The Abduction and Murder of Linda Smith

Fourteen-year-old Linda Diane Smith and her family had just recently moved to Pocatello, Idaho. At first, everything had been going well. The Smith family lived on Eighth Street, and the children had begun settling into their new lives. Linda’s mother was on welfare, and she struggled to raise three children on her own — Linda, Ben, and Lori. Pocatello was a smallish city, and the Smith family felt safe enough that they didn’t lock their doors.

However, on June 14, 1981, Linda Smith was abducted. That night, Linda had been babysitting her nine-year-old brother, Ben. Around two in the morning, an unknown man had rushed into the family home, and he dragged Linda out of her bedroom, into his vehicle.

Linda’s nine-year-old brother, Ben, had witnessed the abduction, and he told the police what he had seen — describing the unknown man that had pulled Linda into his vehicle, before speeding off. Ben told the police that he had heard muffled screams coming from the other room, as well as the sounds of a struggle. When he rushed out to check on Linda, Ben saw a man had his arms wrapped around his sister, and he was dragging her out of the house. She was fighting back, kicking at him, trying to get away. Ben had run around the back of the house, and he’d tried to stop the man from abducting Linda, but the man had pushed him to the ground. He’d shouted ‘Get away, or you’ll be hurt’. She was shoved into a van with flames painted on the side, and the man drove off. Ben never saw his sister again.