ST. GEORGE — Just shy of four weeks since the disappearance of 17-year-old Desert Hills High School senior Macin Smith, a new search has been planned for Saturday morning in the Warner Valley area.
Community members met Friday afternoon with David Cummings, founder and commander of Red Rock Search and Rescue in Las Vegas. Cummings showed maps of the area and discussed plans for the search, which will start early in the morning and continue through the day.
Also present at the meeting was Darrin Smith, Macin’s father.
“I miss my boy and I hope he’s OK,” Darrin Smith said.
Searchers from both Washington County and Las Vegas are set to meet Saturday morning to begin the search. They will be joined by 52 equestrians, between 40 and 50 volunteers from Red Rock SAR in Las Vegas, and 32 local residents to scour the BLM land out by Warner Valley.
“It involves searching 48 square miles,” Cummings said.
The search areas are laid out in grids, and each team will have an assigned area to search. Dogs will also be used on some teams.
Cummings emphasized that the teams for Saturday’s search are set and no additional volunteers are needed.
“My concern might be Sunday,” he said. “But tomorrow, no; I think we’ve got everything we need to have.”
A strong feeling that Macin Smith is still in the Southern Utah area is what brought Cummings back to St. George with his team.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and you work on lost person behavior and what you’ve seen in the past,” Cummings said, “and on the team we have other investigators. We have former homicide and missing persons people on our team, and after we evaluated everything we felt like, you know, he’s really not far from his home.”
“I want to thank this community,” Cummings added. “I keep telling everyone I’m moving here. I’ve never seen a community like this. … I really like this community, and it’s why we’re going to put a lot more effort in this community. We want to create a team here.”
Description of Macin Smith
- Name: Macin Smith
- Age: 17
- Race: Caucasian
- Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
- Weight: 200 pounds
- Hair color: Blonde
Anyone with information regarding Macin Smith is asked to call:
St. George Police Department – Telephone 435-627-4300
Tracey Smith – Telephone 435-256-5509
Resources
- Facebook page: Help Find Macin Smith
Related posts
- MISSING 11 days: Community asked to help in organized search for Macin Smith
- MISSING: St. George teen may have hitchhiked to Las Vegas
- MISSING: 17-year-old St. George teen; public’s help sought
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I POSTED THIS ON THE FACEBOOK ARTICLE BUT FORGOT TO ADD, I GOT A RIDE 8 HOURS FROM HOME TO A PLACE I NEVER KNEW OF… DON’T GIVE UP.. HE SOUNDS RESOURCEFUL. I am praying he is ok and comes home soon! if i passed my friends son on the side of the road, and he was holding a sign to vegas, i would turn around.. there are alot of times, i second guess things.. like, well anything, and i hold back.. but i wouldn’t if he was holding a sign.. that would send all my flags up.. and i certainly would be calling his parents… so i wonder, whats up with that? now maybe they weren’t really sure it was him. that would make some sense. I really hope he comes home.. i ran away as a teenager and it hurt my family alot.. i was gone a few months before i called. If i could go back in time.. I want to tell his parents, don’t give up hope yet.. In my case, “OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND” I did NOT look at news articles from back home, i did NOTHING to look back, because it was too painful… i got an under the table job and i “laid low”..( and kids now a days do not have that luxery.. so no one get any ideas )..I hate to give false hope.. i really do.. but mixing this with my sons disappearance.. (yes payback sux).. i would go to mesquite, vegas and search all the parks over and over.. the parks have showers, water.. left over food from parties.. and especially skate parks, theres lots of little concrete benches and areas they like to sleep under… and its a great place to meet someone near your own age… (my son was however very dehydrated and said that was the crappiest time of his life.. )… God bless.. I really hope you find him..
I sure wish this kid would contact his mother. Macin call your mother! Debbie your not alone, many kids run away. I stormed out of my moms home after graduation at the age of 17 (sorry mom, but surprise! She didn’t really care, she never begged me to come home 😉
LOL.! She never begged you to come.? Gee I wonder why.? LOL.!