“We received a tip on Friday afternoon here in the city that someone had found human remains at an address in the 800 block of South Center St. Upon investigation, we located those remains (and) they were identified as Mr. Smith,” said James Byron, sergeant for investigations at the Springfield Police Division.
A 911 caller reported they were told someone saw Smith’s body in a vehicle that was in the back of a house.
“I got information on someone seeing a dead body in a vehicle at a house that was abandoned on South Center Street,” the 911 caller told dispatchers.
Smith, 28, was last seen on Jan. 29 in the 400 block of Linden Avenue. A relative who reported him missing said he left his job delivering food and didn’t return.
The case went from a missing person’s case to a criminal investigation, and will be investigated as a suspicious death until officers find otherwise.
“We investigate all deaths as suspicious, so that’s the way this one’s going to. We are working with the Clark County Coroner’s Office to determine a manner of death, but this case is going to continue to be investigated,” Byron said.
Relatives and friends continued to search for Smith over the last nearly two months, and they held a rally earlier this month to raise awareness about his disappearance.
Byron said investigators have been working closely with Smith’s family members, who have been fully cooperative, and officers spoke with them over the weekend.
“It was some sort of closure for them because they were able to find closure to where their loved one was, but again, until we find the true answers, and that’s what our mission is for now is to find that justice,” Byron said.
Byron said they rely on tips from the community daily, but especially in this case where they received “hundreds and hundreds” of them.
“Every tip that we get we exhaust as far as we can, so we really appreciate the community’s involvement in this case, especially because we got tips every day on this and we followed every single one of them,” he said. “We’re hoping to continue to get tips. His is still an active investigation, so if people have information, we certainly invite them to reach out to us.”
Police are looking for information regarding why Smith was in the area, what he was doing and how he ended up there. Byron said: “We’re certain there are people who have that information.”
Anyone with information or video surveillance is asked to contact investigators at 937-324-7716. Callers can remain anonymous.
The discovery of Smith’s body is the second death on that block of South Center this month.
On March 11, Springfield police were called to the 800 block of South Center after a woman was shot to death. Tiffany Higgins, 38, was found dead inside with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a city release Monday.
Byron said Monday afternoon the cases were not related.
A person had been detained in the shooting case, but Springfield police have refused to release details.
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