OLYMPIA, Wash. - Thurston County authorities are investigating the disappearance of a mother and her 8-year-old son.
Police say 29-year-old Shantina Smiley borrowed her fiancee's minivan on Saturday. Late Sunday morning that vehicle was found partially submerged in Budd Inlet.
Police say Smiley, who is from Silverdale, was supposed to be heading to Castle Rock for reunion with her stepfather. She had her 8-year-old son Azriel Carver with her.
The woman apparently called her fiancee late Saturday night saying she was lost in Olympia. No one has heard from her since.
It doesn't make much sense to Smiley's Fiancee, Robert Simmons. "I miss her more than you can imagine," says Simmons, "The whole family is hurting, so if you're out there, please help find them."
Some neighbors found the van Sunday morning, down a dead end dirt road north of Olympia. It was at the bottom of a hill, in the water. The doors were open, and no one was inside.
"We have no idea what happened," says Thurston County Sheriff's Lt. Chris Mealy, "She could have been the victim of a crime, she could have wandered off."
Smiley, nor her son Azriel, would have had any reason to come to the area. Search and Rescue crews scoured the wooded terrain looking for clues and answers. They also searched the shoreline, but found nothing of importance.
Simmons says Shantina did contact a family member at about 10 p.m. Saturday night to say she had been in an accident, but was okay.
Police says Shantina is 5'9" tall, with dark hair, and 140 pounds. Simmons says she has numerous tattoos, including one on her neck, and both wrists. She also had a couple lightning bolts on her back. Azriel is 4'2", 100 pounds, with a blonde mohawk.
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