ST. GEORGE — Macin Smith walked away from his St. George home on the morning of Sept. 1, 2015, for what his parents believed would be a normal trip to the school bus stop. He has not been seen or heard from since.
“Unfortunately, the 100% pure mystery of this case is what holds people’s fascination,” Jolyne Bowden Gailey, a long-term supporter of the Smith family and administrator of the Help Find Macin Smith Facebook and Twitter pages, told St. George News.
The Desert Hills High School senior was last seen by his mother, Tracey Smith, at 7 a.m. when she woke him for school. He was last seen that Tuesday morning in the Mulberry section of Little Valley area of St. George. The teen also left behind his cellphone, wallet and laptop.
Multiple searches have been conducted throughout Southern Utah for Smith since he vanished, including one in Las Vegas, Nevada, yet he is still missing.
His disappearance has since garnered international attention from 100 different countries as police, news media and an abundance of supporters continue the search. A Facebook group dedicated to finding him has nearly 50,000 followers.
The page is also dedicated to finding others who are missing. Friends and family can post a missing person’s picture and other details to help “spread the word.”
“Someday it could be your family member or friend, and I promise you you’re going to want all the help you can get,” Gailey wrote in a Facebook post.
Every year around the anniversary of Smith’s disappearance, the family and supporters plan a search, a day of prayer or another similar activity in honor of the missing youth.
This year, Gailey said, with not a single credible lead in the case, zero contact from Smith and not one confirmed sighting, “the family is heartbroken, and no such event has been scheduled.”
Instead, the family is focusing their efforts on conducting independent searches, shifting toward a recovery effort as they follow up on every possible lead.
In April 2017, Smith was featured on an episode of the documentary series, “Disappeared,” that aired on the Investigation Discovery channel entitled “The Silent Son,” which examined the details surrounding the teen’s disappearance.
Smith is also listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website where his case is listed among 27 other cases involving both children and adults still missing in Utah.
In January, a specially designed bench was showcased at Crimson Ridge Park on 3000 East featuring a bright-eyed, smiling portrait of Smith. The custom-crafted blue and white bench features laser-etched granite engravings of Smith’s full name and birthdate next to the date he went missing.
The engraving also includes the phrase, “Never Give Up; Never Surrender.”
The group of supporters have shifted their focus on raising awareness to the mental health issues often affecting loved ones of the missing and deceased.
Most importantly, Smith’s family, friends and supporters want him to know that he is “loved, that people do care and that everyone matters.”
Multiple reported sightings of Smith in California and other areas have gone unsubstantiated by law enforcement. A $10,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to his location.
Description of Macin Smith
- Name: Macin Smith
- Age: 21
- Race: Caucasian
- Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
- Weight: 200 pounds
- Hair color: Blonde
Anyone with information about Macin is asked to call the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.