A couple of grim anniversaries were noted on September 13: the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 18-year-old UVA student Hannah Graham, and five years since 19-year-old Orange resident Samantha Clarke vanished. Her last known contact was with Randy Taylor, the man convicted in 2014 for the murder of missing teen Alexis Murphy.
The grandmother of another missing teen, Sage Smith, 19, came before City Council September 8 to remind councilors it’s coming up on the three-year anniversary of Smith’s disappearance.
“I just want to put you on warning,” said Lolita “Cookie” Smith. “I’m going to be in your face every time you look around.”
Cookie Smith said she has undergone triple bypass surgery and has suffered from the stress of Sage’s disappearance. “I can’t understand, for the life of me, why these other people’s cases can’t be solved, but these white girls can be.”
Asked Smith, “What makes one life more valuable? I don’t understand. It’s killing me.”
Smith begged for answers. “Help me,” she said. “That’s my baby out there and I’m asking y’all, please do something.”
Smith had left by the time councilors responded to public comment. “I could feel Ms. Smith’s pain and know there could be nothing worse than losing a child,” said Kristin Szakos.
“Our police department has put in as many hours on this case as it has on the cases that have been solved,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking, but not every case is solved.”
Sage, a transgender black woman, was last seen November 20, 2012, on West Main Street after making plans to meet an acquaintance. She has never been found, nor has Clarke or Murphy.