45-year-old Dana Smithers vanished on May 28, 2022, from her hometown in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. She was last seen on a Ring camera around 11:30 p.m. leaving her friend's home which was three houses down from her home. This would be the last sighting of the mother of three until one year later.
A close source to the family agreed to an interview for our podcast about her disappearance. However, after the podcast was released, the source expressed dissatisfaction with the show. We took the source's feedback into account and unpublished the podcast within one hour. However, Dana's sister agreed to allowing us to rewrite the podcast using an anonymous source without a verbal interview. Sadly, during the editing part of the podcast, we learned Dana's body had been discovered. A podcast is forthcoming, not only to tell her story, but to share who Dana was as a person.
Prior to the evening of Dana's disappearance, she went to a festival at the Happy Hour Bar and Grill, close to her home. Dana mingled with friends enjoying the evening. Allegedly, an ex-boyfriend of Dana's was at the bar as well. Many sources stated that Dana and her ex-partner had an amicable relationship. However, our source stated that this was inaccurate. Allegedly, a verbal altercation had broken out between Dana and her ex-boyfriend that night at the festival. Our source stated that he and Dana had incessant verbal and physical disputes.
Dana left the Happy Hour Bar and Grill and went back home. She lived with her mother and young daughter. According to our source, the father of her young daughter was also at Dana's home that evening. Dana stepped out of her home and walked three houses down to visit her friend. Dana's friend said that Dana asked her to come over to her house and visit with her for a while, but the friend declined because she was tired. The friend said that Dana appeared to be nervous about something because she was smoking a cigarette, something she only did when she was anxious. After a brief encounter with her friend, Dana left to go back home.
The following day, Dana's mother awoke to find Dana missing. Dana's cellphone was on the staircase, the car she drove was in the driveway, and her personal belongings were still in the home. Family and friends soon began to call around asking friends and family if they had seen Dana to no avail. The family also attempted to report Dana missing, but the Stroudsburg police department stated that Dana was an adult and allowed to go missing. Allegedly, the police department would not take a missing person's report for Dana.
Her family and friends were adamant that Dana would not just disappear and leave her young daughter behind. They rushed to make missing person's flyers for Dana, launch search and rescues, and even founded a Facebook group to help locate their dear friend and relative. After approximately ten days, the Stroudsburg police department filed the missing person's report on Dana.
There had been much speculation as to why law enforcement was slow to file a missing person's report. One presumption was that due to Dana's history of substance abuse the case was not taken seriously. Often times, law enforcement may not take cases seriously due to a person's history of having risky behavior, social status such as poor and marginalized families.
Many theories emerged regarding Dana Smithers' disappearance. One theory was that Bryan Kohberger, the man indicted for the murder of four university students in Idaho, may have been involved. Bryan's family live in the same area as Dana, and some internet sleuths have speculated that he may have been involved in her disappearance. However, there is no evidence to support this theory. Bryan has not been charged with any crime in connection with Dana's disappearance, and the Stroudsburg police department has not said that he is a suspect (Phillips, 2023).
Kohberger's parents were called for a grand jury hearing regarding Dana's disappearance in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Dana's sister, Stacey, stated to Newsweek that, "the grand jury had looked into a possible connection, but had since disregarded it" (Phillips, 2023).
Sadly, on April 27, 2023, a Stroudsburg Borough employee found a body in the woods off I-80 at Park Avenue (Francis, 2023) where it was later determined to be Dana Smithers. The manner of death is pending an autopsy. This is an active and ongoing investigation. If you have any information regarding this case, contact Detective Robert Transue at rtransue@sarpd.com or by calling 570-421-6800-ext 1027.
A Go Fund Me has been set up to help pay for funeral expenses. You can donate here: Dana Smithers Go Fund Me
References
Francis, M. (2023, May 1). Remains found in Stroudsburg identified as missing woman Dana Smithers. Pocono Record. https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/local/2023/05/01/dana-smithers-recovered-authorities-confirm-id-of-human-remains-stroudsburg-monroe-county-pa/70172109007/
Phillips, A. (2023, May 26). Dana Smither’s sister breaks silence over possible Bryan Kohberger link. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/dana-smithers-sister-breaks-silence-bryan-kohberger-accusation-1802925
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