I can see going without cell. Maybe. But no wallet? My hunting license was always in my wallet. Because there is no photo on your hunting license, a game warden might ask for a photo ID so I always had my wallet with me. Of course, hunting on his own land he is not going to encounter a game warden except while walking down a road.
Deceased/Not Found VA - Eric Smith, 42, Cedar Bluff, 8 Nov 2013
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I can see going without cell. Maybe. But no wallet? My hunting license was always in my wallet. Because there is no photo on your hunting license, a game warden might ask for a photo ID so I always had my wallet with me. Of course, hunting on his own land he is not going to encounter a game warden except while walking down a road.
Coming back to see if anything has been posted. This is the last article I've found.
http://tazewellstar.com/unsolved-mystery-of-eric-smiths-disappearance-baffles-tazewell-county/
Someone in the comments brings up a good point - are there sinkholes and/or caves in that area?
http://tazewellstar.com/unsolved-mystery-of-eric-smiths-disappearance-baffles-tazewell-county/
Someone in the comments brings up a good point - are there sinkholes and/or caves in that area?
holmesleuthing
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The comments are interesting. Especially by B who seems to know something or is pretending to.
Yes, I read those as well. A sinkhole or a cave. Sometimes both are in the same area when you have limestone rock. Would explain why a body wasn't found.
AND if foul play is involved it would also explain why a body hasn't been found. 50 acres of land is quite a bit to search, but as I stated earlier I found something on a much larger plot of land. Can be done. The sheriff stated that he was wearing good camo clothing, but dogs are color blind and don't go by sight. I believed they used dogs on multiple occasions and came back empty. If it is foul play, LE will AND should look at the family and co-workers. If he was that well liked and respected by co-workers and loved by his family, that wouldn't mean ONE person didn't feel that way. And it only takes one.
Roselvr
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My hub has just started hunting. He washes & dries his clothes in special stuff; it then goes into a plastic bin with lid. I've heard that dogs would still be able to track him but I personally wonder because look at Chris Sexton WV; dogs were within 20 ft of him; Dr Teleka Patrick; dogs tracked her to the road when in fact she was found in a lake. Then there is little Noah from VA who was just found in a septic tank last week.
vasportsmom
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I'm gonna be honest, it really ticks me off that some very good suggestions were made in the comments of that article and they were ignored. Family wasted time arguing with a few idiots instead of responding to those with functioning brain cells.
I've tried to reach out to family lately offering to host fundraisers and design & print tee shirts (out of my own pocket) and *crickets*. It is becoming a matter of "I've tried nothing and nothing worked" with no desire to do anything but keep throwing prayers at it.
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vasportsmom
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Idk if there are any caves between Eric's home and his tree stand but there are many on the mountainside. I grew up exploring that same mountain. My 1st grade pic shows me in this big red & white frilly dress with one side of my face bruised and scabbed with stitches between my eyes because I had been swinging on a grapevine and when I let ago I landed on the top edge of cave and it gave. My older cousins had played in the same area for years and nobody had ever discovered that cave before.
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Checking in to see if there is any activity. Nothing in the news. I'm wondering if it is not worth sending out a cadaver dog to cover the area between the house and the stand. Of course, he (1) may have had more than one stand, (2) may have seen some deer sign such as a rub or scrape and ventured off his normal path to check it out and (3) if he knew what direction the deer usually traveled he may have not taken the most direct route to the stand to avoid walking through the same area the deer traveled. So it wouldn't be that easy to do.
I read through B's comments when that article first came out and my interest was piqued but when I went back to read them again, he says a few times that he doesn't really know, it was just a gut feeling or an idea. I think he is just overly enthusiastic and has poor writing skills and even poorer judgement about what is appropriate to post on a comment string like that. I don't think he knows anything and it seems none of the locals on the thread have any idea who he is.
It's sort of like binge-watching a series. You can see the plot lay itself out so easily when you watch them all at once!
vasportsmom
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Nothing new. Even the FB page is about dormant. Every now and then there is an update admonishing people for "forgetting" but what can you do when they refuse all offers of help?
Taking a dog back on the mountain is probably a good idea. It certainly can't hurt.
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vasportsmom
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I flip between B being a clueless idiot and him being a local that quickly realized that family isn't receptive to outside ideas so he back pedaled poorly. Either way, the tone and progression of that comment section is pretty indicative of how things are happening offline.
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The fact that no one has come forward makes me think that there is either no one else was involved, or the person(s) involved have more than 20k reason to shut up about it and are good at not talking. I would have thought that if this was a grudge with a local hunter or a co-worker, someone would have ended up talking.
That's occurred to me and for that reason if he an accident, he almost had to have fallen into a cave or sinkhole. Those that that commit suicide (I don't see that here) or are a victim of accident are usually not well hidden. And the dogs didn't find anything, so I can also see someone else being involved. You can't be a supervisor without getting crossways with someone. Someone with a grudge but has been silent about it or didn't complain anymore than anyone else?
If talking about a sinkhole or cave as a possible factor I wonder if there is a geological way to locate and map sinkholes/caves on that mountain?
vasportsmom
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I agree. If he is on that mountain then he is likely in a cave, sinkhole or something similar. I don't know how anyone could possibly locate and check them all though. I wonder if a metal detector might be the most viable option (barring one of the huge recovery groups coming in)? He, presumably, had his gun so locating it would be a big step in finding Eric.
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vasportsmom
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Odd that the thread was moved. Absolutely nothing going on with the case it seems though. Eric's mom continues to post a bible verse or reward reminder daily but even the FB group has been dead since May 21.
My thoughts are with Eric's daughters this weekend. I lost my dad to cancer so I know part of their pain but the "not knowing" is more than I can possibly imagine.
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vasportsmom
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Family is organizing a search for 8/22 but beyond the date and meet location all other details are being kept secret. As far as I can tell the request for volunteers has been posted on a few family member's FBs and on the private FB group. I am truly shaking my head at this.
Not going to the media makes no sense to me. Maybe some trained volunteers or dog groups would offer to assist if they knew the search was happening. As it stands the target group seems to be the brother's church so we are going to end up with a lot of women in ankle length skirts trying to traipse through steep, largely unknown and snake inhabited terrain. That can't possibly go wrong ...
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Not going to the media makes no sense to me. Maybe some trained volunteers or dog groups would offer to assist if they knew the search was happening. As it stands the target group seems to be the brother's church so we are going to end up with a lot of women in ankle length skirts trying to traipse through steep, largely unknown and snake inhabited terrain. That can't possibly go wrong ...
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22 August!!?!? That was yesterday. But no word in the media or from LE.
vasportsmom
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Yep, took place yesterday. His brother says they recovered a couple items of possible evidentiary value. They picked the items up and took them home with them to hand over to LE today, some 24-48 hours later! I'm sure that no harm was done and if this ever goes to trial the defense attorney won't challenge that evidence.
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I hate to be such a skeptic, and even more so since I don't know anyone involved in any of this... but if I'm remembering this all correctly and if we take it all at face value... He disappeared (abducted or succumbed) on his own property. I'm assuming the family still own this property?
I don't know if they are or aren't, but I'd be out there every day searching every square foot. It's not like it's 1,000 Acres of swamp, right? You could take a week to search a single square acre and cover every darn inch on your hands and knees with a few people... Do that for each and every acre on the property and then get permission from neighbors to do the same for the next few bordering acres. He is either there or he isn't.
I don't know if they are or aren't, but I'd be out there every day searching every square foot. It's not like it's 1,000 Acres of swamp, right? You could take a week to search a single square acre and cover every darn inch on your hands and knees with a few people... Do that for each and every acre on the property and then get permission from neighbors to do the same for the next few bordering acres. He is either there or he isn't.
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