Virginia Woman Still Missing Despite Abduction Suspect's Arrest

A Black woman in Heathsville, Virginia, went missing last week and her whereabouts are still unknown despite the fact that police have arrested a suspect in her abduction. Take a good look at her photos and tell police if you’ve seen spotted her.

According to the New York Post, 50-year-old Tyrone N. Samuel has been arrested and charged with the abduction of 28-year-old Ahreal Smith, a clerk at the Clarenville Little Sue Store where she was last seen around 9 p.m. Wednesday via surveillance footage.

From The Post:

She was spotted on surveillance footage leaving the store to start her car around 9:05 p.m. before returning inside, police said at a press conference.

At 9:18 p.m., she was seen getting in and then getting out of a different car in the parking lot. Police interviewed the driver of the car and have determined he is not a suspect.

After she got out of the car, she walked back inside, set the alarm, locked up and picked up a bag of trash and began walking toward a dumpster on the side of the store, where she could no longer be seen on security cameras.

She has not been seen since. The next morning, police said the day shift clerk found Smith’s car still running in the parking lot. She was last seen wearing a black Nike hoodie, blue jeans and brown Ugg boots. She has multiple tattoos.

Without revealing how the suspect is connected to Smith’s abduction, Northumberland County Sheriff Johnny Beauchamp announced Sunday that Samuel was arrested and that Ahreal “remains missing at this time and we continue to investigate her whereabouts.”

According to Fox 4, Smith’s older sister, Lydia Smith, told reporters that before Ahreal went missing, she had texted her about a strange person outside the store where she works.

“She said that someone at the door made her feel uncomfortable,” Lydia said. “She never really said a name, but she said that someone, you know, made her feel uncomfortable.

But not that she was afraid. When she went to that trash like the last look on her face was her normal self. Her demeanor was calm. Somebody was waiting and they snatched her.”

Beauchamp said during the press conference that Virginia State Police used a K-9 unit to track Smith’s scent from the dumpsters outside of her store, but the dogs lost her scent after tracking it for about 100 yards down a nearby road. Investigators believe she got into another car that wasn’t seen in the surveillance footage.

In Beauchamp’s statement, he urged citizens to “continue to send any information you may have or heard about Ahreal’s location to the Sheriff’s Office” which they could call at (804) 580-5221. The reward for information in locating Ahreal Smith in Northumberland County is now up to $9,400.

We hope and pray that Ahreal is found safe and returned home.