Donte Smith, a St. Louis man who had not been heard from since June 5, has been located, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Smith, who police said has mental health issues and may have been without his medication, was last seen by his family that day in the 200 block of North Euclid Avenue, in the city's Central West End neighborhood.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department later announced that Smith had been found.
Smith, described in the original alert as 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 195 pounds, had been missing. His clothing at the time he went missing was never specified in police bulletins.
How Missouri's Endangered Advisory System Works
Missouri’s Endangered Person Advisory system lets law enforcement issue rapid public alerts when an adult is believed to be in peril due to a mental disorder, physical health condition, or unexplained circumstances — even when a case doesn’t meet the abduction criteria required for an AMBER Alert, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The system provides a way to broadcast cases that do not qualify for an abduction alert.
Separately, state law under Section 43.401 of the Missouri Revised Statutes requires police agencies to immediately log a missing-person report into the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System and the National Crime Information Center database, with no mandatory waiting period. Updated provisions tied to House Bill 2740 also require agencies to attempt to scan a current photograph of the missing person into those databases within 10 days of the report, per BillTrack50.
Community Search Efforts
Statewide, a September Hoodline article reported more than 2,000 adult missing-person reports in Missouri and more than 600 adult cases still actively open at that time.
In cases involving unmedicated adults with mental health conditions, local volunteer groups such as Operation ANY MEANS Necessary, INC. have been known to organize independent ground searches and distribute flyers alongside official police alerts, as Hoodline has reported on past cases.
Legislative Push for Vulnerable Missing Adults
Missouri legislation known as the Purple Alert system and RJ’s law had passed and was awaiting the governor’s signature.
Smith's case is the latest in a string of similar disappearances the department has worked through in recent months. Hoodline has covered several other St. Louis-area endangered adult cases this year, including that of Jennings resident Derrick Wince, 67, who went missing after suffering a stroke, and Terry Zarbo, 73, whose disappearance prompted a Silver Advisory because he required medication. Police have not released further information on how Smith was ultimately located, and the department's announcement focused solely on confirming his safe return.
