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

[90Nine]

I think the ex-husband and Azriel's father are two different people. Right?

Good question

 

[LotsaLatte]

Maybe when she said something about an "accident" she meant she hit something while driving. And if she was drinking alcohol, she panicked since her deferred prosecution was set to end April 13, 2010. So she was scared to get in trouble and took off and then who knows? I sure don't.

 

[pufnstuf]

This is interesting. In 2005, Shantina was arrested for DUI and a hit and run the day after her ex husband was arrested for DUI and domestic violence assault.

Now I REALLY wonder what happened before she left on the trip. Could something have triggered her?

Ex husband being the one with whom she shares her last name?

 

[PaulR]

To defend to police not interviewing the guy she had a restraining order against:
- that was almost five years ago, and lifted (by who?) almost four.
- He's down near Castle Rock, an hour away from her last sighting. Geography/timing doesn't fit. If he wanted to get her, he had four years to do so, knowing exactly where she was.
- the police have to chase down the probable leads first. Right now, they've got an alcoholic with a previous DUI who was seen buying alcohol (and thus drinking and driving), wandering all over town... they should chase down the more likely leads first, and unfortunately that places her either in the Sound or somewhere nearby the ditched van. By all accounts I've read, this is exactly what they are doing.

All that being said, they should have had at least given him a phone call, gotten an alibi, and told him to stay in town.

 

[pufnstuf]

I'm gonna open up photoshop and see if I can make heads or tails of the tangled branches of this family tree. BRB.

 

[90Nine]

What I am confused with is why she stopped to make that 10pm call to let folks know she was running late, had been in or had some sort of accident, but was OK.

Unless she had some intent to do herself in, and just wanted to talk with her [step] grandfather one last time, but seems like she was genuinely checking in because at that point she had to have known people would be worried about them.

It's interesting - I read that she selected those specific people's home to stop at because they had a Christian symbol of some kind on their home.When I read that it made me think that she may have been drawn to that home because of emotional support in addition to the phone use.

 

[RubyRed]

I wonder if this is why he hasn't seen his son in so many years...I guess this is also when she went to live with her mom and stepfather. Then her mother died shortly after that.

Iirc the boys father is not her ex-husband and is not the one with the DV.
Someone correct me if I am mistaken.

 

[anyoldtime48]

Here is my question: Why didn't she tell them that she had been lost for several hours and she didn't know where she was and why didn't she call her stepfather's home? I think it's because she was intoxicated and with the son. But, if she was SO upset about being lost, she would have mentioned it. I think at point she decided to stay the night there. Which is why she went the opposite way when she left that house where she made the call at 10pm.

IIRC she first tried to call her fiance. But his phone was dead by then, so her next call was to her grandfather. Perhaps she didn't know her step-dad's phone number off the top of her head since she was only recently back in touch with him. Might have only had that number in her cell phone, and since she forgot to take that....well at that point you call whatever number you know.

 

[lawlady84]

Ex husband being the one with whom she shares her last name?

Yep, ex-husband is RJ Smiley. Divorced in 2001 but he still lives in Castle Rock.

Father is the one that lives in NY, last name Carver. (I forgot his first name). Shantina's MS said something about Az's father having to leave to work on his comedy career? I thought that meant the father lived in NYC, but apparently he lives in upstate NY in Buffalo.

 

[lawlady84]

O/T I keep thinking about if anyone ever saw our computer histories, they'd think we were crazy. On LexisNexis the "research trail" is archived by my job for billing purposes... I can't wait for the day someone asks, "LL, why were you looking up washington state criminal and arrest records at 2am?"

 

[TakeNote]

where are they?.....i really hope she is hanging out some where...trying to get her thoughts together....do we know if she bought any snack type things....?

 

[PaulR]

O/T I keep thinking about if anyone ever saw our computer histories, they'd think we were crazy. On LexisNexis the "research trail" is archived by my job for billing purposes... I can't wait for the day someone asks, "LL, why were you looking up washington state criminal and arrest records at 2am?"

Is your company paying for these searches?

 

[Beyond Belief]

Can anyone help with a reasonable explanation of how and when they got out of the van?
If you abandon a stuck vehicle you shut the doors.
If they woke up to realizing water was rising you wouldn't go out separate doors.

So what is it?

 

[TakeNote]

:laugh:

O/T I keep thinking about if anyone ever saw our computer histories, they'd think we were crazy. On LexisNexis the "research trail" is archived by my job for billing purposes... I can't wait for the day someone asks, "LL, why were you looking up washington state criminal and arrest records at 2am?"

 

[TakeNote]

Can anyone help with a reasonable explanation of how and when they got out of the van?
If you abandon a stuck vehicle you shut the doors.
If they woke up to realizing water was rising you wouldn't go out separate doors.

So what is it?

all i can think of if she was in an emotional state...she wouldnt care if she didnt close the doors, or grab her wallet and keys....she didnt need the van anymore or the things in it

 

[KeenEyes]

SBM:

...her grandparents CE and RE...

... her step-father JWB...

Smiley's stepgrandfather, Silas Smith...

Smiley, whose maiden name was Kanally, lived with her grandmother Carolene and her late husband, Ron Edgell

...Besides the ancestry site, this news article lists Shantina's mom as TLWB, and says she died in 2005: http://www.tdn.com/news/local/article_52e58802-3018-11df-a8af-001cc4c002e0.html...

Her ex-husband is not Azriel's father. She was never married to him. He lives in New York...

Just trying to mentally organize this rather confusing family tree. I assume CE and RE are maternal GPs since Shantina's maiden name is Kanally, though I haven't seen Edgell (or Kanally) in association with her mother yet; of course, with the initials TLWB she doesn't have room for all of her previous names.

 

[TakeNote]

i wonder if she had any camping stuff with her?

she could have packed up sleeping bags and such...they were going to stay the night at the step dads

i wonder if you walk the coast line where would it take you? i need to look at a map

 

[90Nine]

where are they?.....i really hope she is hanging out some where...trying to get her thoughts together....do we know if she bought any snack type things....?

One theory I have is that maybe she called someone is with someone and they are not notifying the police. That would be horrible, but it has happened before.

 

[anyoldtime48]

It's interesting - I read that she selected those specific people's home to stop at because they had a Christian symbol of some kind on their home.When I read that it made me think that she may have been drawn to that home because of emotional support in addition to the phone use.

There is also a Lutheran church on the corner of 46th Ave NE and Boston Harbor Rd, only a couple blocks from that home on 46th. I suspect she might have driven around that church hoping somebody was there (faces on Boston Harbor, should have been readably visible even after dark?), and then gotten herself turned around again and onto 46th, stopping at one of the first houses she saw, with a nice friendly bumper sticker.

Maybe the idea that anybody living that close to a church must be "good people" and I do think she was looking for more than just to make a call, if only somebody to reassure her and calm her down.

Appears they are indeed OK folks, but her thinking sure seems to be bass ackwards for the entire night. She's told to turn left, goes right. Apparently multiple times.

 

[mayelf]

I thought about the camping aspect but they didn't have any food. The boy bought what appeared to be water/soda when they were at the store so they probably didn't have anything to drink besides those items they bought.

Why would they shut the door if they were trying to get out of being in the van in the lake? If it's wet, cold, and dark, why care about closing the doors?

This is a bizarre case. I hope the family gets answers.