As Chicago officials confirm that the body discovered under a car last week was a young mother who vanished in May, the city was recently plagued with their fifth disappearance—this time involving a 13-year-old girl.
WGN-TV reported that dental and tattoo records confirmed that a body found under a car parked in a garage on the 1800 block of South Central Avenue belongs to Shantieya Smith, 26. Smith was reportedly last seen alive May 25 of the 1600 block of the same street where her body was discovered.
Chicago police officer Jose Jara told HelloBeautiful that pill bottles were spotted around Smith’s body. However, he didn’t disclose whether the bottles were empty or if Smith had taken any pills prior to her death. A preliminary autopsy has come back inconclusive, according to the outlet.
Smith is among four women who has disappeared in recent weeks, leading residents to believe they have a serial predator on their hands.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Smith, Sadaria Davis, 15, Victoria Garrett, 15, and Anna Stanislawczyk, 18, have vanished in Chicago’s West Side between March 16 and June 5. Local police have said they have no evidence that suggests the four cases are linked.
A body discovered May 11 in a vacant apartment in an East Garfield Park building was confirmed as Davis. The teen’s body was located six blocks from where she disappeared on April 27, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
READ More: ‘We need answers’: City on edge as FOURTH young woman vanishes without a trace
While Davis’ family believes she was murdered, WLS-TV reported that the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has been unable to determine a cause or manner of death.
With a second body found, the community fears that 13-year-old Yasminda Mitchell’s disappearance is connected to the four other cases. WBBM reports that Mitchell was last seen May 31 at 100 West 47th Street but is known to frequent the areas near 6000-6300 South Damen and 6300 South Winchester.
[Featured image: Yasminda Mitchell/Facebook; Shantieya Smith/Chicago Police Department]
