyone has gave up and forgot about Eric.


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[Roselvr]

My understanding is that he didn't go out to hunt that morning, he was actually just checking his stand and such as. I don't hunt so I'm a complete fail at the proper terms but there was some sort of day/occasion coming up that he would have been taking his youngest daughter out for. Apparently it was something they did every year and was really special to Eric and M.

I've never been able to narrow down when he was last seen. I think, him and his wife had been on vacation (a cruise maybe) 2 weeks prior and the week prior he was sick with the flu or a pneumonia like illness and I was told Teresa called him in sick to work all that week. The day he went missing his mom has said that his wife came to her church and told her that he hadn't came home so her and much of the congregation left right then to begin searching. Searches continued for quite a bit and were pretty wide spread. Helicopters and dogs were both used at various points but there were concerns that he would not be spotted from the air because of his camouflage and that whatever hunters use to cover their scent would throw the dogs off. Initially it was assumed he was injured or overcome by illness so the woods were flooded with searchers long before the dogs were brought in. His phone was also left at home, something that I am told was very out of character for him.

There isn't much on the private group page (I have no clue why it is private) but I'm going to link your flier and page if you don't mind. I know that Dreama and the rest of the family will really appreciate the support. They feel like everyone has gave up and forgot about Eric.


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Thank you! I spoke to his mom a little bit this morning to let her know he was finally entered in NamUs. I sent her the link to the flier but please feel free to share it; especially with the one year fast approaching. I was looking for a flier back in September but didn't find one; so was happy that I could turn the NamUs PDF into a JPG file.

I believe his mom said he was at work all week.
I requested to join the group

 

[JnRyan]

It's been a while, so I decided to do another news and web search. I came up with this article. Can't believe I missed it the first time through as it is only a week after he went missing.

http://tazewellstar.com/foul-play-suspected-in-case-of-missing-cedar-bluff-hunter/

I suppose when the police chief had the interview a month later this is what he was referring to when he cautioned about rumors. The article appears to be speculation as it doesn't provide any details.

 

[vasportsmom]

It's been a while, so I decided to do another news and web search. I came up with this article. Can't believe I missed it the first time through as it is only a week after he went missing.

http://tazewellstar.com/foul-play-suspected-in-case-of-missing-cedar-bluff-hunter/

I suppose when the police chief had the interview a month later this is what he was referring to when he cautioned about rumors. The article appears to be speculation as it doesn't provide any details.

The rumors were beyond horrible. This is a small town and I wasn't shocked but my heart broke for his daughters. I know his mom, brother and both daughters but not his wife so I can't comment on her at all. He comes from a good family though. His mom his really religious and her faith is the only thing holding her together right now I think.


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[Roselvr]

Never Forget Me

135 shares on Eric's flier

REWARD $20,000 - Eric G. Smith, 42 of Cedar Bluff, Virginia was last seen in the early morning hours of November 8, 2013. Eric had been sick all week, but still went to work. He reportedly set off at 10am that morning on foot to hunt on his private property armed with a 50 Caliber muzzle loader. When he did not return home that evening his wife reported him missing. He has never been seen again despite numerous searches (see below). There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to his location and or recovery. His heart broken mother is pleading for someone to call in & give a tip. The holidays are fast approaching; it is a very difficult time for families to go on without answers.

Smith is described as a while male, 6', weighing in at 210 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing camouflage clothing

Anyone with information should call the Cedar Bluff Police Department at 276-963-3975; Virginia State Police - Special Agent Dave Belcher 276-889-7660 or Virginia State Police at 276-228-3131 or toll free at 1-800-542-8716.

Case number 13-84-02-5029
NamUS Profile

Eric Smith info on Tazewell County Online
Petition by Eric's mom

UPDATE: Search continues for missing man in Tazewell County Posted: Nov 09, 2013 5:08 PM EST Updated: Nov 23, 2013 5:08 PM EST

SEARCHES - Around 10 a.m. Friday morning Smith left from his home in Cedar Bluff to hunt the adjacent woods. By Friday evening Smith had not returned, with temperatures dropping to26 F family members grew concerned and contacted the authorities. Virginia State
Police helicopter was dispatched, equipped with F L I R (Forward Looking Infrared) equipment.By Saturday morning a search began of the area around Smith’s Cedar Bluff residence in the vicinity of The Cuts.
Billy Chrimes, Deputy Search and Rescue Coordinator with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management said a trailing dog picked up several scents leading from the Smith home. However, these trails could be days old. At least one of these trails led Back to the home. Despite the resources utilized the search was still unsuccessful throughout the day.
By Sunday afternoon approximately 60 people had gathered at the command center set up at the Cedar Bluff Fire Department. Not only was the group made up of the trained search and rescue teams from across the region but coworkers from CONSOL Energy, fire department members, and other members of the community. Cedar Bluff Police Chief David Mills, coordinator of the search said with Smith wearing high tech camo the search becomes much more difficult. “He can be lying down and he would be impossible to see,” Mills said. The terrain is also a big problem in the search. With thick underbrush and steep hills it is necessary to cover an area multiple times in order to be thorough.
Six air scent dogs were being utilized in Sunday’s search. The dogs trained to smell and alert to any human scent present can be the equivalent of 10 or 12 human ground team members especially in the conditions of the ongoing search.

- See more here