The last time Shantina “Kat” Smiley was seen, she walked up to a stranger’s house Saturday night outside Olympia and asked to use the phone.
The 29-year-old Silverdale woman then got directions back to Interstate 5.
And then she disappeared, along with her 8-year-old son, Azriel Carver, never arriving at a relative’s house in Castle Rock.
Sunday morning her fiance’s van was found partially submerged in Budd Inlet.
Thurston County sheriff’s detective Lt. Chris Mealy said there are no signs of foul play in or around the van, and that while the case is being called “suspicious,” no suspects or persons of interest have been identified.
“We haven’t established there has been a crime committed. We just don’t know what happened to her,” he said.
Mealy said he couldn’t venture a guess how similar cases are resolved.
“I could probably say they end unfortunately.”
Mealy said Smiley’s fiance, Robb Simmons has been “extremely cooperative” and has not been identified as a suspect.
“The past 36 hours have been nerve racking, and full of fear pain and sorrow,” Simmons wrote on his Web site. “I just want my Fiancé’ and Azriel back home . I want to marry her, and spend the rest of my days by her side.”
Smiley’s wallet was found in the van, but her purse is missing. Mealy said the wallet contained Smiley’s one and only known credit card, cash and her driver’s license. Simmons told Mealy that Smiley normally takes an overnight bag on similar trips, but was unsure if she took one this time. No extra clothes or bags were found in the car.
Mealy said Smiley and her son left the Silverdale area on their way to Castle Rock to visit Smiley’s step-father around 5 p.m. Saturday. Simmons was supposed to meet Smiley there.
Smiley called Simmons at around 6:45 p.m. from a pay phone, asking him to bring her cell phone, but Simmons was already on his way.
Mealy said surveillance tapes show Smiley visiting a convenience store in west Olympia just before 8 p.m. where she made a purchase.
An hour later, Smiley bought food at The Martin Way Diner in east Olympia. Mealy said a waitress confirmed Smiley had come in to buy food, witnessed her fall down in the parking lot and leave without taking the food.
Smiley reached a residence north of Olympia around 10 p.m. Mealy said he doesn’t know what was said in the phone call, but that Smiley mentioned something about an accident. Mealy said it is not clear what that accident was, if it was related to the van, or the injury she sustained at the east Olympia diner.
Mealy said Smiley was given directions back on the freeway, and that it where the trail ends for investigators. The van was found less than 10 miles from the residence.
The van likely went into the water that night, Mealy said.
He said the area in which Smiley disappeared is rural but in a wealthy neighborhood with houses overlooking the water. He said the roads, including the one near where the van was found, are narrow and dark.
Although Carver is considered missing, an Amber Alert has not been issued because law enforcement has not determined whether there was an abduction, Mealy said.
Since the disappearance happened in Thurston County, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s office is not taking an active role. However, deputies did make a welfare check to a residence at the request of the Thurston County Sheriff’s office, said deputy Scott Wilson with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s office.
Smiley has no known history of drug use or mental health problems, Mealy said. Smiley is described as a 5-foot-9-inch white female weighing 140 pounds and has short brown hair and brown eyes. Carver is 4 feet 1 inches tall, 100 pounds and has blond hair in a mohawk and brown eyes.
The North Kitsap School District notified parents through an e-mail that the student is a second-grader at Vinland Elementary in Poulsbo.
The school has an additional counselor on staff today for any students or staff, said Principal Charles McCabe.
“We are hopeful right now,” he said. “We are just watching and waiting.”
North Kitsap Herald editor Celeste Cornish contributed to this report.
