Dora Ruth Smith

• Missing Since 04/24/1977
• Missing From Florence, Alabama
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 47 years old
• Height and Weight Unknown
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A nightgown.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Lime green Ford LTD
• Distinguishing Characteristics White female. Gray hair. Smith wears dentures, but these were left behind.

Details of Disappearance

Smith was last seen at her residence in the 400 block of Weakly Street in Florence, Alabama on April 24, 1977. She apparently left her house in the middle of the night, leaving behind her dentures, purse, identification, house key and all her clothes, and has never been heard from again. Her husband said he saw her get into a lime green Ford LTD.

Because Smith often took trips and sometimes they were last-minute trips, her family was initially unconcerned by her absence. Two weeks later, they reported her missing, having begun to worry because she hadn't been in touch or returned home.

In 2003, the residents of Smith's former home found a letter signed with her name. It had been placed in an envelope with $200 in cash and hidden under the wallpaper in the bedroom. The letter read, "They are trying to take my food away and kill me. Please help me." Authorities do not whether Dora wrote the letter or if it had anything to do with her disappearance, and the letter has since been lost.

Authorities searched the residence, and dug underneath a shed, but nothing further was found. Smith's case remains unsolved.