Body Found Believed to Missing Kansas Girl
Police found a body believed to be missing teenager Kelsey Smith.
June 6, 2007 — -- Teenager Kelsey Smith went to Target in Overland Park, Kan., to buy a gift for her boyfriend last Saturday, but she has not had an opportunity to give it to him.
Police believe she may have been abducted after leaving the store. A grainy surveillance tape, captured by a video camera outside the store, shows someone running up behind Smith and forcing her into her car.
"It's easy to conclude there was some sort of activity at the back of the car, then the car leaves," Overland Park Police Department Chief John Douglass said.
Smith's car was found in a mall parking lot across the street two hours later, her packages and purse still inside.
Police are searching for a man seen on the surveillance tape exiting the store about the same time as Smith.
Investigators also are looking for what may be his truck, a dark Chevy pickup. The vehicle was seen pulling into the parking lot moments after Kelsey arrived and leaving later that night just minutes after the missing teen's car was found.
Parents, Volunteers Ramp Up Search
The 18-year-old Smith, who graduated from high school two weeks ago, called her parents just moments before she left the store.
Greg and Missey Smith, Kelsey's parents, say they won't stop looking for her. Hundreds of volunteers are scouring the Overland Park area and going door-to-door searching for her.
The family has also started a Web site www.FindKelsey.com to enlist help in the search. The reward for information in this case has reached $30,000.
Greg Smith, who has worked in law enforcement for 16 years, said he began to worry that something had happened to Kelsey when she was late coming home.
"When Kelsey was late Sunday night, that was a red flag for me," he said today on ABC's "Good Morning America." "Though she was classified as missing at first, I felt deep down it was an abduction."
Kelsey was planning to attend Kansas State University in the fall. Her parents said she was an outgoing and responsible teen.
"Kelsey was in choir and theater," Missey Smith said. "Most of all, she loved the marching band, loved the camaraderie. … She was just the life of the party."