Bizarre Twist Finds Missing Minister's Wife in NY Fast Food Restaurant
An Alabama minister's wife, missing since March 2007, has resurfaced - unharmed - working in a New York fast food joint.
By Pamela Mortimer
Mary Elizabeth "Beth" Byrne Smith, wife of Alabama pastor Rev. Jason Smith, has been missing since March 2007, when she vanished from a religious conference. Over the weekend, she turned up as an employee in a NY fast food joint. Smith, who is a 30-year-old kindergarten teacher from Summerville, Alabama, simply walked away from her life over four months ago and has not had any contact with family or friends, despite wide media coverage. Authorities were alerted when Smith contacted the Alabama Department of Education to receive a copy of her teaching certificate.
Beth Byrne Smith and her friend, Jenny Gipson, checked into the Shreveport Courtyard Marriott Financial Plaza on March 23rd, 2007. The women were in Shreveport to attend a two-day women's religious event led by evangelist Beth Moore. The next day, the pair made a return trip to the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City to hear Moore speak on living a life of spiritual victory through faith in God.
"At 11 o'clock that day, she told her companion that she was going to go to the concession stand and use the restroom, and it was the last time that Mrs. Smith was seen," Bossier City Police Chief Mike Halphen said.
After waiting at Smith's car for two hours, Gipson contacted police.
It was determined unlikely that Smith met with foul play. The conference in Bossier City was a large one, with approximately 14,000 people in attendance. There were also 30 officers on patrol.
"We felt like if she were under duress, if somebody tried to force her somewhere, that it would have been very easy to holler help with 14,000 people standing around you," Halphen said.
Bossier City police conducted an extensive search in the days following Smith's disappearance, utilizing dogs, helicopters, airplanes, and boats.
Last week, officials released a video tape of Smith hocking her wedding ring at a pawn shop the day after she disappeared. After retrieving the money, Smith headed to the local Greyhound station and asked how far she could go on the available funds. The response: New York.
One possible reason for her departure may be that Smith was dismissed from her job as a kindergarten teacher at Elsanor Elementary School in Robertsdale, Alabama. According to sources, Smith had been acting strangely for a period of time before her disappearance. For instance, she told staff that she had divorced her husband, the leader of the First Baptist Church in Summerdale, but she hadn't. In addition, Smith had taken a suspicious fall and asked fellow teachers where she could get prescription pain medication. She also reported her purse stolen, but it was later found - containing empty prescription bottles - in her desk.
"The principal felt like she was under the influence of some type of either alcohol or drugs," Halphen said. "She was drug tested recently and it came back positive."
Following the drug test, the school decided to dismiss Smith, effective at the end of the school year.
"With all this information, as you can see, it's very easy to see that there is a great possibility she decided to leave on her own and maybe planned this out by coming to the Bossier City area and then leaving," Halphen said.
Smith has requested that her exact location remain undisclosed and did not divulge any concrete reason why she left her husband and two children.
"She decided she wanted to be a different person in a different place. She had her own personal reasons why she wanted to disappear," Halphen stated.
Smith, who does not face criminal charges, has promised to contact her family in Alabama.
Mary Elizabeth "Beth" Byrne Smith, wife of Alabama pastor Rev. Jason Smith, has been missing since March 2007, when she vanished from a religious conference. Over the weekend, she turned up as an employee in a NY fast food joint. Smith, who is a 30-year-old kindergarten teacher from Summerville, Alabama, simply walked away from her life over four months ago and has not had any contact with family or friends, despite wide media coverage. Authorities were alerted when Smith contacted the Alabama Department of Education to receive a copy of her teaching certificate.
Beth Byrne Smith and her friend, Jenny Gipson, checked into the Shreveport Courtyard Marriott Financial Plaza on March 23rd, 2007. The women were in Shreveport to attend a two-day women's religious event led by evangelist Beth Moore. The next day, the pair made a return trip to the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City to hear Moore speak on living a life of spiritual victory through faith in God.
"At 11 o'clock that day, she told her companion that she was going to go to the concession stand and use the restroom, and it was the last time that Mrs. Smith was seen," Bossier City Police Chief Mike Halphen said.
After waiting at Smith's car for two hours, Gipson contacted police.
It was determined unlikely that Smith met with foul play. The conference in Bossier City was a large one, with approximately 14,000 people in attendance. There were also 30 officers on patrol.
"We felt like if she were under duress, if somebody tried to force her somewhere, that it would have been very easy to holler help with 14,000 people standing around you," Halphen said.
Bossier City police conducted an extensive search in the days following Smith's disappearance, utilizing dogs, helicopters, airplanes, and boats.
Last week, officials released a video tape of Smith hocking her wedding ring at a pawn shop the day after she disappeared. After retrieving the money, Smith headed to the local Greyhound station and asked how far she could go on the available funds. The response: New York.
One possible reason for her departure may be that Smith was dismissed from her job as a kindergarten teacher at Elsanor Elementary School in Robertsdale, Alabama. According to sources, Smith had been acting strangely for a period of time before her disappearance. For instance, she told staff that she had divorced her husband, the leader of the First Baptist Church in Summerdale, but she hadn't. In addition, Smith had taken a suspicious fall and asked fellow teachers where she could get prescription pain medication. She also reported her purse stolen, but it was later found - containing empty prescription bottles - in her desk.
"The principal felt like she was under the influence of some type of either alcohol or drugs," Halphen said. "She was drug tested recently and it came back positive."
Following the drug test, the school decided to dismiss Smith, effective at the end of the school year.
"With all this information, as you can see, it's very easy to see that there is a great possibility she decided to leave on her own and maybe planned this out by coming to the Bossier City area and then leaving," Halphen said.
Smith has requested that her exact location remain undisclosed and did not divulge any concrete reason why she left her husband and two children.
"She decided she wanted to be a different person in a different place. She had her own personal reasons why she wanted to disappear," Halphen stated.
Smith, who does not face criminal charges, has promised to contact her family in Alabama.
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