The Mysterious Disappearance of Kevin Smith

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https://www.facebook.com/HelpFindKevinSmith
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/13266/

Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
2011 Kevin Smith
Latest Missing Person Poster
Missing
Kevin Michael Smith
Height (inches) :6’1″
Weight:240-260 lbs.
2010 Nissan 370Z, Red
CA Lic. # 6ROS417
Vin: JN1AZ4EH7AM505515
07/11/1985
11/08/2011
26 years old

Los Angeles, CA – When Kevin Smith, 26 (at the time), vanished into thin air, most people thought he’d just fled the area and the Los Angeles Police Department. However. the small group of family members and volunteers dedicated to finding him did their best to find a better answer to his mysterious disappearance.

After nursing school, Kevin became the personal assistant to Kenny Davis. Kenny was one of the last people to see Kevin before Kevin left Miami, Florida. Kenny was the owner of Kenny Davis Designs – a self-proclaimed “Designer to the Stars” – and he had employed Kevin as his personal assistant for years though their last interactions were less than cordial.

According to Kevin’s mom, Liz, “Kenny had failed to pay Kevin in time for Kevin’s trip from Florida to Los Angeles to face the Los Angeles Police Department and answer for his role in the fraud case that involved his soon to be ex-mother-in-law. So Kevin took his pay from Kenny’s bank account since he had access to all of Kenny’s accounts.”

Kenny reported Kevin to the police for theft even though he later explained “I love Kevin, but I had no choice. I can’t get relief from the banks for the missing funds unless I reported him to the police.” Afterwards, Kenny and Kevin had some tense telephone conversations.

Kenny did stay in close communication with the family about the search for Kevin. He’d call Liz and another volunteer regularly and asked about whether they had obtained any more information from the police.

Liz, Kevin’s mother, spent countless hours on the phone talking with Detective Sharon Stallworth of the LAPD Fraud Department who initially refused to classify Kevin as a missing person or to ping his telephone. Det. Stallworth was convinced Kevin had run – he’d been classified as a “Fugitive from the Law.”

Detective Stallworth was the official who had originally contacted Kevin in Miami about the fraud case related to the 2010 Nissan 370Z he owned. She convinced him that he had to return to California to return the vehicle and to face the charges that had been filed against him.

Det. Stallworth claimed that she’d spoken to Kevin 11/3/2011. She’d made an appointment for him to come in to the station the following week (as Kevin had requested time to visit a family friend in San Diego before turning his car in to the LAPD).

Kevin’s classification as a “Fugitive from Justice” actually encouraged Liz because it was at least a classification which would mean the police were looking for him. Months later, she learned that the vehicle hadn’t been entered into the active “Wanted” database which would have triggered an alert had Kevin’s vehicle been seen at any one of the many street lights equipped with the “Wanted” technology. In fact, almost a year had gone by before the “Stop” was activated to prevent any new/transfer registrations of his car.

At the time, Liz repeatedly said “If Kevin had been a woman, his cell phone would have been pinged and one of the many TV networks or shows (we contacted) would have shown his picture and talked about the circumstances of his disappearance. But nobody was interested in finding him.”

In the meantime, Kevin’s family followed up with Kevin’s estranged wife and countless friends the family had made over the years of moves due to the military service his dad, Mike, had served. (His brother, Jason, had served in the military as well and Kevin had enlisted also to follow in Mike’s footsteps.

The family and volunteers had a list of possible ways they could try to track Kevin: 1) Telephone Records; 2) Bank/Credit Card Records; 3) Facebook Friends; 4) Workplace associates. They also hoped to hire a Private Investigator.

Addressing the first idea had proven to be more difficult than the family imagined. Liz and Jason contacted Kevin’s estranged wife and mother-in-law who had delayed giving Liz the telephone records for over six months. Liz also discovered that his estranged wife had cancelled Kevin’s phone two weeks after he’d gone missing. Liz said “I just believe they knew he wasn’t coming back – why else would someone cancel the phone of someone who is missing?”

Finally, Kevin’s brother, Jason, drove from Arizona to Kevin’s estranged wife’s home in Los Angeles to retrieve the records in person. When he arrived, Kevin’s employer, Kenny, was also present in addition to Kevin’s estranged wife. Jason checked with Liz and the rest of the family – none had spoken to Kenny about Jason’s visit to Los Angeles. Jason surmised that Kevin’s estranged wife had called Kenny.

“It just seemed weird that Kenny was there,” Liz explained.

In reviewing the telephone records, Liz was able to determine that Kenny and Kevin had had many conversations and that Kevin had called the LAPD as soon as he arrived at the hotel on 11/2/2011 – a day sooner than Det. Stallworth claimed to have talked to him.

“Maybe Det. Stallworth returned his call on the 3rd and didn’t lie…but a day’s time could possibly have had some impact on the search for him.” Liz explained.

Kevin had purchased an iPhone from AT&T in Sherman Oaks on 11/5/11. The next day (11/6/2011) Kevin’s telephone records also listed a phone number for “Andrew”, a man that bought Kevin’s old iPhone. Kevin had found him listed on Twitter and their last interaction was at 5:30 p.m. that day when the phone was purchased.

On 11/8/2011, he’d texted a close friend in the Los Angeles area and asked to come stay the night at her place because he was out of money and couldn’t afford the hotel anymore.

He never made it there.

The bank records proved to be much more difficult, if not impossible. The family was able to hack into Kevin’s Expedia account and with the help of a compassionate customer service representative, was able to obtain enough information to call the Adventurer Hotel for the records of Kevin’s stay with them. There were no trips in his Expedia account for the time he went missing.

Kevin’s mom, dad, brother, and sisters visited the Adventurer hotel in person to see where Kevin had stayed before his disappearance. They met a man in the maintenance department that remembered talking with Kevin about the LSU Tigers. Liz had smiled at the man’s recollection. The family verified that Kevin had stayed at the hotel from 11/2 – 11/8.

11/8/2011 was the last time Kevin had used his phone.

The next step Liz completed was contacting all of Kevin’s Facebook friends to see if they had seen or heard from him.

“Maybe one of his friends from nursing school knew where he was,” Liz said.

Liz found a friend that claimed Kevin was supposed to attend her concert in LA on November 9th, but Kevin never arrived for the show. Liz called the venue and the manager ran his name and the last 4 of the credit card number Liz had obtained. They didn’t have any records of him being there and the camera was erased every 30 days – it would have been erased many times by this point in the search.

His girlfriend in Miami was sick with worry. “He’d promised to come back to me.”

Co-workers and Associates proved to be impossible to investigate. The family hired a private detective who reported that almost all of the businesses that Kenny purported to have owned were non-existent as far as legal records were concerned. The only legitimate business was the one Kevin had managed.

The private investigator also learned that Kenny was in financial trouble (a large sum) with the IRS.

Liz learned that Kenny had moved the only things that Kevin had left in his Miami condo to a storage unit somewhere in Florida. Kenny refused to give the belongings to Liz or any other family member for DNA testing.

He grew angry when Liz pressed him for the items. Kenny said “Kevin never wanted to speak to you. He didn’t love you.” And “don’t contact me again – I am blocking your number.”

Liz had phone records that showed how much Kevin stayed in contact with her and his dad, brother, and sisters. Kenny had been lying but Liz didn’t know why – or why he’d blown up at her. Liz later learned that Kenny had told the LAPD that Kevin rarely spoke to family and didn’t like to talk to his mom or dad.

“I believe that Kenny telling the LAPD those things is the reason I was so dismissed when it came to Kevin’s missing persons case,” she explained.

“It was such a hurtful lie.”

Kenny’s angry outburst was the last words he spoke to Kevin’s mom – Kenny died a couple of years ago.

Eventually Kevin’s estranged wife and mother-in-law sought advice from an attorney and Liz was told to remove their names from all of the missing person flyers, posts, etc. or risk being sued. Liz complied.

Kevin’s family continues to work with the Private Investigator who was and is willing to help the family. He’d learned a lot about Kenny Davis and his business enterprises. He also interviewed Kevin’s estranged wife.
And his latest report (2019) was helpful in establishing that Kevin’s car did not have any type of (legal) activity whatsoever since his disappearance.

Read a summary of the private investigator’s findings here.

Over the years, the family has explored numerous leads from the obscure circumstances of a failed marriage and an employer of questionable businesses. They’ve been contacted by psychics who claim that Kevin is alive, or dead, and where his body is located.

None of the leads resulted in finding Kevin.

More about the Fraud Case

Kevin was charged with 5 counts of abuse of an elder or dependent adult stemming from how he obtained/received the car he was driving. His disappearance resulted in a bench warrant for his failure to appear to court on the charges.

Liz is the first to admit that Kevin sometimes made mistakes, however, she knows that Kevin was a great son, brother, and uncle who didn’t deserve to just completely disappear – or worse, die for his mistakes.

His family believes that he was being pressured to provide information which would have secured a stronger conviction of his estranged mother-in-law. He was the only person who could provide those details. Kevin told Liz that he contacted the ex-mother-in-law as soon as he arrived in Los Angeles and that he’d told her that he planned to speak to the authorities.

After Kevin’s disappearance, there was speculation of whether the cars and $3000 watch Kevin wore were bribes of some sort since the ex-wife was an immigrant from the Philippines. However, there is no proof to support the theory.

“I wondered whether he was in WIT-PRO (Witness Protection) for the government,” said Liz.

However, calls to various government entities were met with the same response: it’s not the kind of case that WIT-PRO would be offered.

Kevin’s charges:

CA Penal Code 
CHAPTER 13. Crimes Against Elders, Dependent Adults, and Persons with Disabilities:
368(D) (d) Any person who is not a caretaker who violates any provision
of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, or fraud, or who
violates Section 530.5 proscribing identity theft, with respect to
the property or personal identifying information of an elder or a
dependent adult, and who knows or reasonably should know that the
victim is an elder or a dependent adult....

CHAPTER 8. False Personation and Cheats
530.5. (a) Every person who willfully obtains personal identifying
information, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 530.55, of
another person, and uses that information for any unlawful purpose,
including to obtain, or attempt to obtain, credit, goods, services,
real property, or medical information without the consent of that
person, is guilty of a public offense...

As a matter of public record, his mother-in-law was eventually charged with two counts of elder abuse and forgery. On 06/18/2012 she pled guilty to the elder abuse of a dependent adult and the forgery charge was dismissed.

CA Penal Code 
CHAPTER 13. Crimes Against Elders, Dependent Adults, and Persons with Disabilities:
368(D) (d) Any person who is not a caretaker who violates any provision
of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, or fraud, or who
violates Section 530.5 proscribing identity theft, with respect to
the property or personal identifying information of an elder or a
dependent adult, and who knows or reasonably should know that the
victim is an elder or a dependent adult...

CHAPTER 4. Forgery and Counterfeiting
470. (a) Every person who, with the intent to defraud, knowing that
he or she has no authority to do so, signs the name of another
person or of a fictitious person to any of the items listed in
subdivision (d) is guilty of forgery...

In Spanish:

Kevin Smith es un aficianado de LSU y seimpre tiene algo que decir a su familia.  Entre mensajes diarios a su madre y estar tomando el pelo de sus amigos en facebook, Kevin siempre está presente.  Por lo menos hasta Noviembre 6, 2011.  ¿Lo haz visto?

Kevin menajό de Miami, Florida a Fort Gordon, Georgia para ver a sus pades.  Entonces, manejό a Arizona para ver a sus sobrinas y des de allí, a Sherman Oaks, California con mensajes y promesas para ver otros amigos en San Diego dentro de poco.  Tambien, los mensajes a su novia que la verá en dos semanas.

Nombre:  Kevin Michael Smith
Contacto:  915-867-4509
Fecha de Desaparaciόn: 11/5/11
Fecha de Nacimiento:  7/11/85
Edad:  29 años
Altura:  6’ 1”
Pesos:  250 libras
Vehículo:  2010 Nissan 370Z Roja con matrícula de California

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