Remains of New York Man Found Near His Friend’s Virginia Home Months After He Vanished During a Visit.
Terrence Darryl Smith’s body was in an ‘advanced state of decomposition’ when officers found it.
Skeletal remains discovered in Virginia belong to a New York City man who has been missing since October, authorities determined this week.
The Sheriff’s Office in Spotsylvania, located in Northeast Virginia, said that the local Medical Examiner had positively identified the body, found on Nov. 16, as Terrence Darryl Smith from Queens, NY.
Smith, 33, disappeared after taking a train to visit a female acquaintance in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Oct. 30. His family reported him missing the following day.
“On November 16th, detectives discovered human remains not far from the home of the female acquaintance in the area of Timber Ridge Townhomes,” the sheriff’s office said. “The skeletal remains, which were in advance stage of decomposition had been sent to the Office of the Medical Examiner.”
While Smith’s remains have been positively identified, the cause of his death is still under investigation.
Soon after he went missing, his family discovered that his bank account had been cleaned out.
“I just don’t understand what’s happening down there,” Smith’s older brother, Michael Perry, told New York news outlet PIX11 on Tuesday. “We know the prime people involved.”
Smith was last seen at a Target store close to Fredericksburg, buying groceries for the woman and her kids. His family said he had an on-off relationship with the friend over the years, after meeting in high school in Virginia.
His family said the woman had given three different accounts of his final movements.
“The first version was, he left with a girl,” Perry continued. “The second was he took an Uber, the third she mentioned to the police department was he took Amtrak to go back home. And then her son, who was present at the time, said he (Smith) went out the back door to the woods.”
As yet, no suspect has been named by investigators.
Smith’s funeral is due to take place Friday. He will be laid to rest at a family plot in Virginia.
