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I've always tried to keep hope alive that he's alive, but I can't imagine him being alive and never like reaching back out to his family.

All these years, I've always thought about my aunt and how, you know, she's never moved away. She's never gotten rid of her landline.

I feel like that's for Bobby. Like I said, she always stayed in that house, even though they kind of got in a place financially where it's like you can afford to move out of the hood.

But I think because of Bobby, she doesn't want to leave just in case.

There were times when they would find bodies and, you know, we need DNA or there were times when even years after he disappeared that they would call, like, you know, have you guys heard from him at all?

And I know that bothered my aunt because I don't think she felt that they did as much as they could have.

Nearly 21 years ago, on October 25, 2000, 16 year old Robert Smith left his East Chicago, Indiana home, and told his mom that he was going to a friend's house.

Robert's mother had a challenging relationship with her son, as many parents of teens can relate.

So when he didn't come home that night and failed to attend school the following day, she thought he was simply being rebellious and that he'd be home by the weekend.

But Robert didn't come home that weekend, and more than two decades later, he's never been seen or heard from again.

With few leads and a police department who told us they have no record of Robert, his family is left to wonder if this case will ever be solved.

Amarissa and from Wondry, this is Episode 300 of The Vanished.

Robert Smith's story.

I'm Candace Dillon, host of the podcast Killer Psychie, and in our newest season we dissect the thoughts and behaviors of the most violent figures in history.

Follow Killer Psychie on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcast, or you can listen early and add free by joining Wondry Plus on Apple Podcasts or The Wondry App.

16 year old Robert Smith was known as Bobby to his friends and family in his hometown of East Chicago, Indiana.

In the year 2000, the US Census counted just over 32,000 people in East Chicago, a town in Northwest Indiana that is literally just east of the sprawling metropolis of Chicago, Illinois.

At that time, nearly a quarter of the population lived below the poverty line, and many residents were first generation Americans, including Robert's family, whose mother's side descended from Mexican immigrants.

Robert lived with his sister and mother, and had many other extended family members that lived nearby.

We spoke to many of Robert's relatives, including his older sister Regina, and she told us about his childhood.

I know I was 12 years old when he was born, and my mom had to go back to work, so I basically had to watch him.

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