Residents, Rescue Teams Search Rural Terrain for Missing Boy

Volunteer searcher Bill Gillette and city councilman Tom Fuhrman mark search areas on a map of Menifee.

Hundreds of Menifee residents have joined Sheriff's deputies and rescue teams in the search for an 11-year-old boy who has been missing since Saturday night.

As of noon today, there has been no sign of Terry Smith, who was last seen wearing blue basketball shorts and walking south on Helen Lane toward his home about 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Riverside Sheriff's Department has set up a command post at the fire station on Murrieta Road just north of Scott Road. According to Lt. Charles Wilhite of the Menifee Police Department, the dozens of rescuers include Sheriff's deputies and mounted posse, the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, Desert Search and Rescue team, Cal Fire, Menifee Crime Watch and the Menifee Office of Emergency Managment. Rescuers are going door to door in the neighborhood and searching the hilly terrain behind Menifee Market, a small market on Scott Road just east of Murrieta Road.

Nearly 200 civilian volunteers are also searching the area, starting from a command post set up at Menifee Market -- a store often frequented by Terry and a location about 100 yards from his home on a dirt road behind the store. That post is being manned by Menifee City Council Member Tom Fuhrman and volunteers, including members of the Faithful Servants group.

"We are using officers, horses and dogs to search," Wilhite said. "The terrain off Scott Road is rough terrain. We have a lot of citizens assisting in the search. If people want to help in areas they are familiar with, particularly the more urban areas, we welcome them. My concern is about having too many people up in these rugged hills. It's dangerous up there."

Despite the warnings, area residents of the hilly neighborhood behind the store continue to search the dirt roads and open areas behind Menifee Market, particularly the areas of Helen Lane and Daily Road. Some are concerned about the boy's safety in the area and have complained about homeless people who wander through the back roads and hills.

Fuhrman advised volunteer searchers to look near trees, outbuildings and shady areas where the boy could be seeking relief from the heat. He may be disoriented and dehydrated at this point. Terry, who is 4-foot-8 and 76 pounds with sandy blond hair and brown eyes, answers to the nickname of JuJu.

Terry is described by his family and rescuers as being autistic. Jenny Smith and Valorie Cleary, who were his fourth grade teachers at Chester Morrison Elementary School two years ago, say he is not autistic but on medicine for ADHD.

"He is not autistic," said Jenny Smith, who is no relation but lives just a few hundred yards from Terry Smith. "He was not in special ed classes. He's very bright and very friendly, which could be a problem. He could be approachable by strangers."

There have been conflicting news reports concerning the circumstances surrounding Terry's disappearance. His brother, 16-year-old Skylor Atilano, told Menifee 24/7 he was home alone with Terry after their mother, Shawna Smith, left early in the evening to go play pool with friends. Skylor said he left the house sometime after 7:30 to visit a friend and saw Terry following him.

"I told him to go back home," Skylor said. "He didn't want to at first, but I saw him walking back toward the house. That's the last time I saw him."

Skylor said Terry is sometimes left home alone playing video games, although "most of the time we prefer to have a babysitter. He only comes here (Menifee Market); nowhere else."

Skylor said when he returned home later, he went to bed and assumed Terry was in bed, too. Shawna Smith said when she returned home later that night, she assumed both boys were asleep in bed. She didn't notice Terry was missing until she got up Sunday morning.

"When I left at 6:15 Saturday, both boys were home," she said. "There was nothing abnormal. Skylor was supposed to be watching him. I didn't know Terry wasn't there until the next morning. I thought he was in bed."

Residents have come together in the search, communicating via cell phone and posting messages on the Menifee 24/7 Facebook page, which has received hundreds of comments and more than 150,000 page views.

Jacob Prestage, 20, combed the hillside behind the Smith residence with his German shepherd Whiskey, which he uses in hunting and has used before in rescue efforts. Residents young and old are taking part in the search, including young children carrying fliers with Terry's picture.

Sarah Brown and Casie Estrela, residents of nearby Canyon Hills, heard about the search on Facebook and brought their children, ages 5 years to 2 months, along on the search.

"We told the children that a boy is lost, that either he wandered off or a bad man took him," Estrela said. "This is a perfect example of stranger danger. We tell our kids to be careful."

Police have not said they suspect foul play, but there still is no sign of the boy. Those wishing to help may report to the volunteer command post at Menifee Market on Scott Road. Snacks and fruit for the volunteers are needed.

Anyone who may have information regarding the whereabouts of Terry Smith is encouraged to call the Menifee Investigations Unit at 951-210-1000 or Riverside Sheriff's dispatch at 951-776-1099.

Police and civilian vehicles are parked in front of the home of Terry Smith, who was last seen walking up this road toward his driveway. Menifee Market, to which he often walked, is the building at center in the distance, about 100 years away.

Menifee resident Jacob Prestage, 20, uses his dog his hunting dog Whiskey to search the hills behind Terry Smith's home.

The corner of Scott Road and Helen Lane, near the Menifee Market and Terry Smith's home.

Terry's mother Shawna Smith (left, with sunglasses) awaits word about her son.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has set up a command post at a nearby fire station.

Sarah Brown (left) ands Cassie Estrela and their children join the search for missing Terry Smith.