Case 261: Shari Smith & Debra May Helmick (Part 1/2)
When 17-year-old Shari Smith disappeared from the end of her family's driveway in Lexington, South Carolina, there were immediate concerns for her wellbeing. Shari had a rare medical condition that could turn fatal without her medication.
But any concerns that Shari’s illness could have caused her disappearance were quickly quashed after the Smith family received an odd phone call, prompting the largest manhunt in South Carolina’s history. As the taunting calls continued, the question remained - where was Shari?
And was she still alive?
Team:
Anonymous Host - narration
Elsha McGill - research, writing
Mike Migas - production, music
Andrew D.B. Joslyn - music
Milly Raso - creative direction
Comments (19)
This was the case that finally got me to sign up to patreon! Been listening since 2017 so its about time. Fantastic episode.
Loved this episode- probably one of my favorites and eager to carve out some time so I can start part 2 - as an American I noticed Casey say “love heart”, as a parent I recognize that from a particular Aussie cartoon 💙 Is the term “love heart” and Australian thing?!
I keep checking for part 2 - this was a really good one Casefile!
Haunting episode and haunting music accompaniment Andrew!
Audio clips engages the present time to the past. Love it.
This is the golden standard of Casefile. Amazing! Best of this season
Hard disagree with the people that don't like calls/audio clips in the show. I think it adds a lot to the story, especially since Casey and team do it the appropriate amount. They wouldn't add it if they didn't think it was important. Casefile Team, don't change a thing! ❤️
Totally agree. And considering how little they include it, I don't see why anyone would complain.
This is one of my favorites of all time so far. I’m going to have trouble waiting until next week! I for one thought the inclusion of small snippets of audio in this one was welcome. It’s much creepier actually hearing the voice then having to imagine it.
MINE TOO! The image of the long driveway with the abandoned car is so haunting! I bet her dad had nightmares of that day, looking out the window and knowing it was too late 😭
Please don’t include phone calls , radio calls etc, it disturbs the whole vibe of the show and adds nothing of value , I just want to hear the calm voice of Casey , not doing that is one of the many great things that separates this from so many other true crime shows 🙏
I conpletely disagree. It ENHANCES the whole vibe of the show and adds so much more value!
At the end of the podcast it sounded like you said "Hemrick" instead of "Helmick".
Haaaaaaaate when audio clips are played of calls etc, quick skip over that. (Not a critique or criticism, just my preference)
Yep me too, but Casefile doesn’t do it too often so I don’t mind too much occasionally
I watched this episode of Forensic Files literally three hours before this episode was uploaded. Weird timing!
Wow crazy
Top 6 US states ranked by murder rate 2021: 1. Mississippi (T) 2. Louisiana (T) 3. Alabama (T) 4. New Mexico (B) 5. SOUTH CAROLINA (T) 6. Missouri (T) I wonder what T and B might stand for?
Probably something to do with the demographics of those states.