But from there – more than 24 hours with little or no information at all.
That was until Smith appeared at the sales counter of TAS Equipment in Rossville where Sandy King realized something just didn’t add up.
“It was at about 8 and we looked up and there she was,” King said. “She was by herself and just so young – so I started asking her questions and more and more I realized that something just wasn’t right.”
King said the girl mentioned the name of two people she said went to middle school is Rossville. Smith asked if they knew how to call for a ride with Uber.
“I told her that she had to do that on the Internet and I asked if I could call a taxi,” King said. “She said yes and when I asked where she was going, she said Florida. That’s when I had one of the other guys who work here to call the sheriff’s office and I tried to keep here and talking.”
King asked Smith if she was hungry or had any money.
“She said she was fine and had $2,” King said. “But that’s when she got a little antsy and said ‘I have to get out of here.’”
King said that another employee followed her and alerted a Walker County deputy as to where Smith was and she picked her up and took her back to LaFayette where Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett was alerted that Smith had been found safe, more than a three-hour drive from home.