Missing Person Photos
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Resources for Missing Persons
According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day.
Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends.
Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.
Missing Person Photos
Lauren Susanne Smith
Smith, date, approximate 2011; Surveillance video image of Smith on the day of her disappearance
Date Missing 11/21/2011
Missing From
Leon, Virginia
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 22 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 190 - 250 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark blue or black hooded sweatshirt with the word "Longwood" in white capital letters across the front, a pink long-sleeved shirt, dark-colored pants, white shoes and a knitted cap. A photo of Smith wearing those clothes on the day of her disappearance is posted below this summary.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Smith was wearing contact lenses at the time of her disappearance. Some accounts spell her middle name "Susann."
Details of Disappearance Smith's cousin supposedly dropped her off at a residence on Oak Ridge Lane in Leon, Virginia at 2:15 p.m. on November 21, 2011. She was being paid to clean the house. Its owner came home later and discovered the house was unlocked and the dogs had been let out, but the home hadn't been cleaned. A revolver had disappeared from that house and was never located.
Surveillance video from a nearby 7-11 showed Smith visiting a friend at the store at approximately 3:00 p.m. This is the last indication of her whereabouts; she has never been heard from again.
Authorities have stated they weren't sure her cousin had, in fact, dropped Smith off at the Oak Ridge Lane residence. The cousin has since moved out of state.
Kenneth Kuban was the owner of the house Smith was supposed to clean on the day she vanished. In November 2013, Kuban was sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for stalking his ex-girlfriend over a two-year period. Along with harassing her, he also posted 165 fake ads on the classified ad website Craigslist, inviting strangers to come to her home for free sexual services.
Although Kuban had no prior criminal history, the judge doubled the sentence recommended by sentencing guidelines because of how much his victim suffered. He has no prior criminal history. The stalking wasn't related to Smith's disappearance and authorities haven't named him a suspect in her .
Smith was carrying between $2,000 and $5,000 in cash at the time of her disappearance; she planned to use the money to buy a car. She may have been carrying a set of unclaimed license plates at the time of her disappearance; they had belonged to her brother and the number was XBW2666. She left behind her passport, credit cards and driver's license. She had her cellular phone with her but didn't have a charger for it.
Smith is an avid gamer and played online video games with people from all over the world, from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom, but authorities weren't able to link that hobby to her disappearance.
She graduated from Madison County High School in 2007 and then got an associate's degree at Germanna Community College. She was studying at Longwood University at the time she went missing and had almost completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree in social work.
Although Smith would occasionally take spontaneous trips, she always let someone know where she was at. She regularly called and texted her loved ones, but all communication stopped after she vanished and no one she knows has heard from her since her disappearance.
There are some indications that Smith left of her own accord: a suit was discovered missing from her home after she went missing, and she'd reportedly asked friends for advice on how to disappear. Because of the uncharacteristic lack of contact, however, authorities are also investigating the possibility that foul play was involved in her . It remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Madison County Sheriff's Office
540-948-5161
Other
WVIR-TV
The Star Exponent
Newsplex
NBC 29
Missing Person Photos
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Resources for Missing Persons
According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day.
Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends.
Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.
Missing Person Photos
