South Bend police are asking the public for help finding 13-year-old Zyair Smith, a reported runaway who may be somewhere on the city's west side. Officers describe Zyair as 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 110 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and he may be wearing a blue sweatshirt with black jeans. Police say he could be near the Miami Hills area.
The South Bend Police Department posted the appeal to its Facebook page, asking anyone with information to call 9-1-1 and reference the social media post. Miami Hills, one of the areas police flagged as a possible location, is a residential South Bend neighborhood in the city's 5th District that includes the Miami Hills Apartments complex along High Street, according to property listings on Trulia.
Zyair's case surfaced the same day South Bend police issued a separate public search notice for 17-year-old Eddie Weiser, who had been reported missing six days earlier with ties to South Bend, Mishawaka, and Buchanan, Michigan, according to ABC57. Hoodline has covered Weiser's ongoing search as a connected case unfolding in parallel with Zyair's.
Why Police Aren't Issuing a Silver Alert
Under Indiana law, running away from home is classified as a status offense specific to minors. Indiana Code § 31-37-2-2, as outlined by FindLaw, defines a child under 18 as committing a delinquent act by leaving home or a designated location without reasonable cause and without parental permission. That classification helps explain why police are circulating a social media bulletin rather than a statewide alert.
A full Silver Alert requires proof that a missing youth is endangered or in need of medical assistance, per Indiana Code § 10-13-5-4 as detailed by the Indiana General Assembly. A missing child under that statute is broadly defined as any person under 18 whose location is unknown to a parent or guardian, but the higher bar for a statewide alert means routine runaway reports like Zyair's typically stay at the local level unless new information emerges.
Behind the scenes, state policy still requires South Bend police to log Zyair's case into national and state law enforcement databases. Indiana Department of Child Services and Indiana State Police guidelines mandate that missing child and runaway reports be entered into the National Crime Information Center and the Indiana Data and Communication System, allowing officers in other jurisdictions to flag him during routine encounters.
National Data on Runaway Recoveries
Zyair's case fits into a much larger national pattern. According to 2025 data from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, endangered runaways accounted for 92% of the 32,167 missing children cases the organization assisted with that year, out of an overall 90% recovery rate. NCMEC data also shows that roughly 48% of endangered runaways are safely recovered within one week of going missing.
That same data indicates 74% of reported endangered runaways are between the ages of 15 and 17, meaning Zyair, at 13, falls outside the most commonly reported age range and may face heightened vulnerability while away from home. It remains unresolved whether South Bend police suspect foul play or believe Zyair left voluntarily, and no specific timeline for when he was last seen has been made public.
A Recent Local Case With a Happy Ending
South Bend has seen runaway cases resolve quickly before. In February 2025, South Bend police and the Indiana State Police publicized the case of 15-year-old Zania Mason, whose initial runaway report escalated to a Silver Alert before she was found safe within 24 hours, as Hoodline reported at the time in pieces covering both her disappearance and her safe recovery.
Anyone who spots Zyair is asked to call 9-1-1 immediately and reference the department's social media post. For non-emergency information, South Bend residents can also reach police through the desk sergeant at (574) 235-9201 or via the city's 311 portal, according to South Bend 311. Families or youth in crisis can additionally reach the National Runaway Safeline at 1-800-RUNAWAY, a federally designated hotline that handles about 85,000 contacts a year by phone, text, and live chat.
