The Disappearance of Sage Smith
For this case, I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 9 episode 5, titled ‘Born This Way.’
A transgender teenager disappears after a night out.
Background
Sage Smith was born Dashad Laquinn Smith, but since Sage had come out as transgender, I will be referring to her as Sage.
Sage grew up in a close family, but had the Smith family had experienced extreme poverty. Sage was especially close to her grandma, Lolita or Ms. Cookie, who she had lived with for a time in her life. Ms. Cookie was one of the first family members that Sage had come out to. Ms. Cookie told Sage that she had already known for quite awhile. Sage had a complex relationship with her father, Dean, but the two had been repairing their relationship at the time of her disappearance.
Sage was described energetic, outgoing, and colorful. She had been attending cosmetology school, and hoped to one day be a hairdresser.
Sage Smith
The Disappearance
On November 20, 2012, Sage was getting ready for her date that she had that night.
Around 5:40pm, Sage woke up one of her roommates, Aubrey, who had been sleeping on the couch. Sage told Aubrey she was leaving for her date, and that’d she’d be home later.
The next day, Aubrey discovered that Sage wasn’t home. She tried calling her, but there was no answer. Aubrey contacted Ms. Cookie about Sage’s disappearance. Ms. Cookie said that was Sage not answering was unlikely, as Sage was glued to her phone, and brought her phone charger with her everywhere. Ms. Cookie told Aubrey to call the police.
The Charlottesville, Virginia police began their missing persons investigation that day. The rest of Sage’s family also learned that Sage was missing. In fact, Sage’s sisters found out through a Facebook post, before their mom, Latasha, could tell them.
An Unknown Number
The police subpoenaed Sage’s phone records, but due to protocol, it took awhile for them to get them.
Sage’s family did their own investigation. They were able to guess the password to her phone, and get her phone records. The last phone call that Sage had made before she disappeared was to an out of state number that the family didn’t recognize.
Dean, Sage’s dad, posted the phone number on Facebook, and asked if anyone knew who the number belonged to. A friend of Sage’s, named Yami Ortiz, sent Dean a message on Facebook, and said she knew who the number belonged to.
The number belonged to a man named Erik McFadden. Erik and Sage had been seeing each other, but Erik wasn't out to his family and friends yet, and also had a girlfriend.
Dean posted a photo of Erik on Facebook. Again, he asked anyone to contact him if they had seen Erik.
The Search For a Suspect
The police received a phone call from Erik’s girlfriend, Ester Iveni. Ester asked the police if they could do a welfare check on Erik, as he was missing. Ester said she was out of town for Thanksgiving, and had been trying to call Erik all day on November 24, but there was no answer.
The police went to Ester’s apartment, but no one was home. The police learned that Erik had also not been at work for 3 days. Ester agreed to a more thorough search of the apartment. Inside, the police found a receipt from CVS from November 22.
The surveillance footage from CVS was obtained. The footage corroborated that Erik had been seen just 2 days after Sage disappeared, and now could have been anywhere.
The police eventually obtained Sage’s phone records. They learned that Erik was the last person who had spoken to Sage on the phone and through text messages. They had planned to meet at the Amtrak station on Main Street. At 6:36pm, Erik asked Sage where she was. Erik then told her that he would wait 5 more minutes, and then he’d be leaving. When Sage didn’t show up, Erik said he was leaving because she stood him up.
Where is Erik?
The police obtained warrants for Erik’s computer, bank records and social media accounts. Nothing was found.
There wasn’t any information about Erik’s whereabouts until November 27. Erik contacted the police himself, and said he was in New York, because he had always wanted to go there.
The police asked Erik about his relationship with Sage. Erik admitted that they had a sexual relationship, but that he wasn't out to anyone in his life yet.
Erik told them that he did have plans to meet with Sage in front of the Amtrak station, but that she never showed up.
The police asked Erik to meet with them in person. Erik said he’d be coming back into town on the bus, and even gave them a time that he’d be back. He never showed up at the police station.
The police received a visit from Erik’s girlfriend, Ester. Ester said that Erik had sent her an email, explaining what had happened to Sage. Erik said that Sage had shown up on November 20. They had been walking around, when other people showed up. Erik said he left because Sage had several enemies.
Erik also told Ester that Sage had been blackmailing him about their relationship. Erik said that Sage had done it before to other men. One man that Sage had been seeing also had a girlfriend, and wasn’t out to anyone. The man’s girlfriend discovered his emails between him and Sage. The man blamed Sage for everything, and was rude and aggressive towards her. One night when Sage was walking home, the man assaulted her. Charges were brought against the man for the assault. He was ruled out as a suspect, as he was incarcerated at the time of Sage’s disappearance.
Another Unlikely Suspect
Weeks and months passed without any information about Sage’s case.
On December 3, the police received information that Sage’s credit card had been used. The credit card had been used at a convenience store. When the police looked at the surveillance footage, they were shocked at who they discovered was using it. The person using the card was Aubrey, Sage’s friend and roommate.
Aubrey’s explanation was that she and Sage were really close, and would often use each others stuff. Aubrey said she just used the card to buy groceries. Sage and Aubrey’s other roommate, Shakira, and Sage's family thought it was really bizarre.
The police didn’t have any other evidence to believe that Aubrey was involved.
The Eyewitnesses
The police were able to speak to two other people that had seen Sage on the night she disappeared.
Sage’s step-sister, Keyara, told the police that she had seen Sage on Main Street around 6:30pm on November 2o. Keyara said that Sage had been on the phone with someone (Erik). Keyara said she heard Erik ask Sage where she was, and that Sage told him she was on her way.
Another eyewitness came forward in February 2013. A woman named Monica, who had known Sage for a few years, said she had seen Sage around 7pm, at the Wild Wing Cafe. The Wild Wing Cafe shared a building with the Amtrak station where Sage had planned to meet Erik.
Monica said she only had a brief conversation with Sage. Sage had told her that she was meeting someone. Monica said that Sage was alone when she left the cafe.
Several other people from the cafe were questioned, but no one could remember if Sage was the person they had seen. The cafe also didn’t have any surveillance cameras.
Odd Behavior
Months passed again without any information about Sage’s disappearance.
The police ruled Erik out as a suspect in November 2015. The police said that Erik didn't have the means to get rid of anyone. Erik didn't own a car, and lived in an apartment that belonged to someone else.
In January 2016, the police received a call that there was a sighting of Sage in Shakti, Virginia, about 300 miles from Charlottesville. The woman wasn't Sage, but her roommate, Shakira.
Shakira revealed to the police that Aubrey hadn't been telling them everything. Shakira said she found Aubrey’s behavior odd after Sage disappeared. Aubrey had been using Sage’s things, like her credit card and hair.
Keyara, Sage’s step-sister, also revealed that Aubrey was really jealous of Sage. Shakira later said that Aubrey was close to Sage, and that maybe her behavior wasn’t as odd as she once thought.
Aubrey has maintained that she has been forthcoming and doesn’t know what happened to Sage.
Justice For Sage
In March 2017, Erik was once again considered a suspect in this case.
Sage’s case has not received as much attention as some of the cases from the area, like the case of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student. Hannah’s killer, Jesse Matthews, pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
Sage’s family believes her case hasn’t received attention because of her race and sexual orientation and identity.
In June 2019, a missing person report was put out for Erik, at the request of his mom.
If you have any information, please contact Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000. A $10,000 reward has been put out by both Crime Stoppers and the Charlottesville Police Department.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It seems most likely that Erik did something to Sage. Why go on the run if you’re innocent? However, you can also say that Erik probably went on the run because his information was put out on social media. Erik wasn’t out to the public, and maybe he didn’t want to deal with the aftermath of that. Erik is considered a suspect, but hasn't been charged with anything. He is technically innocent until proven guilty.
I just hope we will one day learn what happened to Sage. I hope her family gets the justice they deserve, and I hope that all true crime, missing persons cases, etc, will be treated the same way.
Sources
https://www.thecrimesheet.com/post/what-happened-to-sage-smith
https://www.nbc12.com/2020/11/20/investigation-into-disappearance-sage-smith-enters-th-year/
https://www.charlottesville.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=460&ARC=650
