Five long days have come and gone and still no positive sightings of  missing mom Shantina and her son Azriel.  Investigators have confirmed that some items washed up on a beach yesterday do in fact belong to Shantina and Azriel (see below).

Shantina Smiley and her son Azriel vanished last weekend in Olympia, Washington creating a mystery that is leaving investigators stumped.  Police say Shantina and Azriel left their home in Silverdale, Washington around 5 p.m. and were heading to her step-father’s home in Castle Rock.  Shantina’s van was found early the next morning, abandoned near the North Gull Harbor, nowhere near her destination.  Police say the doors were open, cash, license and a credit card were left inside, but Shantina’s purse was gone.  The search continues this week to find this family as investigators continue to put divers in the water, helicopters in the air, and are sending police patrols door-to-door.  Robb Simmons, Shantina’s fiancé, has created a websitewith his timeline of events.  Lt. Chris Mealey from the Thurston County Sheriff’s office told me yesterday investigators were focusing on a lead from a resident who claims someone was knocking at his door around 1 a.m. on Sunday.  Blood hounds were on the ground yesterday at the home, and in a zodiac boat to try and pick up a trail.

Lt. Mealey says his team has identified contents found on a beach.  Some belong to Shantina and Azriel, and some do not.  Lt. Mealey also mentions that they could have fallen out of the family mini-van because the doors and hatch were left open:

-          Wine bottle (Shantina was seen purchasing this earlier in the night at the Handy Pantry around 7:55 p.m., it was found on the beach, half empty with the cap on it)

-          Baseball (not identified)

-          Orange ball (does belong to Azriel)

-          Possibly a men’s shoe, size 13 (not identified)

-          Asthma inhaler (belongs to Azriel)

-          Two water bottles (unidentified)

-          A woman or man’s shoe size, 9w (does belong to Shantina)

Yesterday I spoke in length with Robb about Shantina.  He says he and Shantina have been together for two and a half years, and they have a blended family.  He has two children, and Shantina has Azriel.  Robb and Shantina are both Cub Scout Leaders in the community, and active with their children.  He says Shantina had a lot of exciting job interviews coming up, and they were looking forward to starting their life together as husband and wife.  Robb said Shantina is a recovering alcoholic, and had a relapse last week, but he does not think the relapse contributed her disappearance.  Robb says he is having some health problems, and that is what set Shantina over the edge.  Azriel’s father landed in Washington yesterday, rented a car, and drove to the area where his former partner and son went missing.  He flew in from New York, and is going to help out in any way he can.  Robb says he was giving Azriel’s father some helpful tips on how to deal with the media and interviews, and that in this type of case the media is on their side. 

This timeline is based off my conversation with Lt. Chris Mealey.

5 p.m.– Shantina and her son leave their home in Silverdale, Washington.  Their destination was Castle Rock, Washington.

6:45 p.m.– Shantina stops off at an unknown location and calls her fiancé Robb Simmons. She tells him her cell phone was left at home, and she was hoping he could bring it with him on his way to Castle Rock later. 

7:55 p.m.– Lt. Mealey says there is video of Shantina stopping off at the Handy Pantry, where she made a purchase and left.

9:08 p.m.– Shantina stops off at the Martin Way Diner and orders one corndog to go.  This is odd because this is a sit down diner, not an establishment you order carry out from.  Although she placed the corndog order, she did not pick it up.  Instead, police say Shantina walked outside, tripped before getting into her van, and drove off with her son.

9:55 p.m.– Lt. Mealey says there is more surveillance video of Shantina stopping off at a local store on a rural county road.  The store was closed, so she left.

10:00 p.m.– Shantina and her son stop off at a residence occupied by an elderly couple.  She used the phone in the residence and called her grandfather to say she was lost, and there was an accident of sorts, but she did not elaborate.  The elderly couple fed her son a slice of pizza and gave her directions to get back on the main road. 

Shantina left the residence, and made a wrong turn. Somehow, she ended up about five miles away on an abandoned beach. When found, her mini-van doors were open, and it was stuck in the sand.  It appears she drove far out, and tried to come back to the road.  The van got stuck, and she left it there. 

Shantina’s family and friends have been searching the area ever since.  Initially, Lt. Mealey told me Shantina has no mental health issues, and overall seems to be a responsible mom. I confirmed that Shantina is employed with the Kitsap Medical Group in the billing department, and everyone is distraught that she is missing.  Investigators are currently diving into her bank account and cell phone records. Investigators need your leads on this case. 

If you have any information, please contact the Thurston Sheriff’s Office: 360-786-5500

Tags: Azriel, beach, body found Fox Island, Ed Troyer, items found at beach, Lt. Mealey, Pierce County Sheriff's Office, Shantina Smiley, son missing, Thurston County Sheriff's office, Washington mom missing

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 11:17 am and is filed under Endangered Missing, missing adult, missing child. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.