NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The remains of a Queens man who was reported missing over a month ago were found in the woods near his friend’s house in Virginia, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, Terrence Smith, 33, went on a trip on Oct. 28 to visit a female friend he has known since high school. He didn’t return.
His family grew suspicious when Smith didn’t come back home to New York City and insisted his friend call the police and report him missing.
The missing report was filed on Nov. 1.
The family learned his bank account had been cleaned out a few days after he arrived in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where his friend lives, according to Pix 11.
Smith’s friends were questioned by detectives.
Smith’s sister-in-law, Diana Perry, told Pix11 that Smith’s friend gave multiple versions of what Smith did last and how he left her house.
“The first version was, he left with a girl,” Perry said. “The second was he took an Uber, the third she mentioned to the police department was he took Amtrak to go back home. And then her son, who was present at the time, said he went out the back door to the woods.”
On Nov. 16, investigators found human remains not far from the friend’s house in the Timber Ridge Townhomes area, according to police.
The remains were in “an advanced stage of decomposition and were sent to the Office of the Medical Examiner,” police said. The remains were identified as Terrance Smith.
A cause of death has not been determined.
An active investigation is ongoing.