The Short-but-Strange Disappearance of Lila Smith

A Canadian teen girl gets on a school bus, heading to school on a perfectly normal day, but never enters the school. This is the short but strange disappearance of Lila Smith.

Lila Smith, a thirteen year-old girl from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, was last seen on Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 8:30 AM at the time she was reported missing. She was in the area of 131 Ave and 91 St, the area Killarney Junior High School is located.

Her parents, Martin and Miranda Smith, were the ones to report her missing after she did not show up at school that day. Her parents last saw her boarding the school bus as she did every week day. They did not expect to find out that she never attended her classes, let alone never walked in the school building that day.

A search began instantly for Lila, with only one lead within the first six days. A picture was posted on Lila’s Instagram account with a sixteen year-old girl named Kayla Hartwick, another girl who was reported missing at the time. The police believed that the photo had been taken and posted in Toronto. However, the lead went cold soon after.

On the next Friday, July 1st, the police got their big break in the case. CCTV footage captured a young woman believed to be Lila in a fast food restaurant in Oregon with an older man. The Edmonton police acted quickly, alerting the police in Oregon City to be on the lookout for Lila. Soon after, Lila was found in Oregon and taken to a children’s hospital as a “precautionary measure.”

In finding Lila, police arrested forty-one year old Oregon resident Noah Madrano (known by his internet alias Noah Zark) on charges of child luring. The FBI believes that Lila met the predator online, but has not disclosed when or how. It is possible that he may be charged with more crimes, as the case is recent and still ongoing. If he does, it will be updated here as soon as possible.

The case has been compared to the missing persons case of Mekayla Bali, of which I have previously covered here on this blog. Many have pointed out the similarities, such as both teens going missing in Canada, leaving their respective schools seemingly voluntarily on the day of their disappearances, and having online conversations with strangers. However, unlike Lila, Bali has yet to be found.

As of August 2022, Lila is back home with her family in Edmonton, practicing better internet safety and will be attending high school in approximately 2024.

As for Kayla Hartwick, she had gone missing once in 2019, being found on September 2nd, 2019, but it seems she has a history of going missing- and she has gone missing again since then. It is unknown why she keeps repeatedly becoming missing. She has yet to be found.

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