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

[Ozoner]

This has probably been discussed somewhere in the thread, but meth labs in the woods are a real threat to hunters:
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2015/1...ers-to-watch-out-for-meth-labs/2431447960927/
If Eric stumbled upon a meth lab while the operator was there, it's a given that he would have been murdered.

 

[JnRyan]

I think you've hit on the main possibilities:
A) He was killed accidentally by another hunter.
B) He was murdered by a poacher.
C) He tracked a deer far from his tree stand and had an accident or heart attack. (I've heard of hunters tracking an animal for miles.)

And as Roselvr mentioned, he may simply have been missed. The wind could have shifted to wrong direction when the dogs were near his body, etc.

I believe that narrows down the possibilities here. If he tracked a deer, though, I don't believe he tracked it far. When hunting with a bow or a muzzle loader, you know you're only going to get that one shot. So you try to make it count. The deer isn't likely to drop in its tracks either. The deer's initial reaction will be to run. They don't run far though. If don't sense anyone or any thing in pursuit, they will stop due to pain and/or blood loss and try to recover. For that reason, the bow or muzzle loader hunter knows to stay on their stand and not move for 30-45 minutes. After that time they will likely find the deer within a few hundred yards of their stand.

Regarding the dogs and Eric's hunting. He likely had been hunting or scouting out the land sometime in the previous week, so there would be more than one trail. Could the dogs distinguish one trail from another? I met with SAR handlers once during re-certification of their dogs. Basically, there are ground search dogs (such as bloodhounds) and air search dogs (I don't know if that is the true term for them). We had an instance where Alzheimer patient wandered away from home in one of the counties to the north of us in the summer. Bloodhounds were brought in the first day, but because it was believed the victim walked all over the woods criss-crossing their previous tracks, the bloodhounds kept getting confused on the track but they had a scent. The next day a single air search dog, a Belgian Shepherd/German Shepherd mix, found the man in short order.

Of course, if Eric didn't shoot a deer he would not have had a reason to go off the property he owned or had permission to hunt on. But there is no way to know whether he got a shot or not. I wonder if it isn't worth a chance at using some cadaver dogs now, even if they've been used previously. If I remember, Eric's family no longer owns that land now.

 

[Roselvr]

While Eric's wife isn't in their house any more, I believe his brother still lives next door. I wonder about cadaver dogs too. Had I lived local, I would have watched for birds as it got warmer out

 

[JnRyan]

We're going to be coming up on the 5 year mark this fall. No word or updates from LE. It seems as if they've given up.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Nov. 8 will mark the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of a Cedar Bluff, Va. man who vanished without a trace after walking from his house to deer hunt on his own property.

So far, the disappearance of Eric Smith, who was 41 at the time, has baffled investigators, but new leads are being looked into.

Into thin air: New lead in Tazewell missing hunter case; mother asks for prayers

 

[JnRyan]

Nov. 8 will mark the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of a Cedar Bluff, Va. man who vanished without a trace after walking from his house to deer hunt on his own property.

So far, the disappearance of Eric Smith, who was 41 at the time, has baffled investigators, but new leads are being looked into.

Into thin air: New lead in Tazewell missing hunter case; mother asks for prayers

A LEAD!! That is great news! I hope it is the one that solves this mystery!

 

[JnRyan]

Nov. 8 will mark the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of a Cedar Bluff, Va. man who vanished without a trace after walking from his house to deer hunt on his own property.

So far, the disappearance of Eric Smith, who was 41 at the time, has baffled investigators, but new leads are being looked into.

Into thin air: New lead in Tazewell missing hunter case; mother asks for prayers

Leaving his cigarettes at home...that I can see if he was deer hunting. I know many deer hunters who will not smoke while wearing their hunting attire, whether they are on the stand or not. Deer can associate tobacco with humans.

But his cell phone at home when he was on call 24/7? That doesn't seem right. And his wallet in the vehicle. I used to carry my hunting license and tags in my wallet so I always carried it with me. This is all very strange. Even his family sees that something is outside the norm. More and more I'm starting to suspect foul play. I just can't come up with a motive.

 

[Roselvr]

Leaving his cigarettes at home...that I can see if he was deer hunting. I know many deer hunters who will not smoke while wearing their hunting attire, whether they are on the stand or not. Deer can associate tobacco with humans.

But his cell phone at home when he was on call 24/7? That doesn't seem right. And his wallet in the vehicle. I used to carry my hunting license and tags in my wallet so I always carried it with me. This is all very strange. Even his family sees that something is outside the norm. More and more I'm starting to suspect foul play. I just can't come up with a motive.

There was nothing outside the norm with leaving the cell phone as it didn't work in the woods back then. I'm in contact with his daughter, have spoken to her about it.

Nov. 8 will mark the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of a Cedar Bluff, Va. man who vanished without a trace after walking from his house to deer hunt on his own property.

So far, the disappearance of Eric Smith, who was 41 at the time, has baffled investigators, but new leads are being looked into.

Into thin air: New lead in Tazewell missing hunter case; mother asks for prayers

Paid access article

 

[JnRyan]

There was nothing outside the norm with leaving the cell phone as it didn't work in the woods back then. I'm in contact with his daughter, have spoken to her about it.



Paid access article

I don't know about the wallet, though. Good catch on the cell phone. As for the paid access article try clearing your cookies and cache first (you may have to also clear that site out of your history as well) or use a different browser - i.e., if you're using Internet Explorer, try Firefox or Google Chrome. You've probably accessed their site and they may only allow 5 or 10 articles for free and then they want you to buy a subscription.

 

[Roselvr]

I don't know about the wallet, though. Good catch on the cell phone. As for the paid access article try clearing your cookies and cache first (you may have to also clear that site out of your history as well) or use a different browser - i.e., if you're using Internet Explorer, try Firefox or Google Chrome. You've probably accessed their site and they may only allow 5 or 10 articles for free and then they want you to buy a subscription.

It appears to be a cookie issue with my broken computer. I did get it to load on my tablet .

My browser has an issue where it goes in private mode 8 times out of 10 on reboot .I'll try to reboot it hoping I get my bookmarks and passwords back then I'll know it will load. I have to copy the article to share with his album on the MP/UP FB page I co-own.

I wish his wife would do an article. I feel so bad for her; her whole life was turned upside down, she was left with nothing. The house was repossessed. If I remember correctly they had recently moved into it within the last year. She was left with no money to regroup with their teenage daughter.

I told their older daughter mom should apply for power of attorney of his estate. I don't know if she ever did.

 

[JnRyan]

I can't believe this has gone 5 years and they haven't found his body, let alone what has happened to him. I just believe if this were a suicide or an accident they would have found his body and gun on the property. Not only do I believe he is obviously not alive, but his body is not on the property. Outside of his family and church it would seem that his biggest circle of contacts would be the mine. The sheriff stated back in October they had some new info. I hope that is leading LE toward a solution.

 

[JnRyan]

I did a Google search today and nothing new. The last I checked the lead investigation unit was the VA State Police.

 

[JnRyan]

Checking in. Nothing in Google and we're coming up on 6 years. Six years of nothing. What must the family be going through? I sincerely hope that if LE isn't updating us they are at least communicating with the family.

 

[JnRyan]

Over 6 years and very little on the case. There is this article from last weekend.
Still searching for Eric: Family holds onto hope for finding lost Va. hunter

Some info here I either didn't know or had forgotten.
- They did use tracking dogs. But I did not know the dogs followed his scent a short ways from his truck and then it turned around and went to the house. Not the truck? Had he walked to that area a day or two before to hunt the dogs got the two scents confused? Why walk back the house and not drive back? Was he forced to do that? Or did he actually walk back and encounter someone at his house? If anything happened to Eric Smith did it happen at the house?
- It has been explained that he did not take his cell phone because there was no cell phone coverage where he was hunting. I know many hunters who smoked but would not smoke near their stand and even a few that would not smoke while wearing their hunting clothes. So I can see leaving his cigarettes in the house. But the wallet in the truck? Dad and I and almost everyone else I know carried our hunting licenses in our wallets. The game agents where I hunted insisted on having your license on you when you were hunting. And, yes, I've been checked twice in the past by Virginia wildlife agents. I have seen, while dove hunting, a wildlife agent go to a hunter's vehicle to allow them to get their license but then tell them the next time they might not be so lucky - to have their license on them in the future. I wonder if Eric Smith's license was in that wallet. Yes, he was probably hunting on his land but if an agent doesn't personally know him he would not have first hand knowledge of that fact.
- VSP are still getting leads on his case.

I still wonder if there is some connection to the mine where he was a supervisor. A long held grudge that no one else knew about?

 

[Roselvr]

Over 6 years and very little on the case. There is this article from last weekend.
Still searching for Eric: Family holds onto hope for finding lost Va. hunter

Some info here I either didn't know or had forgotten.
- They did use tracking dogs. But I did not know the dogs followed his scent a short ways from his truck and then it turned around and went to the house. Not the truck? Had he walked to that area a day or two before to hunt the dogs got the two scents confused? Why walk back the house and not drive back? Was he forced to do that? Or did he actually walk back and encounter someone at his house? If anything happened to Eric Smith did it happen at the house?
- It has been explained that he did not take his cell phone because there was no cell phone coverage where he was hunting. I know many hunters who smoked but would not smoke near their stand and even a few that would not smoke while wearing their hunting clothes. So I can see leaving his cigarettes in the house. But the wallet in the truck? Dad and I and almost everyone else I know carried our hunting licenses in our wallets. The game agents where I hunted insisted on having your license on you when you were hunting. And, yes, I've been checked twice in the past by Virginia wildlife agents. I have seen, while dove hunting, a wildlife agent go to a hunter's vehicle to allow them to get their license but then tell them the next time they might not be so lucky - to have their license on them in the future. I wonder if Eric Smith's license was in that wallet. Yes, he was probably hunting on his land but if an agent doesn't personally know him he would not have first hand knowledge of that fact.
- VSP are still getting leads on his case.

I still wonder if there is some connection to the mine where he was a supervisor. A long held grudge that no one else knew about?

Thanks for the article, it has new info and missing info.

New is about the dogs only tracking the scent to the house. He also was not hunting, he was checking his stand, bait or something like that. His cell did not work in the woods per his daughter. I don't know if he had his hunting license if he was only checking his stand. If he was hunting, I can't see him taking his cigs. Deer would smell it. It also does not mention Eric was out of work sick.

This has not been published but I'm going to say it because it should have been released. Eric didn't own the house that long but I don't recall how long they lived there. They were still doing work on it after moving in.

The other thing, his wife lost everything as nothing was in her name too. The house was foreclosed I believe because she legally couldn't even list it for sale. Public records should show this. If I remember correctly, she can't even touch his bank accounts. It was due to the religion they followed. The man works and has control of everything.I advised his daughter for his wife to file power of attorney but I don't think she has yet.

I think either someone from work or mistaken identity from recently buying the house. I know a few other things but that's all I'm comfortable saying.

 

[JnRyan]

Thanks for the article, it has new info and missing info.

New is about the dogs only tracking the scent to the house. He also was not hunting, he was checking his stand, bait or something like that. His cell did not work in the woods per his daughter. I don't know if he had his hunting license if he was only checking his stand. If he was hunting, I can't see him taking his cigs. Deer would smell it. It also does not mention Eric was out of work sick.

This has not been published but I'm going to say it because it should have been released. Eric didn't own the house that long but I don't recall how long they lived there. They were still doing work on it after moving in.

The other thing, his wife lost everything as nothing was in her name too. The house was foreclosed I believe because she legally couldn't even list it for sale. Public records should show this. If I remember correctly, she can't even touch his bank accounts. It was due to the religion they followed. The man works and has control of everything.I advised his daughter for his wife to file power of attorney but I don't think she has yet.

I think either someone from work or mistaken identity from recently buying the house. I know a few other things but that's all I'm comfortable saying.

Thanks for this.

He may have been just checking his stand, but he did take his gun. Not unusual for those of us that hunt. Even if you're just planning on being out there for less than an hour, you take your gun. I knew a duck hunter who when walking to where he was duck hunting would load his gun with buckshot on the chance he would see a deer. (And he did get a deer like that one time.) If you have your gun you take your license - assuming it was in his wallet. And there are a few hunters who carry their license separately from their wallet and duck hunters in particular do this, keeping it in a waterproof case or ziplock bag and leave their wallet in their vehicle. If Eric Smith did this, then his wallet in the truck is not a big deal either.

I do remember reading that they had not been in that house for very long. But I only read about it in one or two articles.

That his family lost everything is not something that has been publicized and I can understand why. But since LE looks to a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend first you would think that would be important to LE as it makes it much less likely that she was involved.

I can't get over the dogs tracking back to the house. They indicate he left his wallet in his truck. This leads me to believe he drove his truck over there to check the stand. But why walk back if the dogs were on the right track? Of course, that he drove his truck over is an assumption on my part. He could have left his wallet in the truck from the day before and it was still parked at the house, while he walked over to that area.

 

[Roselvr]

I've read every article and don't remember them saying they recently bought the house

 

[JnRyan]

I can't find anything out there in the media since November and there wasn't much then.

 

[Roselvr]

I can't find anything out there in the media since November and there wasn't much then.

There were a lot of articles in the beginning but most can't be read now except on his album at Never Forget Me FB. They were all copied.

His mother Dreama usually gives an interview for his anniversary every year. That's about it.

I'm not sure if his LE ever corrected his eye color at NamUs. I tried but the rep refused to do it; said his LE has to be the one to request change. I sent them the articles from his album that said his eye color

 

[JnRyan]

Checking in. Nothing in the media. Nada, zip, zilch, zero. I can't help but wonder if a blue eyed, blonde, girl went missing if the internet wouldn't be blowing up.