http%3A//www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/05/gavin-smith-missing-fox-executive_n_1484243.html
- A hook-up gone bad?
- debt probably
- Gayface?
- Is this what passes for celebrity gossip now?
- Played on the UCLA basketball team and they won the national championship.
I'm guessing not gay, and drugs are involved.
http://jerseychaser.com/former-ucla-baller-and-current-fox-sports-executive-gavin-smith-missing/
- Well, what would you like to discuss, R4?
All anyone around here seems to discuss is Louis Tomlinson, Henry Cavill & Robert/Kristen and whether these folks are gay in unending threads.
Come up with some new topics!
- already a thread on this
http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%23page:showThread%2C11560588
- [R5] So there can't possibly ever have been a gay basketball player?
Anonymous
- Theres nothing mysterious about disappearances of supposed existing personas doing supposed existing jobs
- I agree with R3; guy (exec) has major gayface. IMHO.
- I think they accidentally used the photo of the lady who is in trouble for letting her 5 year old use the tanning booth.
- According to the cops, he has grey hair with blonde highlights. Last seen wearing purple pants with black and grey shoes.
Seriously!!!!
- [quote] Last seen wearing purple pants with black and grey shoes.
No, he's not retarded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DmMxmaM3O2Yo%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player
Grandpa%20Baker
- The Border Patrol saw the dark tan and deported him to Mexico. They took his cell-phone when they dumped him across the border.
- Police are now investigating as a suspected homicide.
- How could someone so tall disappear?
- Have they checked the tanning salons?
He%20seems%20to%20spend%20a%20lot%20of%20time%20there
- Something is queer here......
Rev.%20Moon
- Is it wrong for me to picture him getting spray-tanned with a garden hose by a Jamaican nurse like Edina in Abfab, and then laughing out loud about it, in light of the circumstances?
C'mon, lift it! Lift it!
- Whose cell phone was he hacking?
J. Murdoch
- I agree with possibly gay. Leaving the family, staying with female friend with whom police state definitively, 'there was nothing romantic at all.'
Who saw him leave? No one says. But they do say she went to bed first and had no idea he'd left and 'he was expected to come up to bed soon.'--that's weird for a non-romance. Seemed weird that wife was using a plural pronoun when referring to the friend as 'they' and 'their' instead of she and her. Im nit suggesting there were two people there, just that the wife didn't want to reveal the gender of the friend for some reason. Points to not gay but I still think it's possible he is. Is no one investigating suicide?
Anonymous
- I read that he customarily left work midday and went home to sunbathe in the afternoons. What kind of job is that, exactly?
- He's creepy looking, especially around the eyes. Thought of the gay angle immediately when I saw this on ABC.
- When I initially read the story and saw his photo, I thought he was murdered by a trick. Can't believe he's straight.
- [quote]He's creepy looking, especially around the eyes. Thought of the gay angle immediately when I saw this on ABC.
So, gay people all are creepy looking? Or, gay people are all sun tanned? Or, the gay angle is creepy eyes?
Generalizations%20kill.
- According to one of his sons he has wandered off (left) before. Weird stuff that's not being shared. Yet.
- He's creepy looking AND gay. First thing I thought was a trick gone bad. Then I wondered if he was in a lot of debt and just decided to disappear.
- He's weird looking and is totally into cock.
- Republicunt and hates gays.
- "According to one of his sons he has wandered off (left) before. Weird stuff that's not being shared. Yet."
That's what I thought when I read the story. Initially, the family strenuously insists he such a "family man", would never "do such a thing", and then eventually, stuff like this leaks out.
- [quote]According to one of his sons he has wandered off (left) before.
Sounds like someone who's used to go on a tina or meth bender.
Some rich trust fund brat I know likes to start parties at his place with a handful of friends or tricks and then 'vanishes' for days by moving the party to a lake house his dad owns in a different state. That guy sure loves his road 'trips'. He comes from a conservative Republican family (explains so much, doesn't it?).
- R11 is mean and funny in that order.
- 'trick gone bad' -- what a horrible ending if that's the case.
there are advantages to going commercial.
- Accident. I bet his car rolled down a ravine and just hasn't been found yet.
- Odd they haven't found the car after nearly two weeks. Could he be bipolar? Maybe his car is sitting in a lot at LAX and he took off.
It makes me wonder how many people can still fall off the grid. There must be thousands and thousands of missing person reports yearly that are never resolved.
- Gay hookups are dangerous. Never go directly to someone's apartment after reading their ad. Always meet in a public place like Starbuck's, first, to assess the person. And never go home with someone from a bar when you're impaired.
- He is/was not gay.
Really, truly, not gay. Not bi. Not bi-curious. We are talking straight as an arrow.
If he tricked with anyone it would have been a blonde female. He has/had an attraction for only blonde women.
- Whatever, R37
- Stop talking shit about me, R18.
- He was facing foreclosure and had recently, purposefully left his family and was living with another woman.
I think he disappeared himself like Olivia Newton John's husband.
Full details at link.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/11/fox-movie-executive-gavin-smith-s-mysterious-disappearance-baffles-police.html
- Ten days after Fox film executive Gavin Smith left a friend’s home in the swanky Los Angeles suburb of Oak Park, never to be heard from again, detectives are not any closer to figuring out what happened. But The Daily Beast has learned new information that paints a more complicated picture about the former UCLA basketball star’s life and where he was the last few days before he vanished.
“There is a lot of time still unaccounted for,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide division’s Sgt. John O’Brien, who is in charge of the investigation. “You can get around L.A. pretty quickly. It is hard to narrow down where he was last.”
Locating Smith is the “$64,000 question,” O’Brien said. Although he is still treating the mystery as a missing person’s case, one particular detail is bugging the sergeant: Smith’s 2000 black Mercedes Benz 420E still has not been located.
“It kind of stands out that his car hasn’t been found,” he said. “Usually, cars like that would show up.”
Police have sent planes and helicopters to search for Smith, but have found no traces of the studio executive, who helped distribute movies such as Avatar and the Star Wars trilogy and, at 6-feet-6 and 210 pounds, cuts an imposing figure. The area where he disappeared in Ventura County is full of canyons, ravines, creeks, and hiking trails, and police have been searching for any sign of Smith or his vehicle. So far, O’Brien said, there is no evidence his car was stolen.
“We are actively searching for him,” said O’Brien, adding that Smith could have careened off the road and plummeted into a ravine. “It is possible because of the area where he works and travels. It is generally that kind of terrain. There are quite a few places where there are steep curves.”
At one point, police received a report of a black Mercedes parked at the side of a road but “it was gone by the time we got there,” he added. “We are surprised we haven’t found a car,” he said.
- Among the possibilities O’Brien is investigating: Smith may be deliberately hiding; he may be suffering from a health problem, although he was not on any medications and police are not aware of any preexisting conditions; he got into an accident; or is the victim of a crime. Since he was last seen around 10 p.m. on May 1, Smith has not used his cellphone or his credit cards.
“The family is very concerned and friends are worried about him,” O’Brien said. “He hasn’t had any contact with anyone. We checked ATMs and phone records and there is no trace of him. If you don’t want to be found, you won’t use your stuff. It could be intentional on his part or he is unable to use it. He didn’t have a history of taking off for days. It was the first time it happened … It is definitely a little mystery.”
By all accounts, the father of three kept a “regimented” schedule, which makes his disappearance all the more perplexing to those who love him. His West Hills neighbors describe him as friendly and said they typically saw him arrive home from work in the early afternoon. Gardeners who were working on the affluent street where the Smiths live told The Daily Beast that he liked to sunbathe in his patio in the afternoons. The family stays busy, exercising and surfing together, neighbors said. In 1975, Smith was part of UCLA’s championship basketball team; his eldest son, Evan, has followed in his footsteps at the University of Southern California.
- To outsiders, there were no signs of trouble. But the Smiths, whose house is for sale as a property in “distress” and could face foreclosure, have been trying to sell their home for the last six to eight months. The house on Daryn Drive is listed as a “short sale,” an alternative to foreclosure in which the property owner cannot afford to pay liens and the sale falls short of the balance of debts.
On top of the financial stress, there was another indicator of tension in Smith’s life—he had not been living at home before he disappeared, The Daily Beast has learned. Although Smith’s family has told the media that Smith had returned from a work trip to Las Vegas on May 1 and was spending that night at a friend’s house, Smith had been staying with his friend for several days, O’Brien said. (The Smith family has not responded to requests from The Daily Beast for an interview.)
- Smith attended the film industry convention, CinemaCon, which ended April 18, and he returned to Los Angeles one or two days later, O’Brien said. Instead of going home to West Hills, Smith went 15 miles northeast—to the house of a female friend in a well-manicured cul-de-sac in Oak Park. “They were kind of friends and he was hanging out there for a few days,” O’Brien said. “There was no romance in that at all. Just hanging out with a friend for a couple of days.”
On the night of May 1, the friend went to bed and did not hear Smith leave the house. When she awoke and didn’t see him, she figured he was just going on about his day, O’Brien said. But she was wrong. Smith failed to pick up his youngest son that morning to give him a ride to school as he had promised his wife, Lisa. He also never showed up to work or called his office, and left his personal belongings, including his cellphone charger, at his friend’s house.
In press interviews, the Smith family has not explained why Smith was staying at a friend’s house, but his eldest son’s Twitter feed has been more revealing. On April 14, the day before Smith went to Las Vegas, his eldest son, Evan, a USC basketball forward, tweeted two intimate details about his family. At first he kept it vague: “Life is filled with obstacles. This is just another one. The Lord is testing my family and I. We will not lose faith.” But then he spelled it out: “Thoughts and prayers out to my amazing Mom and bros plz. My dad decided to leave the family last nite. Real family sticks together.”
The next day, the 21-year-old Smith sounded more hopeful as he socialized online: “Thank you Lord for giving me the strength to lead my family out of the darkness and back into the light of your love.”
Now, the young man is using the Internet to lead his own search for his father, using Twitter and findgavinsmith.com, which he created.
“Thank you so much for visiting the page and report any information or anything at all on this blog so we can all coordinate to help find my DAD!!! You all have been such a help,” he wrote.
- It sounds like he's on an alcohol and/or drug binge and this isn't his first time.
- Doubtless I watch too many L&O reruns and the like, but I'm wondering one of two scenarios: the son killed the father 'cause he's mad that the father left the family? or: the father, with their financial problems (foreclosure, and on a 20th Century Fox exec's salary? seems a bit odd; must be in over their head) -
commited suicide with knowledge that insurance would help out family.
Obviously I hope I'm wrong about both scenarios.
Conspiracy theorist
- 'on a 20th Century Fox exec's salary'
Sound like he was a lower echelon exec. They often makes surprisingly little money.
- The son sounds like a religious nut. Maybe he freaked out about dad "betraying" mom & pushed him off a cliff.
- Excessive tanning is, to me, a sign of mental illness.
Anonymous
- R49, in Southern Calif, sunbathing every afternoon & being as tan as this guy isn't "excessive".
- Just hoping they don't find any part of him in Griffith Park.
- [quote]His West Hills neighbors describe him as friendly and said they typically saw him arrive home from work in the early afternoon.
Early afternoon? What kind of 'executive' leaves work at lunchtime in an industry that demands 80 hour weeks?
- I know about California, R50, I've lived here for twenty years. My observation stands. Tan is one thing, excessively tan is something else.
Anonymous
- [quote]Excessive tanning is, to me, a sign of mental illness
I used to think that was silly, but now I believe it's true.
- Hasn't it been proven that tanning can be addictive just like many other adopted behaviors?
- He went to live with Olivia Newton-John's missing boyfriend.
- An old buddy of his posted on the family's site that he was really into drugs, a head case and diva when they used to hang out surfing and apparently got ripped a new one. He suggested he may have gone down to Baja.
- A friend of mine works for Fox and said this couldn't have come at a worse time because they were in the midst of "restructuring" their distribution branches in NY and LA.
- "A friend of mine works for Fox and said this couldn't have come at a worse time because they were in the midst of "restructuring" their distribution branches in NY and LA."
Maybe this guy thought (or knew) he was going to be canned?
- Well, R53, I've lived in California for over 50 years -- the northern part, where getting a tan requires more effort than it does in the southern part (booths are for slackers). And I've been darker than he is every summer, & there are always lots of people around with deeper tans than mine. Many of us will probably die of skin cancer, but we look wonderful & are extremely relaxed. So there.
R50
- "Many of us will probably die of skin cancer, but we look wonderful & are extremely relaxed. So there."
No, you don't look "wonderful". You look ridiculous.
- Tanning ages your skin faster than even smoking. You couldn't pay me to tan.
- This case annoys me.
In whipping the media and law enforcement into a frenzy, the guy's family declined to mention any of his financial, marital, and professional problems, which - when assessed altogether - make it pretty clear that he either chose to vanish, or committed suicide.
I'm sure there are other missing persons cases that would greatly benefit from the same level of media coverage, but they probably probably don't involve a sun-kissed "Hollywood executive" and his blonde family.
- r57 - could you post or link to that comment?
- I'm California born and raised and I [italic]never[/italic] understood the need to tan. I can understand wanting to look healthy and like you receive adequate sunlight, but damn. When I was an adolescent, my mother would make me sit out in the yard because she she though I needed one. The only thing I got was some sunstroke symptoms. And [italic]paying[/italic] for a tanning booth? Snort.
- "Tanning ages your skin faster than even smoking. You couldn't pay me to tan."
I had a tanorexic friend whose skin now looks leathery/rubbery because of the sun damage. Smokers I know don't look that bad.
- [quote] And I've been darker than he is every summer, & there are always lots of people around with deeper tans than mine.
Y'all are called illegals.
- R67 = Mitt Romney
- So Smith and Nick Stall are both missing? Hummm...
- Did someone check out 388 ARLETTA AVENUE?
- Being a little sun kissed looks healthy. Being leathery brown like the missing guy or worse makes someone look unhealthy and deranged.
Do you even get vitamin D from tanning booths? And what's wrong with the people who add spray or goop tans to their tanning bed tans? I mean, what is going through the heads of the people who look in the mirror and think this makes them look more attractive? Are they usually really freckley people who are embarassed of the freckles and trying to hide them? I don't understand the compulsion.
- The FBI sent a hundred agents to L.A. to look for their guy. Maybe he'll be found with the Fox tan guy.
- An FBI AGENT is missing?
- Yeah, he was supposedly suicidal and disappeared into the hills near Burbank.
- Yes, it's strange that so much money is being spent in the search for the FBI agant.
- The agent was involved on some terrorism taskforce. The FBI sent out any available agents it had to search. Can't remember the exact number but it was large. The news yesterday didn't say anything about why he was despondent. His neighbor saw him walking away from his house looking more than out of sorts. He must be loaded with a lot of classified info.
- The news said there were 100 FBI agents in addition to large local law enforcement groups looking for their missing agent.
- Oh he has something on the FBI and they want to kill him before he spills his guts.
- The FBI is corrupt to the core. Just like the CIA, it needs to be abolished.
- He's probably the dead body they found yesterday at the Cahuenga Pass & Woodrow Wilson Drive in L.A.
- BRAVO and WW to R13
One of the funniest lines in any move EVER!
- I hope it was the guy that canceled Arrested Development.
- [quote]He's probably the dead body they found yesterday at the Cahuenga Pass & Woodrow Wilson Drive in L.A.
The Fox executive or the FBI agent?
- South of the border, down Mexico way.
- Have they found this executive or not?
If the two dead bodies in Mexico are the FOX guy and Nick Stahl, are we thinking drug deal gone wrong?
- Nothing so far, R85.
- This case is probably unrelated to the Nick Stahl case
- He ran off with the missing FBI agent and they have a cottage by the sea in Punta del Este.
- Let's see --
Fox exec
FBI agent
Nick Stahl
Hmmmm
- Nick Stahl went into rehab.
- Is that the latest, R90, or is that just supposition on your part?
- I saw it in a headline about an hour ago r91, but didn't read beyond that.
- You would think it would be hard to hide a gayface this long.
- Missing "Terminator 3" star Nick Stahl has reached out to friends via email, TMZ has learned, telling them he's ok and pledging to go to rehab.
According to our sources, Stahl emailed friends yesterday and apologized for scaring them. We're told Stahl told friends he was getting treatment and would be out of contact for the next 30 days.
Our sources say Stahl's friends and family hope he's telling the truth ... but they are skeptical.
We're told that Stahl's wife, the one who reported him missing, was not on the email.
A rep for the LAPD tells TMZ the missing persons case will remain open for now -- an email is not enough for them to close the file on it.
TMZ
- YOU IN DANGER GURL!
- Well, it sounds like Stahl is safe, so that is good news for now.
Perhaps this should also be posted on the Stahl thread.
- He's stahlling...
- Good one, R97. Wish DL had a rimshot option.
- Seems to me a rehab could contact the cops or the next of kin, give me a break. So he is supposedly missing, cops wasting time looking for him and the staff never calls the cops? They should be sued.
- Anything new about Fox Executive case?
Still odd that they cannot find him or his car.
If he went to Mexico, would there be camera photos on tape at the border crossing?
If he were to be laid off, would he not have gotten severance and or unemployment?
Not sure what the conference in Las Vegas is that he went to. Would he not have had lots of contacts to get a new job in film business?
Why would he walk away from his kids? Reminded of the Hall and Oates song, Family Man.
Odd a man at that age with good paying job would be in forclosure on a non palatial home.
- Maybe he's with the McStay family.
- It's not that unusual, people overspend, trying to keep up with the Joneses. So you lose a house you can't afford...take up bankruptcy and start over.
- Still missing? Is the FBI on this case?
- I think him and his car are laying in a canyon some where.
- The media has gone dark on this story
- R103, it's not a good idea to trust the FBI.
JFK%20%26%20MLK
- HE WENT MISSING!!!
- Ashley Judd, Poppy Montgomery, and I are on the case!
Vivica%20A.%20Fox
- Nothing?
Probably the FBI is busy covering their tracks.
- He's been spotted in a Morro Bay, CA restaurant, with some woman
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/missing-fox-executive-reportedly-spotted-in-morro-bay.html
- Is he cheating on his wife ?
- Damn you Kyra Sedgwick, for pulling the plug. This would be an epic three-victim episode of THE CLOSER. Quintessential LA stories.
Maybe they'll do a ripped from the headlines version for the Mary McDonnell spinoff.
- Wow, don't you "posters" have a life. Do you realize that his family is living a nightmare and you are making assumptions and jokes at their expense. Wow, I just hope Karma doesn't bite you in the rear!
- Some idiot from Wisconsin pipes up with this info? No. The man is dead. Maybe his wife had him killed?
- the media has also gone dark on actress Amy Locane - what happened, did she get sent to prison? Most likely.
- Locane still not sentenced
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/as_melrose_place_actress_await/1607/comments-newest.html
- The police called off san organized search about 2 weeks ago. Also updates to the family's website stopped at the same time.
Sounds like everyone knows where he is and that he's OK and not in a rush to surface.
- The guy from Wisconsin said that he saw Smith with a woman on May 7. He called the LA sherrif's office then and as of the time of publication, he still hadn't been contacted by the sherrif. Over two full weeks? A waitress at the restaurant verified that the couple in question was there on that date. It sounds like the sherrif isn't taking this case very seriously. I mean how often do two people spot at very tanned 6'6" man who fits the description of a missing person?
- [quote]he still hadn't been contacted by the sherrif.
He reported when and where he saw the Fox Executive. Are the cops supposed to phone him to ask what the guy was eating or if he shaved his neck that morning?
- R119 - Aren't the cops supposed to do their jobs and follow up by asking [italic]relevant[/italic] questions such as: "What did the women he was with look like?" "Did they ever address each other by name that you heard?" "Did you notice who paid and if they paid with a credit card or cash?" "Did you see them leave the restaurant and get into a vehicle?"
If they had followed up on time, they would have been able to question the waitress also since she had a conversation with them. Maybe they said something to her that might be useful in an investigation.
I know cops get lots of crank tips on well-publicized cases, but geez, they didn't even bother to do their very simple job over the phone.
- It's not as if the cops were involved in a criminal case. The guy wasn't wanted for murder. Since he was out on a date, they no longer were dealing with a missing person. Why would they need to know the name of his date and if he used a credit card?
- Was it established that he was out on a date? How was that determined? The sighting happened on the 7th right after the missing person's report was filed. Don't you think the police might want to know the name of the person accompanying someone who was just declared missing by his immediate family?
Why am I responding to this troll?
- [quote]Was it established that he was out on a date? How was that determined?
You're really on to something, r122. There's no doubt she had a gun on her lap aimed right at him. He's obviously a kidnap victim, not some guy who merely wants out of his marriage.
- If there is a film of him and you can tell for sure it's REALLY him, fine but until I see it, I think he is dead. Why would he hide from his family and his job? I still think he is at the bottom of some canyon.
- Gavin Smith, Missing FOX Executive: Family To Announce $20,000 Reward For Information (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/gavin-smith-fox-executive-20000_n_1571256.html
- If I lived in CA I would be looking for him and his car.
- A search warrant is being served.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_20814271/urgent-possible-break-chatsworth-search-missing-fox-executive
- It is highly unlikely that the eyewitness spotted Gavin in a restaurant. Eyewitness accounts are horribly unreliable. His account would be more believable if he knew what the guy looked like and had recognized the man when he first saw him.
Have they found his vehicle that he was driving the last night he was seen? Also, have they ruled out the friend he was visiting that night?
- .
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gavin-smith-missing-20th-century-fox-executive-home-search-335591
- was he a scientologist by chance?
- They're still looking for him
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/missing-fox-executive-gavin-smiths-family-canvasses-sylmar-area.html
- [quote]Smith is Fox's branch manager for theaters in Dallas and Oklahoma City. In his post, he serves as a liaison between the studio and theaters, making sure films get to their destination. He works out of the company's Calabasas office in the southwestern San Fernando Valley, not far from his residence in West Hills.
Am I missing something or is it a stretch to call him a "Fox Executive" if that's all he did for them?
What would that job pay?
- So he's an usher. I bet his $9/hr goes far
- Missing Fox Exec Gavin Smith Had Relationship With Woman Whose Home Was Searched
UPDATED: Chandrika Creech met the 57-year-old in therapy; her husband, John Creech, awaits a prison sentence on a drug charge.
Missing 20th Century Fox executive Gavin Smith met the woman whose home was searched in connection to his disappearance in therapy, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Authorities Search Home in Hunt for Missing Fox Exec Gavin SmithGavin Smith Family Offers $20,000 Reward Citing a source close to the investigation, the paper said that Smith, who vanished on May 1, had a relationship with Chandrika Creech, owner of the West Hills, Calif., house on which a SWAT team and county homicide investigators descended in the early morning hours of June 8, retrieving boxes, a computer and a black Audi SUV.
According to E! News, which first reported the Smith-Creech therapy connection, the two had been having an on-and-off affair since 2008.
Creech's husband, John Creech, told the L.A. Times that he had never met Smith, and had this response to a question about why the home he shares with his wife was searched: "I would love to tell you, but I can't."
While authorities have said that their probe into Smith's vanishing is a missing persons rather than homicide case, a sealed search warrant affidavit's cover pages suggested that they had "probable cause" to believe a crime had been committed at the Creeches' residence, the paper reported.
John Creech -- who E! News said is separated from Chandrika Creech but remains under the same roof -- is scheduled to be in court July 26 to be sentenced for selling and transporting cocaine, and could go to a state prison on a 10-year sentence.
In February 2010, he was arrested and later charged with six drug felonies, to which he pleaded no contest.
Earlier this month, a $20,000 reward was offered as officials appealed to the public for information that could help solve the Smith case.
Smith, a 57-year-old former UCLA basketball player who worked on distributing films such as Titanic and Avatar, left a friend's home between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on May 1 without telling anyone where he was going. He wore a pair of purple athletic pants belonging to one of his sons and left his cellphone charger, shaving kit and other items.
His family and authorities have been unable to locate him either through cellphone records or credit card billings.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gavin-smith-missing-case-341300
- This has gotten much more interesting.
- So the girlfriend's ex killed him in a fit of rage and they disposed of the body together?
- Why would she get involved if he was going to jail for dealing charges? Maybe Creech knew his wife would take up with Smith when he was in jail and decided that if he couldn't have her, Smith couldn't either.
The cocaine angle also interests me. Smith had left his wife and his house was about to go into foreclosure. He was still employed and making a salary, so where was the money going? They were his dealers and had an affair with her?
- Something 'just not right' in case of missing Fox movie executive Gavin Smith, detective says
Authorities probing the disappearance of a Hollywood executive and former UCLA basketball player say foul play is being "strongly" considered, with a detective telling FoxNews.com elements in the case "are just not right."
Gavin Smith, a 20th Century Fox movie executive and former UCLA basketball player from West Hills, disappeared May 1 after driving away from a friend's Los Angeles-area home in his black Mercedes-Benz. Certain circumstances surrounding his disappearance "are just not right," a law enforcement source told FoxNews.com Thursday. His family agrees.
"I know that he would never leave his boys," Smith's sister, Tara Addeo, said of the 57-year-old married father of three. "There’s no way my brother would kill himself."
Smith and his black Mercedes-Benz have not been found, the law enforcement source said, and there has been no activity on his bank accounts. Smith, who was staying with a friend at the time of his disappearance, also left behind personal items at the home -- including a cellphone charger and shaving cream -- leading police to believe he had planned to return at some point.
No persons of interest or suspects in the case have been named publicly.
"I want to hope that he just got into a real bad place and felt he needed to leave for awhile and clear his head because I don’t want to think of the alternative," Addeo told FoxNews.com.
"He's someone I've looked up to my whole life," she said, noting that she spoke to Smith the night before he disappeared. "It's very difficult. Our family is not complete, and we crave answers."
A detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed Thursday that the West Hills home of John and Chandrika Creech was searched in June in connection with Smith's disappearance.
John Creech, an admitted drug dealer, is now in police custody for an "unrelated matter," and has not been named a person of interest in the Smith case "at this point," the source said. He and his wife have retained a lawyer.
Creech, 39, was arrested by Glendale police in 2010 for making a drug drop and pleaded guilty, according to local reports. At a court appearance in June, he was remanded into custody by the judge. His sentencing hearing, which was set to happen last week, has been rescheduled for Aug. 29.
Authorities, including homicide detectives and a SWAT team, seized boxes, a computer and a black SUV belonging to John Creech during their raid of the home, Fox affiliate KTTV reported.
Another source close to the case told The Los Angeles Times that Smith was having an affair with Chandrika Creech. One of Smith's family members told FoxNews.com that he met Chandrika Creech while the two were in a drug rehabilitation program four years ago.
Addeo said Smith's cell phone gave off its last signal that same night in Sylmar, about 30 minutes from the West Hills home we he had been staying.
Smith's wife and children have remained largely silent in the case, except for occasional tweets from Smith's oldest son, Evan, a forward for the USC men's basketball team.
Smith worked in the movie industry for 18 years and helped distribute blockbuster hits such as "Avatar" and the "Star Wars" trilogy. The executive, who is 6 feet, 6 inches tall, was also a member of UCLA's 1975 national championship men's basketball team.
A $20,000 reward is being offered for any tips leading to Smith. Anyone with information on the case is being urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at 323-890-5500.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/02/foul-play-strong-consideration-in-disappearance-fox-executive-gavin-smith/?test=latestnews
- bump
- has anyone heard anything?
by this point he's probably dead right?
- A clue, but it gets weirder and weirder:
Detectives on the case of missing 20th Century Fox distribution executive Gavin Smith say they plan to examine a gray SUV seized Wednesday at a marijuana grow house in Granada Hills, radio station KFI reports. The vehicle is registered to a suspected drug dealer whose wife has been questioned in the case and whose home has been searched twice. “We believe that this truck, it’s possible this truck, may have been involved, but we don’t know yet,” L.A. County Sheriffs homicide detective Ty Labbe told reporters. The vehicle will be searched for fingerprints and other biological evidence. DEA agents spotted the SUV in the driveway of the house as they prepared to seize the plants growing inside. The SUV’s license plate had been flagged in connection with Smith’s case. Owner of the SUV, John Creech, is in custody on unrelated drug charges.
http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/cops-find-suv-flagged-in-case-of-missing-fox-exec-gavin-smith-kfi/
- Southern California authorities said they've found the car of a 20th Century Fox executive who vanished 10 months ago and now believe he was murdered.
Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Dave Dolson said a Mercedes-Benz registered to Gavin Smith was found Feb. 21 at a Simi Valley storage facility. Dolson said that storage facility was linked to John Creech, a man who is in jail on an unrelated drug conviction.
Creech, 40, has been in custody since June 22 on an eight-year sentence for sales or transport of narcotics, Dolson said.
"He has been a person of interest for several months, and he's still that person of interest," Dolson said.
Smith, 57, was last seen May 1 in Ventura County's Oak Park neighborhood after leaving a friend's home at about 9:35 p.m. wearing a gray shirt and dark athletic shorts, Dolson said.
The case has been classified as a homicide even though Smith's body has not been located.
Dolson said the condition of Smith's Mercedes-Benz, along with witness statements, led them to believe Smith was no longer alive and had been killed.
Authorities believe Smith's black Mercedes-Benz was in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley on or about May 8 or 9 and eventually moved to the Simi Valley storage facility by two people. That storage facility is linked to a person "who has a very close association" to Creech, Dolson said.
Dolson said investigators have served 25 to 30 search warrants in the case — primarily in the San Fernando Valley area — including on Creech's home and his Hummer.
The connection between Smith and Creech remains somewhat unclear.
http://news.yahoo.com/missing-movie-execs-car-found-homicide-suspected-193520089.html
- Dolson said Smith had "some kind of relationship" with Creech's wife, Chandrika, after meeting her in rehab a couple years ago. Dolson declined to provide detail.
"When (Smith) goes missing of course we're going to talk to family and we're going to look at all of his relationships and his lifestyle and try to go from there," he said. "When you don't have anything to go on, that's where you start."
Several searches were also conducted early on in the investigation but those proved fruitless, Dolson said.
Smith was with Fox's movie distribution department for nearly 18 years and was a branch manager for several theaters.
- Pussy and weed were his downfall.
Watch out, Denise!
- So he was having an affair with a drug dealer's wife? Never a good idea.
- I still think that guy has had gay sex at least once in his life. If he's an addict, he's probably fooled around with a guy who could provide access.
Rich white people problems, though... Little sympathy here for some overgrown galoot of privilege.
- RIP,
but this guy was too old to be doing drugs. There should be an age limit on that behavior, and it is so unseemly to be dealing with lowlifes when you have a family.
Hi family is lucky that the drug dealers didn't target them.
selfish
- I believe I read that Smith met the woman, while they were both in Rehab. That was many months before he went missing
Patricia%20Cornwell
- Around the time that Gavin Smith disappeared, there was also an FBI employee who vanished out in the L.A. area. There was a huge law enforcement search for the FBI guy, not so much for Gavin Smith.
- Wasn't this right after Ronnie Chasen's murder?
- But did they find the FBI guy and was the FBI man investigating Creech?
- From what I recall, the FBI guy left home (walking) for a nearby hiking trail with the intent of taking his own life.
