Episode 184: Michael Smith (Part 1 of 2)

Michael Smith was a 38-year-old Little Rock, Arkansas man who was the youngest of three sons. He was also a father of four. Michael’s parents are Scherry Smith Riggins and the late Eddie Smith who died when Michael was a teenager. Michael would last be seen on June 7, 2022 at 10:15 a.m. He had just lost his job at the Whole Hog Cafe on Cantrell Rd. After leaving his job, he had visited his mother at her banking job on Rebsamen Park Road to tell her. Michael was close to his mother and kept in regular contact with her. No one has seen Michael since.


Scherry had described her son as a good son. Michael and his dad Eddie were both huge NBA fans and share a love for basketball. Eddie had worked with his son on improving his game so that he could possibly play professional basketball in the future. Michael spent much of his youth playing in high school and junior college.


Unfortunately, Michael would give up on his dream of playing professional basketball and leave college without earning a degree. His mother said he would just take a series of different jobs and focus more on financially supporting his kids and looking out for his mother. Michael’s case is controversial. According to his mother, law enforcement claims Michael was last seen riding on a bicycle and then possibly committing suicide by jumping into a river. There were witnesses who saw an unidentified man jumping into a local river.


Scherry has said she has been told by law enforcement they believe Michael has committed suicide. Sherry disputes this. She said she has seen a blown-up photo of the man on the bike. She said he was a darker-skinned man and wasn’t her son as police claim. She also said there is no confirmation that the man who allegedly jumped into the river was her son. Another source of contention between law enforcement and Michael’s family is that a neighbor told Michael’s family that she saw Michael checking his mailbox sometime between 4:20 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. on the day he disappeared. Scherry has said law enforcement has never spoken to this neighbor.


I asked Scherry if Michael had any enemies. She said that he was concerned for his life. He told his mother that if anything ever happened to him then law enforcement needed to look at someone he named. Scherry has given this name to law enforcement and doesn’t believe they have considered this person as a suspect in Michael’s disappearance. Today, Scherry and her son Cedric spend many hours looking in abandoned houses and speaking to people trying to figure out what happened to Michael.


Have you seen Michael Smith? He is described as being 5’10” and weighing around 130 lbs. His family is searching for him and believe he is deceased. They want to locate him so he can receive a proper burial and they can stop searching for him. If you know anything about Michael’s disappearance, please contact Little Rock Police Department at (501) 371-4605. There is also a reward for any information leading to Michael’s whereabouts.


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