Macin Smith missing
As his eighth Christmas without him approaches, Macin Smith’s uncle is revealing fresh information on his nephew’s disappearance and finally conveying a message of hope.
On September 1, 2015, early in the morning, the then-17-year-old is said to have left his St. George home, where his parents had assumed he was going to school. Then Macin practically vanished into thin air. He’d be 23 at this point.
On Thursday afternoon, Keith Bratt, the brother of Macin’s mother Tracey Bratt, published the following on Facebook:
With Christmas right around the corner, I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has continued to look, and pray for my nephew Macin Smith.
I remember like it was yesterday, my sister calling me and telling me Macin hadn’t come home from school, as time went by we started a little family Facebook page to keep everyone informed on updates. Years later, and over 54,000 family members strong, we still continue to be supported every day.
Macin suffered from depression, he had tried to commit suicide when he was 15, and was hospitalized, during this time. Macin felt he was different, and felt he did not fit in. I have read the note he left, and it is heartbreaking. I have always felt Macin committed suicide, but I have always wanted answers, and if that is what happened, a proper resting place for him, and the peace of knowing.
Christmas is a time of love and joy, it can also be a time of stress, heartache, and loneliness for some. For anyone who reads this, and feels you are alone, and no one cares, I can promise you, from heartbreaking experiences, this is not the case. I know a young boy who felt that way, he had a family that loves him unconditionally, he has 54,000 people from all over the world who, when asked the question “Who cares if my light goes out” said I DO. I love this song, and it breaks my heart the singer of it committed suicide. It is such a heartbreaking irony.
I truly appreciate and love each and every one of you, and if you are asking yourself “who cares if one light goes out,” I DO, I honestly do.
I wish everyone of you a very Merry Christmas, from all of my family, to yours. God bless each and every one of you.”
On the anniversary of his disappearance in September, Gephardt Daily chatted with Jolyne Bowden Gailey, a devoted family friend and the manager of the Help Find Macin Smith Facebook group.
She said that there has been little forward movement on the matter and that it has stagnated.
Bowden Gailey remarked, “Unfortunately, there is nothing new. “Over the past two years, we’ve kept up our independent searches. Because of COVID, we were unable to conduct coordinated searches, but we are still working independently.
There were numerous reports of seeing Macin in the months following his disappearance. The most probable sighting was reported by volunteers performing a homeless count in late January 2017, when there were numerous indications that he may have been spotted in the northern California city of Modesto. Police also looked into a few more possible sightings that month that were reported in the Sacramento region. However, over time, those reports have all but disappeared.
Anyone with information about Macin is asked to call the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300.