www.justiceforchandra.com

[gozgals]

<snip>
Family Offers $10,000 Reward for Information About Missing Alabama Preacher's Wife
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

By Sara Bonisteel

Mary Byrne Smith
Three weeks after the wife of an Alabama minister disappeared while attending a conference, her family is posting a reward while police are struggling to find clues to her whereabouts.

The family of Mary Byrne "Beth" Smith is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to whereabouts or her safe return after she disappeared March 24 while attending a religious conference in Bossier city, La.

"There have been no new developments in the case," said Mark Natale, a spokesman for the Bossier City Police Department. "Detectives still have no indication that foul play was a factor in Mrs. Smith's disappearance."

The 30-year-old wife of Rev. Jason Smith was attending Living Proof Live, a women's conference at the Bossier City CenturyTel Center when she vanished March 24.

"We hope that it does generate some more information coming in, certainly information that will help locate Mrs. Smith," Natale said, in reference to the reward. <snip>

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Bossier City Police Department at 318-741-8605.

For more information, please see the link

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265075,00.html

Comments: I think after viewing a few articles on this case, this woman may have taken off on her own, let us hope so. It would be nice to have a happy ending to a case.

Gozgals

[gozgals]

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/index.ssf?/base/news/1182763227176560.xml&coll=3


Friends gather to honor missing woman
Monday, June 25, 2007By DAVID FERRARAStaff Reporter

SUMMERDALE -- Tears filled the eyes in the crowd as they watched their prayers and hopes drift into the gray Sunday afternoon sky.

The Rev. Jason Smith let a white string slip through his fingers and released a purple balloon. He looked up after it, rubbed his cheek and hung his head. His wife, Mary Byrne "Beth" Smith, disappeared during a religious seminar three months ago, and no one seems to know where she could be.

"I was just thinking what I think every day: God, just let us know something," the pastor said moments later.

He stood among a crowd of about 100 gathered around the pavilion here at Pioneer Park while they released more than 200 purple and white balloons in Beth Smith's honor.

Mayor David Wilson opened with a prayer and addressed Smith's friends, family members and others who learned about her through news reports and on Web sites created since she vanished.

"It's been a tragedy for our town," Wilson said. "You know we all miss her. We believe there's a God in heaven who knows exactly where she is."

They each scribbled notes on cards tied to the balloons, sending love and asking questions. How could three months have passed without any answers, without any new information? The balloons floated northeast with a slight breeze.

Smith was last reported seen in Bossier City, La., on March 24 at a seminar given by Christian author and evangelist Beth Moore.

Police have said that Smith probably left on her own after she had become addicted to painkillers. Her family has pointed to signs in the months leading up to her disappearance that she had experienced emotional troubles. Others can't believe she would leave her family, especially her two young children.

Smith had attended the conference with Jenny Gipson, a friend who helped organize the balloon release. Gipson said she didn't notice any problems with Smith on the day of her disappearance.

Smith's family is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information regarding her whereabouts.

Dana Christian, a cousin through marriage, said she hoped Sunday's event would help revive media attention about Smith.

"Although it may not bring her home, it will let people know that's she's out there and she's loved," Christian said.

In the park, there were signs that read "Beth we love you," and "Praying to God for your safe return." Pictures of her had been laid on a table next to the pavilion.

Gipson hugged her husband and cried while the balloons sailed out of sight, "wondering where she is, wishing she would just walk up here," she said.


Comments: LE thinks this woman left on her own accord but one can never be sure in these cases. She could very well have been abducted so I hope this article brings more attention to this woman's case. Let us pray she is safe and alive. If she had contacted home or a friend, I may believe she left on her own but that has not been noted. I still will consider it an open case. It is rare for a woman to leave her children.

Goz

[gozgals]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291005,00.html

<snip>
Missing Alabama Preacher's Wife Sold Wedding Ring Day She Disappeared
Thursday, July 26, 2007

By Sara Bonisteel

The wife of an Alabama minister missing since March sold her wedding ring at a pawnshop on the day she disappeared, police said Thursday.

Mary Byrne "Beth" Smith, 30, is seen on surveillance video from a Bossier City, La., pawnshop hocking her wedding ring the morning she was reported missing, Bossier City police said.

The store security camera shows Smith wearing a purple shirt and exiting the shop at 11:36 a.m. on March 24, the same day she disappeared from Living Proof Live, a women's conference she was attending with her friend Jenny Gipson at the Bossier City CenturyTel Center.

The video reiterates investigators' belief that Smith, the wife of Rev. Jason Smith of Summerdale, Ala., left on her own free will, Bossier Police Chief Mike Halphen said in a statement. Smith does not face criminal charges, but police would still like to locate her.

Mary Byrne Smith Missing In April, police outlined a chain of events that led them to believe that the kindergarten teacher might have disappeared on her own.

In December, Smith told staff at Elsanor Elementary School in Robertsdale, Ala., where she taught kindergarten, that she had divorced her husband, the leader of the First Baptist Church in Summerdale, when in fact she hadn't, Halphen said.

Also, Smith had a suspicious fall and asked teachers where she could find prescription pain medication and reported her purse stolen, but it was later found -- containing empty prescription bottles -- in her desk at school, Halphen said.
<snip>

Comments
It appears this woman did leave on her own and LE thinks so too. If she sold her wedding ring the day she disappeared, it seems she was trying to get money to start a new life.

Goz

[gozgals]

At least this story has a happy ending and this woman just wanted to walk away from her life like I thought she did. What drove her away, we will never know. It must have been hard to walk away from her children and she must have had her reasons.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291424,00.html

<snip>
Missing Alabama Minister's Wife Found Working at Fast-Food Restaurant in New York
Monday, July 30, 2007

By Sara Bonisteel

Mary Byrne Smith
The wife of an Alabama minister missing for more than four months has been located by police unharmed and working under an alias at a fast-food restaurant in New York state, authorities said Monday.

Louisiana police located Mary Byrne Smith alive and well in New York state on Friday. The 30-year-old kindergarten teacher had been working under an assumed name at a fast-food restaurant.

"We know it’s her," Bossier City Police Chief Mike Halphen said at a press conference Monday. "She did not want us to disclose the reasons why she left, and she did not want us to disclose where she is living."

She does not face criminal charges, he said.

"People have their reasons for wanting to start a new life and that was her choosing," Halphen said. "And again, we encouraged her very, very hard to contact her family and at least talk with her children and we believe that she will."

Police were able to trace Smith to New York after the Alabama Department of Education notified authorities that she had applied for a copy of her teaching certificate. She knew detectives were looking for her and expressed remorse, authorities said.
<snip>

[rd]

This was pretty obvious. She walked away from a life where I expect she felt smothered.

Glad she's ok. It's got to be hard on the kids though.

rd