Missing Since: 2001-12-09 Location: Eden, North Carolina
Smith was last seen leaving her residence in Eden, North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. on December 9, 2001. She planned to go Christmas shopping in Martinsville, Virginia. She never returned and has never been heard from again. She was driving a green 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport van with the North Carolina vanity license plate reading “ROK-N-ON” at the time of her disappearance; it has not been recovered. A photo of a similar vehicle is posted with this case summary. According to Smith’s then-teenage daughter, her parents’ marriage was troubled: both her mother and father struggled with alcohol, they argued often, and there was infidelity on both sides. She stated her father, after Smith disappeared, assumed she’d simply left. He claimed she had removed an unspecified amount of money from their bank account before leaving the house that night. However, Smith’s other relatives never believed she would have left on her own, as she was close to her mother and they don’t think she would have abandoned her or her three children. Smith routinely carried a purse containing her wallet, her own Social Security card and the cards of her children. About five years after Smith went missing, someone in Cumberland, Maryland used her daughter’s Social Security number. This person has never been identified and it’s not clear whether this has any relationship with Smith’s case. The circumstances of Smith’s disappearance are unclear. Investigating Agency Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office 336-634-3238 Source Information North American Missing Persons Network The Greensboro News & Record NamUs Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office Rockingham Now Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated December 19, 2021; details of disappearance updated.