Tuesday, May 18, 2010

May 16, 2010 Marks 4 Years That Reachelle Marie Smith Has Been Missing

My name is Reachelle Marie Smith.  I have been missing for 4 years!  I am 7 1/2 years old now.  I have brown hair and brown eyes.  When I was 3 years old my nickname was 'Peanut' and I loved to have my picture taken.  My birthday is September 10 and this year I will be 8 years old.  I have already missed 4 birthdays with my family. Please, won't you help me find my way home.  Have you seen me? Please look out for me, I need your help to get home safely to my family.  Please, if you have any information, ANYTHING at all, please call 911 IMMEDIATELY! You can also contact the FBI in your area.  The Center For Missing & Exploited Children - 1-800-The-Lost.  Jason Sundbakken @ The Minot, ND Police Department - 701-852-0111.  Please help us find Reachelle!!!!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Reachelle Marie Smith - Age Progression Photo

This is an age progression photo that shows what Reachelle might look today at the age of 7:



HAVE YOU SEEN HER?!?

Reachelle is still missing. It has been 3 1/2 years since Reachelle disappeared from her Minot, ND home.

Please, if you have any information, ANYTHING at all, please call 911 immediately!

You can also contact the FBI in your area

The Center For Missing and Exploited Children - 1-800-The-Lost

Jason Sundbakken @ The Minot Police Department - 701 852-0111

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY REACHELLE!



This video was created by YouTube user Lost1Jazz.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Kentucky Girl Resembles Missing Minot Girl - 5/16/2008


Kentucky Girl Resembles Missing Minot Girl

KFYR-TV North Dakota


A girl that looks exactly like Reachelle Smith was found in Kentucky on May 15th.

While authorities have determined this girl is not Reachelle, this new lead breathes life into a case that has been open for two years.

Investigators say they gets leads at least once a week in this case because pictures and details circulate around the internet. This most recent tip comes from the Lexington, Kentucky area. Police say on May 15th a teacher at a school reported to the local sheriff`s department that a girl matching Reachelle`s picture and age went to the school there. Authorities took pictures of the girl and did interviews with the family. While we cannot show you the pictures, police say "if you age Reachelle two years, this is what she would like."

"We obtained a DNA sample. We won`t know the results of that DNA sample for some period of time. It has to be mailed to the state crime lab. The state lab has to analyze the DNA and compare it to the DNA we do have for Reachelle to determine with a lot more certainly whether it is or it is not," says Minot Police Detective Jason Sundbakken.

Police say the family of the little girl in Kentucky has been very cooperative.

Reachelle went missing exactly two years ago, on May 17th, 2006.

False Lead In Missing Girl Case - 5/16/2008

False Lead In Missing Girl Case

KFYR-TV North Dakota

A promising lead into the whereabouts of Reachelle Smith has turned out to be nothing.

Smith vanished without a trace in May of 2006. She would be five now and authorities have not given up the search.

Minot Police detectives have been following the case for two years. Investigators say they gets leads at least once a week in this case because pictures and details circulate around the Internet. 

This most recent tip comes from the Lexington, KY area. According to reports, Sheriffs there were investigating a girl who closely resembles Smith. Through DNA tests and pictures police were able to determine it was not her. Still, they will not give up the search.

Police say, this tip was called in by a cafeteria worker near Lexington.

FACTS: Background on Reachelle Smith's Disappearance



• Reachelle Smith is put to bed at around 10:30 p.m. on May 16. 

• Leigh Cowen tells Reachelle’s custodial mother, Stephanie Smith, with whom he is living, that Reachelle is staying with his mother at her residence at Minot Air Force Base.

• Cowen tells Smith on May 19 that his mother’s car has broken down and Reachelle is still at the base. 

• Cowen steals a van from Smith’s residence in the early morning hours of May 22. When Smith discovers the missing van, she goes to the home of Cowen’s mother at Minot AFB, but discovers that Cowen’s mother had moved to Wichita, Kan., the week before. Smith contacts the Minot Police Department to report Reachelle missing. An Amber Alert is issued that quickly goes nationwide. 

• Kansas authorities search the home of Cowen’s mother in Wichita, but turn up no evidence that Reachelle had ever been there. 

• Cowen’s body is found in the stolen van on a gravel road at the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Minot. Cowen apparently committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning after hooking a hose to the exhaust pipe. 

• Subsequent searches are conducted, including massive coordinated searches of area parks, horseback searches of rural areas and wildlife refuges and even the draining of a portion of the Mouse River near the Smith residence. None turn up any concrete evidence in the little girl’s disappearance