Disappearance Of Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith went missing on November 8, 2011, in Los Angeles, CA. He had acquired his 2010 Nissan 370Z illegally with the help of his estranged mother-in-law.

The mother-in-law gave the car by actually having the dealership diplomat come to the home of the elderly woman in her care and the mother-in-law signed the paperwork (with power of attorney for the elderly woman).

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) contacted Kevin in Florida and insisted that Kevin bring the car back to the dealership in Los Angeles and be questioned by LAPD.

During Kevin's drive back to LA, he stopped to see his mom and dad (in Georgia), his brother's family (in Arizona) and came to LA on Nov. 2nd, 2011 where he checked into the Adventurer Motel and quickly called the LAPD investigator to make arrangements for the interview.

According to the LAPD investigator, she said all the charges he was facing and he ran as a result. The family doesn't think so.

They maintain that Kevin was the only witness (which was not a relative) that could declare or confirm that the estranged mother-in-law committed the crimes she was accused with and as a result was harmed in some way to prevent his interview.

And they maintain that Kevin was the only explanation for his estranged wife who could remain in the United States because of her immigration status. This was the second vehicle they had given him along with a $3000 watch - which the family thinks was payment to stay in the strained marriage.

Kevin told his mother that he was going to talk to his estranged mother-in-law to let her know that he intended to talk with the LAPD. We don't know if he planned to receive payment not to or to have help disappearing - but the family believes he was harmed as a result.

When Kevin went missing, the LAPD detective declined to ping Kevin's phone or list his vehicle as required because she maintained that he was "Voluntarily Missing". Thread does not list him as missing until many people (friends of the family, family members, etc.) insisted this was a "missing person" case. His car was not listed as wanted with a "stop" order on registration renewals or transfers until months later. And the LAPD has closed his missing person's case continually because they maintain he is a "Fugitive from the Law."

Kevin's estranged wife canceled his phone service within two weeks of his disappearance. His boss, who was associated with Kevin's estranged wife, called the LAPD to claim that Kevin never spoke to his family and that he had possibly just run from the police.

The family would not receive his phone records from his estranged wife for 6 months. In reviewing them, they found that Kevin had asked a friend if he could come to stay with her on 11/8/2011 but he never arrived.

They were capable to confirm that he stayed at the Adventurer Motel in Inglewood, CA from 11/2-11/8 and that he had reached out to the LAPD detective (5 days earlier than she recalled) and the call lasted 7 minutes. He'd bought a new iPhone in Sherman Oaks and sold him to a Craigslist buyer on 11/5/2011. And the family was able to confirm that Kevin had called his estranged mother-in-law shortly after arriving in LA.

The family received information from a private investigator that raised a lot of red flags about his employer - and that the employer and the estranged wife were closely connected. Kevin's mother received a call from Kevin's employer within minutes of the PI visit to the estranged wife.

To date, there has been no contact from Kevin. His car has never been found. It has no tickets, tows, accidents, or service records.

His estranged mother-in-law was charged in 2012 for Crimes Against Elders but the forgery charge was dropped.

The private detective reported that Kevin's estranged wife petitioned the court for divorce in 2014 and the paperwork as proof of service to Kevin at the estranged wife's residence. The family thinks this is fraudulent.

Kevin's family and friends have tried to get interested in Kevin's case from many news agencies and Dateline, etc. but we haven't been very successful. We were also hindered in explaining details without removing the estranged mother-in-law's name by the threat of a lawsuit from her attorneys (so she said) and Kevin's boss died of a heart attack a couple of years later.