Azriel Carver -- Found Deceased 3/18/10, Shantina Smiley -- Missing 3/13/10

'Love Like a Cloud' Surrounded Missing Silverdale Woman

By Chris Henry
Posted April 17, 2010 at 7:26 p.m.

There was mourning and missing closure in equal measure Saturday as family and friends of Shantina Marie “Kat” Smiley gathered to remember her as a young woman known for “that smile” and the courage to move beyond a tough past.

The 29-year-old Smiley of Silverdale, along with her 8-year-old son, Azriel Carver, vanished March 13 while driving from Silverdale to Castle Rock to visit relatives. The van she was driving was found March 14, abandoned and partially submerged in water on a remote Puget Sound beach north of Olympia.

Azriel’s body was found March 18 on a beach at the south end of Fox Island near Gig Harbor. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that the boy’s death was an accidental drowning.

There are no new leads in the investigation of Shantina’s disappearance, but she, too, is believed to have drowned, according to Detective Sgt. Cheryl Stines of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office will still try to recover Shantina’s body for the sake of the family, Stines said.

“This is a hard day. It really is, not knowing and having to find some way of closure,” Robb Simmons, Shantina’s fiance of two years, told the crowd of more than 75 at Brinnon Community Church. “That’s the hard part. There are so many unanswered questions.”

Simmons spoke tenderly of the woman he met online, who became his soulmate and best support. Both have had hard times in the past, Simmons said, but together they were mapping a brighter future for themselves, Azriel, and Simmons’ two children Nicky, 15, and DJ, 11.

Shantina graduated in May from Olympic College and was looking forward to a career in medical billing.

“We had a lot of challenges, but she had my back and I had her back. She’s an incredible woman,” Simmons said.

During the initial investigation, Simmons acknowledged to a television reporter that Shantina was a recovering alcoholic who had recently relapsed. The couple had been under stress due to concerns about Simmons’ health that turned out to be unfounded.

Simmons said that he didn’t believe the relapse played any role in her disappearance.

Simmons daughter broke down as she spoke of the woman she quickly came to call “Mom.” The two shared many great girl talks and more than a few tears. Shantina always inspired her to reach for her dreams, Nicky Simmons said.

“I’m never going to forget that smile,” she said. “She was the mom I’ve always wanted. The two years I’ve known her were the best years of my life.”

Dolly Smith of Brinnon, Shantina’s grandmother, helped raise Shantina, beginning in third grade when her mother was unable to care for her, and also for a time while she was in high school. Smith and her late husband, Ron Edgell, then lived in Castle Rock.

“She was a joy, and she loved me and her grandfather,” said Smith, who has since remarried. “She loved Robb with all her heart. She love Azriel so much. She was a good mother to him,”

Dolly Smith shared that Shantina and the whole family struggled when Shantina’s mother, Tammy Brown, took her own life.

Members of Cub Scout Pack 4544, who turned out in force to the service, testified to Shantina’s warm heart for kids in general. Her fellow pack leader, Laura Brown, said she had “love like a cloud surrounding her.”

At the service, Cub Scout leaders also remembered Azriel and awarded him the “Spririt of the Eagle” award for members of the Boy Scouts of America who die before their time.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/apr/17/shantina-smiley-remembered-for-love-like-a-cloud/

Classmates of Azriel Carver meet to say their final goodbyes

By CHRISTOPHER CARTER
Central Kitsap Reporter Reporter
April 19, 2010 6:25 PM



Referring to Azriel Carver's big smile, Vinland Elementary School Principal Charley McCabe asked the second-graders: what is an "infectious smile?"

"When he laughed, it made other people laugh so much," said Nathan Willis, 8, a classmate of Azriel's.

Second-graders at Vinland Elementary School congregated Monday to say goodbye to a classmate and a friend. Azriel's body was found March 18, five days after he disappeared with his mother Shantina Smiley while en route to Castle Rock to visit a relative. His death was ruled an accidental drowning by the Pierce County Medical Examiner.

"This is still, five weeks later, very difficult," said Vinland Principal Charley McCabe, of the death of 8-year-old student Azriel Carver.

Smiley's fiance, Robb Simmons, Azriel's great-grandmother Dolly Smith and uncle Travis Wallingford, were also in attendance.

Students were mostly silent as they listened to their principal recall Azriel's time at the school. A few took the opportunity to share their thoughts.

Another student said she remembered Azriel's concern for others.

"He had a big heart because if someone was hurt, he'd make sure they were okay."

It was Azriel's smile that some remember most.

"He really did have that infectious smile, a great energy," McCabe said.

Azriel will also be featured in this year's yearbook, with a page dedicated to his memory including quotes from students, McCabe said.

Azriel's memory was also honored Saturday at the memorial service for Smiley in Brinnon.

Representatives from Cub Scout Pack 4544 were at the service to commemorate Azriel's membership in the group.

Azriel was working on his wolf patch before he died, and was honored with the "Spirit of the Eagle" award given to scouts as a posthumous recognition.

"It's an unfortunate honor," said Steven Hirsch, district executive for the Orca district of Boy Scouts of America.

Hirsch also presented Simmons with the wolf badge, as a tribute to Azriel.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/ckr/news/91562274.html

Shantina Smiley: Still missing; family holds memorial service Saturday, fiancé still holds out hope

April 19, 9:32 PM
Seattle Headlines Examiner
Isabelle Zehnder


Shantina Smiley with her 8-year old son, Azriel Carver

April 19, 2010 - “Shantina made my life complete,” Robb Simmons, Shantina Smiley’s fiancé told Examiner.com Sunday. “She was taken from me and it was hard holding a memorial service for her when I still don’t know what’s happened to her.”

“I hope this is not good-bye,” Simmons said. “When you don’t have closure all you’re left with is hope.”

Shantina went missing Saturday, March 13. She planned to visit her step-father in Castle Rock, who she had not seen for years. The trip should have taken about two hours.

She forgot her cell phone and decided to stop in Olympia to call Simmons and to get her 8-year old son, Azriel, something to eat.

She had plans to meet up with Simmons at her step-father's house later that evening.

The next few hours turned out to be a series of events that have left police and Shantina’s family with more questions than answers.

“There are so many questions but there are zero answers. Everyone has a theory,” Simmons said. “There’s a three-hour time-span and no one can come up with a solid theory as to what happened to Shantina that night.”

She spent hours in Olympia, driving from one place to the next, her actions caught on store video. Her last stop was at the home of an elderly couple that gave her son a piece of pizza and gave Shantina directions back to the freeway.

It is a mystery why she went the complete opposite direction and ended up down a dark dirt road that led to a private beach.

“Something just doesn’t smell right,” Simmons said.

The next morning neighbors walking along the beach discovered Shantina's van partially submerged in the water and there was no sign of either Shantina or Azriel.

On March 17 items belonging to Shantina and Azriel showed up on the shore about 50 feet from the van.

Initially, it was believed the items floated out into the Sound and were washed up.

But Captain Chamberlain told Examiner.com he doesn’t believe that could have happened, and that the most likely scenario would be those items would have been in a backpack that the pair might have taken with them as they walked down the beach.

Simmons told Examiner.com Sunday he does not believe that theory because some of the items were not in the backpack but were loose in the van, including the ball that was found on shore on March 17. He said that ball had been rolling around on the floor of the van for weeks.

Simmons is hoping beyond hope that Shantina will still return to him alive. His family has been grieving the loss of Azriel, and now they try to make it from one day to the next, dealing with the unknown.

“I’m taking my kids to Seattle today to go for a walk at the Arboretum. I have to keep them busy. My son (DJ, 11) is the kind of person that will sit and dwell on something,” Simmons said. “This is the type of thing we would have done with Shantina and Azriel as a family. We miss them so much.”

Simmons said he believes investigators will be doing another dive this week in the waters of the Puget Sound, looking for Shantina or any clues into her disappearance. Police presume she drowned like her 8-year old son, Azriel.

“Shantina is a wonderful woman,” Simmons said. “I know people have said many things about her, not all good. But I believe people are allowed to change. We got together, talked about our past, worked on a future plan, stitched up that plan, and then made it even better. We planned to be together for the rest of our lives.”

When asked how he and his two children were coping, Simmons said, “The kids have a good network at school. My co-workers are very supportive. I’m trying to keep busy, to keep working on the plan we put together and still hoping she’ll come home.”

Simmons said this has been a very difficult time for both of his children. His daughter, Nicky, 15, was very close to Shantina and considered her a mom. She misses her terribly and said the two years she had with Shantina in her life were the best years of her life.

“The only way we’ll know what happened to her,” Simmons said, “is for her to show up or if someone comes forward.”

About 75 people attended the memorial service held at Brinnon Community Church.

http://www.examiner.com/x-34328-Seattle-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m4d19-Shantina-Smiley-Still-missing-family-holds-memorial-service-Saturday-fiance-still-holds-out-hope