Vigil held for Rhiannon Smith, missing six weeks

WINSTED — Thirty-nine orange, red and black balloons sailed into the air Saturday night, one for each day that 16-year-old Rhiannon Smith has been missing. About 50 concerned residents came to East End Park to show their support and hope for her safe return.

Smith went missing Sept. 2 between midnight and 6 a.m.

“Something happened — something changed. Something happened to Rhiannon that night,� said Rhiannon’s grandmother, Dale Smith, at her East Wakefield Boulevard home Sunday afternoon. Smith said it has been a heart-wrenching 39 days for her and her husband, Brian Brunell.

Speculation began immediately as to whether Rhiannon simply planned to run away after feeling tormented and out of place in the Winsted school system, or whether someone preyed on her vulnerability and scared her into leaving, with the reasons still unknown.

What is known is that Rhiannon had recently enrolled at the Explorations Charter School in Winsted. After her second day, Sept. 1, she came home, exclaiming, “It was the best day of school I’ve ever had, Papa,� to her step-grandfather. Having been teased and intimidated at The Gilbert School, Rhiannon finally felt she was somewhere she belonged.

Rhiannon had made plans with a friend, an unidentified minor, to meet after school the day she vanished. The friend, a boy, only learned of her disappearance after calling to find out why Rhiannon never showed up. Rhiannon also had put together a package to mail out for a friend’s birthday. She chose each item specially, packed, stamped, addressed and sealed the package, but never got the chance to mail it.

The package was left in Rhiannon’s room for Dale Smith to find, along with a cryptic, confusing note apparently left by Rhiannon.

Fearing the worst

Dale Smith remains convinced her granddaughter is in danger.

“You just don’t go from finally finding happiness and satisfaction like Rhiannon finally had found with Explorations Charter School, to wanting to run away overnight,� she said. “Someone got into her head. She wasn’t the type to just run away. I’m so worried about her.�

Winsted police have said missing persons cases that go on for days and weeks get more difficult to solve as time passes, and the chances of finding a missing person alive decrease with time. Still, police have said they have no evidence suggesting Rhiannon is dead.

Rhiannon is believed to have left in a vehicle, as Smith said. Smith also noted that a holly bush in front of their house near Rhiannon’s bedroom window had been crushed, as if someone had jumped out the window.

“Rhiannon’s room, like most teenagers’ rooms, was a mess, but when I walked in her room in the morning on Sept. 2 it was different, much messier, definitely looked very different than when I saw it the previous afternoon.� Smith said police did not search Rhiannon’s room and that the case was classified as a runaway.

Among the items Smith said Rhiannon took with her were a black “gym-type� bag with a red tag on it, a blanket, a black backpack, a Toshiba laptop computer, her cellphone (an AT&T Go Phone, LG Neon GT365 model), the Twilight book series and all her Michele Paver books. She may have worn a hand-knit white wool hat, and Smith thinks she was wearing old white Nike sneakers with a blue Nike symbol.

Rhiannon left behind her purse, which had a compass in it, and left all of her hair products and toiletries, which Smith said was strange.

“Rhiannon had always struggled with her curly hair and had just found this new hair product that she loved and used every day, so I find it very strange she left without it,� Smith said. “She found it at this new hair salon in Watertown that she loved, and I can’t imagine her leaving without her hair stuff and toiletries, especially after how happy and relieved she was to have finally found something that worked with her hair.�

The search for Rhiannon has grown more difficult because there has been no traceable communication from her. Rhiannon spent a significant amount of time on her computer, using numerous online profiles, and on her cellphone, calling and texting with her group of friends and online acquaintances. Investigators say the fact that all of Rhiannon’s communications ceased when she vanished is disturbing.

Sunday’s candlelight vigil was organized to raise awareness of Rhiannon’s case and inspire others to get involved with the search. Friends came out to talk about Rhiannon and offer their support, including a friend with a similar name. Sixteen-year-old Emma Rhiannon of Winsted said she hopes Rhiannon will come home.

“She taught me that it was OK to have a best friend again,� Emma said.

The vigil had a Halloween theme, with participants making purple-and-orange shirts, handing out red, orange and black ribbons and fliers along with copies of the poems read in Rhiannon’s honor. With attendees holding special Halloween candles, the ceremony ended with the emotional release of 39 red, orange and black balloons into the night sky.

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