As the personal belongings of West Hill's Gavin Smith, the Fox executive who went missing from an Oak Park home on May 1, were removed from his Calabasas office and delivered by the studio to his West Hills home, Smith's wife, Lisa Smith, and sister, Tara Addeo, spoke with the The Hollywood Reporter about the ongoing investigation.
"It's been tough to bring them into the house," Lisa Smith told the magazine.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department still considers the Smith investigation a missing person's case and not a homicide probe, according to department spokesman Steve Whitmore, said the report. But Addeo told THR that while she has hope, her optimism is waning.
"Where could he possibly be?" she said in the report. "I know that Gavin would not hurt himself, and I have a hard time believing that Gavin would ever walk away from his sons. The only other alternative is that there would have been foul play."
Forensic pathologist Michael Baden said that even though investigators have not publicly named a suspect, they could have people in their sights–assuming foul play was involved, THR reports.
"The police are waiting to get some information," he told the publication. "Pieces of clothing, somebody who saw him walk into the woods and never come out–and that might be sufficient to bring charges."
Smith and Addeo told THR that they remain confident investigators will solve the case, and the family's $20,000 reward remains in place. But apparent false hopes have been dashed, such as a reported sighting of the Fox exec on May 7 in Morro Bay. "We are devastated," Smith told the publication. "My sons, they can barely talk. We can't even have a memorial service for my husband."
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Anyone with more information as to Smith's whereabouts are asked to call detectives at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. Anonymous tips can be submitted to http://lacrimestopers.org.
