24-years ago today, Vanessa Dawn Smith, went missing while walking along Mercedes Avenue near her house in Winton.
She was only 15-years-old at the time of her disappearance.
Vanessa would regularly go for her evening walk with her mother, but on May 31, 1997, Vanessa would walk alone.
Vanessa’s family reported her missing around 7:00 P.M.
Vanessa’s walking stick, which she would regularly use, was found 90 yards east of Mercedes Avenue near her house.
Two witnesses that Merced Daily spoke to say they saw Vanessa Smith walking alone that day on Mercedes Avenue.
Interview with witnesses in 2019:
“I was waiting for my husband to get home from work that Saturday evening. We were both going to go to a residence where a vehicle was listed as for sale in the local paper.”
“When my husband came home we left. We drove on Mercedes Avenue to get to our destination. While my husband was driving we both noticed a female teenager walking alone with a stick in hand, but we didn’t think anything of it. We both continued on.”
Merced Daily asked, As you were driving east of Mercedes Avenue did you ever see any other vehicles coming the opposite way?
“No…..we did not see any vehicles going the opposite way.”
“When we arrived at our destination we stood there for about 10-15 minutes. When we left, my husband took a different route back home.”
It’s during this route back home, both witnesses say they believed they encountered suspicious activity.
Both witnesses tell Merced Daily they never told the Sheriffs Department because they feared some type of retaliation and just didn’t want to get involved.
Vanessa was not known to runaway. She left everything behind. Detectives believe she was taken by someone she most likely knew.
This still remains one of Merced County’s biggest unsolved cases.
If you have any information, please contact the Merced County Sheriff’s Department Detectives Division at 209-385-7472.
