Missing
Steven Lee Smith
Smith, approximately 2008; Wesley Elliott Kelly
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/06/2008
Missing location (approx) :
Lafayette, Indiana
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 07/31/1956 (65)
Age at the time of disappearance: 52 years old
Height / Weight : 6'1 - 6'2, 140 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A maroon and green striped shirt, a green jacket with a gray liner, black pants or blue jeans and black sneakers.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Graying brown hair, hazel eyes. Smith wears wire-rimmed eyeglasses. His left ear is pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Smith was last seen leaving his residence in the vicinity of the 200 block of 4th Street in Lafayette, Indiana at 12:40 a.m. on December 6, 2008. He was headed downtown. He has never been heard from again.
After his disappearance, his mother found his apartment in an unusually neat and clean condition, with toiletry items missing. She stated it looked as if no one lived there.
Wesley Elliott Kelly, Smith's roommate, was the prime suspect in his disappearance from the start. A photo of Kelly is posted with this case summary. He was jailed on December 13 on unrelated charges and stated he and Smith got into an argument in their apartment on the day of Smith's disappearance. He allegedly slammed Smith's head into a wall and a toilet.
The confrontation flared up again later on the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad bridge over the Wabash River. Kelly struck Smith with a bicycle lock, knocking him into the water.
Kelly was arrested on suspicion of murder, but he wasn't formally charged in Smith's presumed homicide. Instead, he was incarcerated on the charge of failure to register as a Gender : offender. It wasn't until January 2010 that Kelly was charged with murder and misdemeanor battery in Smith's case. He pleaded guilty to murder in July and was sentenced to 60 years in prison, the maximum allowed under the plea agreement, in August 2010.
Smith's body has never been found. Authorities believe it's in the Wabash River.
Other information and links : ncy
Lafayette Police Department
765-807-1200
September 2021 updates and sources
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
The Lafayette Journal and Courier
WLFI 18
Unsolved in the News
6 October 12, 2004. June 17, 2011; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
