The Disappearance of Macin Smith
For this case I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 8 episode 2, titled ‘The Silent Son.’ This case is a little bit shorter, and as most of these Disappeared cases are, it’s still unsolved.
A 17 year old vanishes on his way to school.
Background
Macin Smith
Macin Smith was born on April 7, 1998. He was the youngest of six kids, and his family was originally from Canada. Macin moved with his parents Tracey and Darrin to St. George, Utah, shortly before he disappeared.
Macin was described as very bright, but liked to spend time alone. He preferred playing video games or watching Anime, over hanging out with friends. Macin also had a history of depression, and his family thought that things were improving once they moved to Utah.
The Day Before
On Monday, August 31, 2015, Macin texted his mom a picture of his report card. The attached message read:
“This good enough grades to watch Anime.”
His mom wrote back:
“Wow! Looking good Macin. Have dad take you driving first.”
Macin had an agreement with his parents, that if he received good grades and did his homework, then he could watch Anime during the week. Macin was in summer school, because his credits from Canada didn’t transfer over.
His family said Macin seemed happier in Utah. He had a speech impediment, and had gotten bullied when he was younger. Macin was also working with his dad on finally getting his driver’s license, but he didn’t think he was good enough to get it. Macin told his parents he wasn’t feeling well that night, and they left him alone. Tracey also said that she unplugged the internet, because Macin liked to watch Anime into the early morning hours.
Around 1:30am, Darrin woke up and went to check on Macin. He found him watching Anime. He had plugged the internet back in, and Darrin ended up taking his computer and phone away.
Darrin would later say that he and Macin didn’t get into a fight that night, and Macin just handed over his electronics, and seemed okay with it.
Macin’s parents, Tracey and Darrin
The Disappearance
On Tuesday, September 1, Darrin woke Macin up around 7am for school. Tracey said she remembers Macin getting up right away, walking around and leaving around 7:40am.
Macin still took the bus, and his bus stop was about 2 miles from his home. Tracey went to work that day, and Darrin stayed home to do yard work. Around 3:15pm, Macin’s bus had pulled up and started dropping kids off. By 3:30pm, Macin still didn’t return home. Darrin had no way of contacting him, because he had taken his phone the night before.
Darrin texted Tracey that Macin never returned home. Tracey decided to check her email, and realized she received a message from the school that said Macin never showed up that day. Tracey was stunned and left work early.
Tracey and Darrin also decided to go through Macin’s room, and they didn’t find anything. They also called Macin’s church youth group, and discovered he hadn’t been there. By 10pm, they called the St. George police, to report Macin missing.
The Investigation
The police started their investigation right away, and Tracey started her own investigation.
Tracey went to the high school to pay for Macin’s graduation cap and gown, and she realized Macin never showed up to school again. She also contacted the bus, and talked to several student that rode the bus. No one had seen Macin.
Tracey and Darrin searched Macin’s room again, and they found his school binders on the floor of his closet. The episode described this as if Macin was hiding his school supplies, but nothing was ever found in his supplies. Macin’s wallet was also found in his room, with cash and ID cards in it.
Tracey and Darrin called their other children and told them that their brother was missing. They all returned home to come and look for him.
New Leads
When Macin’s siblings returned, they all drove around putting up missing persons fliers of Macin. They also had the LDS church help with the search.
Many tips came pouring in. One tip was about a male, matching Macin’s description, standing on the street with a sign that said need a ride to Vegas. This road was about 5 miles away from Macin’s home.
The description of this person sounded like Macin. The road was surrounded by several gas stations, and the Smith’s contacted the stations about their surveillance footage. It turned out not to be Macin, it was another teenager.
There was another tip that came in. This time, several people said they saw Macin in Las Vegas, which was about two hours from St. George. Darrin drove to Las Vegas to search, along with a search group called the Red Rock Search and Rescue. There was again no sign of Macin.
The Note
Tracey was the main talking head in this episode, and she said about a week passed with no sign or contact with Macin. Macin’s aunt was able to get the passwords for his computer, phone and social media. They discovered that Macin really didn’t use social media or his phone. He had deleted his search history, but mainly used his computer to watch Anime and play video games.
They did find something else, though. In Macin’s wallet, they found a note. It was a two page note, that had been folded multiple times. It wasn’t addressed to anyone or dated, but it was a very “deep” note. The Smith’s have not released much information about it. All they said was that Macin had written “I’m done.”
The police believed that Macin didn’t want anyone to find that note, and if he did want it found, he would’ve put it in an obvious place.
Tracey said that Macin had told her he tried to commit suicide before, but she didn’t believe he wanted to hurt himself again. They didn’t own any gun, or have any pills. She said anything was possible, but she just didn’t believe it.
Another Search
Three weeks later, the Red Rock Search and Rescue came to help the Smith’s. They came out to St. George for two days. They brought equestrians and six cadaver dogs from California. It was the largest wilderness search to date, and there were still no signs of Macin Smith.
A Macin Smith Facebook page was created, and this led to many rumors about Macin, his family and what happened to him.
There were rumors that Macin was gay, and disappeared because he didn’t want to tell his family. Tracey said she didn’t believe that he was gay, and even if he was it didn’t matter to them.
Five months after Macin disappeared, allegations against Darrin Smith came out. They said that Darrin had killed his son. Darrin denied it, and said the police could do anything to prove that he didn’t. He and Tracey both took polygraph tests, and Tracey said they both passed. However, the St. George police declined to comment. To me this sounds like one of them didn’t pass, but maybe they just can’t comment since it’s an open investigation.
Tracey also believed that Macin would return or get into contact with someone once he turned 18. They hosted an event on his 18th birthday, and Macin didn’t return or reach out to anyone.
Another Dead End
In July 2016, a tip came in from two girls said they saw Macin at a Panda Express in West Valley. They said this boy approached them, and asked them for some change for the bus. They noticed he was very polite, and that he had a speech impediment.
When Tracey heard about this, she had the girls call Macin’s phone to hear his voicemail. The girls said that this was the voice of the person they talked to.
The police contacted the Panda Express for their surveillance footage, but of course, it wasn’t working.
Where is Macin?
Tracey believes Macin is out there somewhere. She even kept paying his phone bill for awhile because it was the only number he knew. She stopped paying for it eventually.
Darrin thinks his son is gone.
There is a $10,000 reward out there for any information about where Macin could be.
The theories about what happened include: suicide and foul play.
Maybe one day, there will be answers about Macin Smith. If you have any information, you can contact the St. George police at 435-627-4300.
Other
As late as 2017, the police have said that there have been changes in Tracey and Darrin’s stories. They have told the police, the Red Rock group and the media different things.
In 2018, Tracey and Darrin Smith divorced, and they are both remarried now.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case is so sad, and I honestly don’t know what to believe. Macin did seem to be depressed again, hence the note. But, I feel like if he killed himself, the police would have found something. Macin’s parents were very strict, and maybe Macin couldn’t take it anymore. But again, I feel like there would be some kind of sign of him.
It’s also really sad that people have been attacking this family, especially Darrin. Could he have done something to his son? Sure, but there’s no evidence of that. If it was foul play, then this would probably be the first place to look, but everyone should be innocent until proven otherwise.
Macin Smith deserves justice, and maybe someday, there will be answers.
Sources
https://disappearedblog.com/macin-smith/
https://charleyproject.org/case/macin-darrin-smith
