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Dana Smithers, a 45-year-old Pennsylvania mother of three, vanished on May 28, 2022, after leaving her friend and neighbor’s home. The neighbor, Tara Cioni, who lived a few houses down from Dana, told NBC Dateline that they have been friends for over 16 years. At the time of her disappearance, Dana and her youngest daughter reportedly lived with her mother in Stroudsburg.
Cioni explained that shortly before Dana disappeared, she came over to her house and they both hung out on the night of May 28. As per NBC Dateline, Dana was last seen on Tara’s Ring camera leaving her house around 11 pm with her phone in her hand.
The next morning, Dana's concerned mother reportedly called the missing woman's older sister Stacey Smithers and said Dana had not come home the night before. Stacy Smithers told Dateline:
“My mother called me on the morning of the 29th, which was Sunday, and asked me if I could talk to her. I said no, and she said, ‘Well, Dana didn’t come home last night.”
Shortly after, the family found the missing woman’s phone and car keys at the house and notified law enforcement officials.
A year after her disappearance, on May 1, 2023, the Stroud Area Regional Police Department in Pennsylvania announced that Dana Smithers had been found dead. In a press release, the department said that Dana’s remains were found in a “wooded area next to Park Avenue/ 80 E on-ramp, in the Borough of Stroudsburg,” on April 27, 2023.
An autopsy revealed that the remains belonged to the missing Pennsylvania woman Dana Smithers. Officials said that they are still trying to determine the cause of death.
Dana Smithers was found dead 30 minutes from Bryan Kohberger's family home
Authorities are now investigating a potential connection between Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger and Dana Smithers after her body was discovered in the same county where the suspect's family home resides. PA HomePage reported that Smithers’ remains were discovered in a wooded area in Stroudsburg, just 30 minutes from Kohberger’s family home.
Bryan Kohberger is currently in prison on murder charges for the deaths of four University of Idaho students who were found brutally stabbed in their shared home in November 2022.
As authorities continue to explore a potential link between Dana Smither’s death and the Idaho murder suspect, Kohberger’s family was called to testify on the case.
However, multiple reports citing a source close to the case said that Kohberger has an air-tight alibi for the night of Dana Smither’s disappearance.
Dana Smither's sister traces the victim's last steps before she disappeared
In an interview with NBC Dateline, the victim’s sister, Stacy Smither’s said that on the morning of May 28, 2022, Dana and her youngest daughter went to spend some time with the daughter’s father, with whom she had an amicable relationship despite the separation.
The three of them reportedly went to a festival at the Happy Hour Bar and Grille in Stroudsburg before going back to Dana’s house. Moments later, Dana reportedly walked over to her friend/neighbor Tara’s house to see if she wanted to come over and hang out on the patio.
Tara declined the offer citing exhaustion. Dana was last seen leaving her neighbor’s home on the night of May 28, 2022, before her body was discovered last month.
As authorities continue to investigate the case, the victim’s sister Stacey Smither told Dateline that Dana Smithers is survived by her three children, a 25-year-old son, a 23-year-old daughter, and a 7-year-old daughter.
