Missing Mississippi family discovered dead in abandoned house

Out in Hazlehurst, Mississippi on Tuesday night the bodies of a reported missing family were found, according to USA Today. The mother of the missing female victim, called police to report her and her family missing on Saturday; the last time the family was seen was on Friday. On Saturday, the family’s SUV was found crashed in a ditch, with obvious signs of a person attempting to burn the vehicle. When the bodies of Laterry Smith, 34; Atira Hughes-Smith, 30; and Jaidon Hill, 7, were discovered each had been shot. Police have identified a man in possible connection with the murders.

The three victims. 11/5/13 Photo Credit: Copiah County, Miss., Sheriff’s Office

Jenkins, Hughes-Smith’s cousin, said family members aren’t aware of anything in Hughes-Smith’s life that would have posed a threat or led to her disappearance.
“To our knowledge, nothing that stands out. We wouldn’t know anyone who would want to do harm to her or her child,” he said. “That’s why this is so disturbing.”

This crime is one where the police clearly have more information than what they are  willing to reveal to the public. It’s possible that this was a random killing of an innocent family, but it seems like either Laterry or Atira were involved in something. It is impossible to know until the police provide more information, but something of importance led them to the man they have in custody for the killings.

UPDATE: One missing Washington hiker has been found

As previously mentioned earlier in this blog, missing hiker, Alejandra Wilson, 23, was located on the Pacific Crest Trail Saturday afternoon. She was spotted walking the trail, after being stranded by the snowstorm. Wilson waited until the weather improved before hiking out. The other missing hiker, Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, has still yet to be found, as reported by The Washington Post. The search for Zitzewitz has officially been suspended until further information becomes available.

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest where Kristopher Zitzewitz was last seen. 10/3/2013 Photo Credit: Lee Siebert/Smithsonian Institution

“The Coast Guard guys were right on track. They did a good job. She wasn’t able to make herself visible,” but their presence “gave her real confidence,” Town said.

Considering the weather in area where Wilson was found, it should be a relief to many that the search and rescue teams were able to even find her. However, with the search for Zitzewitz officially suspended, if he is still alive out there he probably won’t last much longer. He has been missing since September 28, so the chances of him surviving in the forests are slim, but maybe the teams could have at least attempted a couple more days, since they were unsure if they were going to be able to find Wilson, but managed to save her.

Search continues for two missing hikers

A man and woman have both been separately missing, since going on hikes in southwest, Washington. The man, Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, was last seen Saturday in Gifford Pinchot National Forest; while the woman, Alejandra Wilson, 23, failed to check in with her family on Monday when she was hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, as told by ABC News. Two other hikers were recently rescued in the southwest area, and mentioned running into Wilson. Rescue teams will continue the search by air for the two missing hikers on Thursday as the weather clears and will continue back on foot starting Saturday.

Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, is one the hikers still missing in southwest, WA. 10/2/2013 Photo Credit: KGW

In an update Friday, Arnold (one of the rescued hikers) mentioned having run into Wilson. She also described having nearly run out of food after heavy rains forced her and Margiotta (the other rescued hiker) to huddle under a tarp for four days last week.
“We finally made it to Trout Lake today and another huge storm is rolling in,” Arnold wrote. “Everyone says we can’t make it because of the weather situation, and to be honest it’s quite terrifying, but I can’t fathom coming this far and giving up.”

Sadly, Wilson and Zitzewitz are not the only missing hikers in the area. Because of the government shutdown, searching for any missing hikers is more difficult than it should be. Fox News mentioned how a woman who was last seen in Craters of the Moon National Monument is still missing, but all of the employees, except for three, are on furlough. Even with a waiver, they are unsure if they will be paid for going out to search for this missing woman. This complicates the situation of finding missing hikers, because the search and rescue teams could be risking their lives without pay, but at the same time it appears as if money is the deciding factor if anyone will conduct a search.