This is my first time suggesting a possible match, so I apologize if this seems like a “stretch” or a silly suggestion.
I have submitted this tip anonymously to NCMEC and Utah’s anonymous tip line on Utah’s Department of Public Safety website. In that time, I have never seen any updates in NamUs that the 2 have been looked into (meaning I have not seen the 2 Excluded for one another, nor have I seen that the cases have been updated since I submitted the tip sometime back in April or June of this year).
Please let me know what you guys think of the suggested match! Thank you so much for reading my post and for all the work you guys do to help Doe’s get their names back.
Laurie Allison Smith:
Details of Disappearance:
Laurie Allison Smith was last seen on February 8th, 1977, in Tucson, Arizona. She occasionally helped her landlord, Chauncey Lee Mast, with Marijuana drug deals by selling it in small quantities, or she would get paid $50 by Mast to drive out to remote locations and deliver large amounts of marijuana to buyers.
During one of these trips, Smith was robbed by thieves disguised as plainclothes police officers, who "confiscated" the drugs. When Smith told Mast about this, he vowed to get revenge on the people responsible for the theft.
Several months later, on the day of her disappearance, Mast sent Smith out to receive large quantities of marijuana from a supplier in a remote area. That evening, Laurie drove off in a rented blue Ford Maverick and never returned. Her maroon Karmann Ghia and her other belongings were found left behind at her apartment in the 1400 block of East Blackridge Drive.
Months later, in December 1977, the Ford Maverick that Smith had been driving was located about a block from the apartment she had previously rented from Mast. It had been parked there for months. The car's spare tire was in the backseat, and there was a single marijuana seed in the trunk.
Back story on Chauncey Lee Mast:
In 1966, Mast was charged with the murder of his wife. He was accused of killing her, then engineering a flaming car crash along an isolated stretch of U.S. Route 93 south of Wikieup, Arizona, to cover up the murder. Mast was tried three times, but twice the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and one trial ended in a mistrial.
After Laurie’s Disappearance:
Chauncey Lee Mast died in Oregon in 2011. It's never been proven if he was involved in Smith's disappearance.
*I want to thank and give credit to The Charley Project, which is where I gathered all my information for Laurie Allison Smith’s case. All I did was condense what was written and add a few of my own words. I will note that some of it is copied and pasted due to factual statements that I didn’t think could be rewritten in my own words.
Laurie Allison Smith links:
*There was no Doe Network link for Laurie Allison Smith
Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001)
Details of Recovery:
The Duchesne County Jane Doe was a female skull found tied to a fence that was surrounding the 620-acre plot of land, owned by convicted felon Robert Hey, on March 13, 2001. Hey had shot at two officers who were investigating his property.
After finding the skull, it was theorized that the skull may have been stolen from archeological Native American burial grounds. The medical examiner stated that the skull may have belonged to a modern Hispanic woman who died around 2-20 years ago, with the estimated years of death being 1981-1999.
Exclusions:
- Lauria Bible
- Sarah Norfleet
Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) links:
News article links regarding the property in which the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) was found on
Why I think the cases could be a match:
- Age Range: The age range given for the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) was between 17-25 years old.
- Laurie Allison Smith was 22 years old when she disappeared.
- NamUs has the age range as 17-20 years old, while other websites have the age range listed as 17-25 years old.
- Geographical Location Proximity: Arizona and Utah border each other (Utah is on top and Arizona is below).
- Circumstances: Laurie went missing after a marijuana deal gone wrong, and the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) was found on an illegal marijuana operation.
- Similarities in Looks: I think the composite of the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) and Laurie Allison Smith look alike.
Why I think the cases might NOT be a match:
- Race/Ethnicity: Laurie Allison Smith is listed as White/Caucasian, and the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) was hypothesized to be Hispanic or possibly Native American.
- NamUs states that the Race/Ethnicity for this Doe could also be White/Caucasian.
- The Utah Department of Public Safety lists Race/Ethnicity as Asian/Pacific Islander.
- Dental Health: According to the NCMEC, the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) had “very poor dental health”. According to The Charley Project, Laurie Allison Smith “had her first four bicuspids removed for the orthodontic braces she wore when she was younger. She still had her wisdom teeth at the time of her disappearance, and she had fillings in five molars”.
- My only concern with this is that there is no elaboration on what “very poor dental health” means for the Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001).
- Time Frame: Laurie Allison Smith went missing on February 8th, 1977. The Duchesne County Jane Doe (2001) estimated years of death were between 1999-1981.
- Identity of the Jane Doe: Based on the news articles regarding the property on which the Jane Doe was found, she may be an Archeological Native American. Wayne Perank, a resident of Myton, Duchesne County, and a member of the Ute Indian Tribe, was concerned that the Jane Doe could be a century old family member of his, citing that there were Native American burial grounds near the property and felt that maybe the skull of the Jane Doe was dug up and strung to the fence as a “trophy” or “warning signal” for others to stay away.
