Smith was last seen after placing an ad in a local newspaper seeking a roommate, in Palm Bay, Florida in May 1988. Charles Harris Schuhart, III, answered the ad and met Smith at his home in Palm Bay. In 1993, Schuhart was convicted of taking several thousand dollars of Smith's money. He was released from prison after serving three years. In May 2007, Schuhart was indicted by an Osceola County grand jury on one count of first-degree murder. He admitted to shooting Smith, and that Smith was dead. Smith's body has never been located.