When a man vanishes from small town Virginia without a trace,

investigators face the most perplexing case of their careers.

The enduring mystery of the whereabouts of a loving son and father

is explored in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Music Thanks for listening to Last Seen Alive.

I'm your host, Leah, crime analyst by day, and true crime storyteller by night.

And as always, I'm the co. Scott. This case, like another one of our recent episodes, was suggested to us by someone many of you know, my brother Jake, the forensic investigator who's appeared on a couple of

past episodes. Not only is he an excellent investigator, his interest in

solving cases extends beyond the scope of his professional responsibilities, and he has a knack for

finding cases that few people have heard about. Thanks for the case suggestion, Jake, this is

definitely a case where someone knows something and that could use some public attention.

Israel Smith was last seen alive on March 10, 2008. He was 28 years old at the time and lived in Withville, Virginia.

Withville is a small town of about 8,000 people located in the southwestern part of the state, not far from

the West Virginia and Tennessee borders. Israel was originally from that part of the state, not far from the West Virginia and Tennessee borders.

Israel was originally from that part of the state, and for a while, he'd lived in the town of Bristol,

which towed the Virginia-Tennessee line and is about an hour's drive from Withville.

However, he moved from Bristol to Withville approximately two years prior to his disappearance.

Israel lived alone, but had a seven-year-old son named Isaiah, who resided primarily in the next county over with his mom.

Although Israel was no longer together with Isaiah's mom, he had a very close bond with Isaiah,

who he looked forward to spending time with nearly every weekend. When not with his son or other

family members who lived locally, Israel spent much of his time at his job. He worked at the local

Radio Shack electronics store, which, conveniently, was only about a five-minute drive from his apartment.

...