Overview

• Full name: Alyssa Renee Smith
• Age at disappearance: 25
• Last known date: Early February 2022; February 1, 2022, is the recorded missing-person date.
• Last known location: Chelyan, Kanawha County, West Virginia
• Remains discovered: Fall 2022, Boone County, West Virginia
• Identification announced: September 17, 2024
• Case classification: Previously missing person; deceased and positively identified
• Current status: Missing-person identification resolved; circumstances of death remain publicly unresolved.
• Investigating agency: Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, working with West Virginia State Police and forensic partners.
• NamUs missing-person reference: MP95426, documented in secondary case records.

Main circumstances: Alyssa disappeared in early February 2022 while experiencing housing instability and struggling with addiction, according to family accounts and missing-person reporting. Her younger sister reported her missing in August 2022. Remains discovered later that year were identified as Alyssa’s in September 2024 using DNA analysis and genetic genealogy. No publicly verified cause or manner of death establishes her death as a homicide.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Alyssa Renee Smith: The 2022 Disappearance in Chelyan, West Virginia, and the Discovery That Ended a Two-Year Search

In February 2022, 25-year-old Alyssa Renee Smith disappeared from the Chelyan area of Kanawha County, West Virginia. For more than two years, her family searched for answers, uncertain whether she was alive or what had happened after she lost contact with loved ones.

In September 2024, investigators confirmed a devastating discovery: human remains recovered in neighboring Boone County in 2022 belonged to Alyssa. Forensic investigative genetic genealogy helped establish her identity, resolving the question of her whereabouts but leaving the circumstances surrounding her death unanswered.

Her case illustrates both the importance of modern forensic technology and the painful distinction between identifying a missing person and determining how that person died.

Case Summary

• Full name: Alyssa Renee Smith
• Age at disappearance: 25
• Last known date: Early February 2022; February 1, 2022, is the recorded missing-person date.
• Last known location: Chelyan, Kanawha County, West Virginia
• Remains discovered: Fall 2022, Boone County, West Virginia
• Identification announced: September 17, 2024
• Case classification: Previously missing person; deceased and positively identified
• Current status: Missing-person identification resolved; circumstances of death remain publicly unresolved.
• Investigating agency: Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, working with West Virginia State Police and forensic partners.
• NamUs missing-person reference: MP95426, documented in secondary case records.

Main circumstances: Alyssa disappeared in early February 2022 while experiencing housing instability and struggling with addiction, according to family accounts and missing-person reporting. Her younger sister reported her missing in August 2022. Remains discovered later that year were identified as Alyssa’s in September 2024 using DNA analysis and genetic genealogy. No publicly verified cause or manner of death establishes her death as a homicide.

Alyssa Smith’s Background and Disappearance

Remembering Alyssa Beyond Her Disappearance

Alyssa Renee Smith was a young woman remembered by her family for her outgoing personality, humor, and ability to make others laugh.

In a September 18, 2024, interview with WSAZ, Alyssa’s younger sister, Emily Zink, described her as someone who regularly tried to improve the mood of those around her. Her cousin, Hanna Clendenin, remembered the close relationship they shared and emphasized that Alyssa was much more than the difficulties she experienced.

Their recollections provide an important perspective on a case frequently described through the circumstances of addiction and homelessness. Alyssa was a sister, cousin, and loved one whose absence affected her family for years.

Source: WSAZ — Family reacts to missing woman’s remains identified more than two years later.

February 2022: The Last Known Contact

According to The Charley Project, Alyssa disappeared from Chelyan sometime in early February 2022.

She was experiencing homelessness and had reportedly spent time in several Kanawha County communities, including Chelyan, Marmet, Crown Hill, Belle, and Witcher Creek.

In her 2024 interview with WSAZ, Emily explained that she last saw Alyssa in February 2022, when her sister was struggling with addiction. Emily had attempted to help Alyssa enter rehabilitation, but Alyssa instead wanted to visit a friend’s home.

Emily drove her there. She recalled receiving what may have been a telephone call from Alyssa approximately two days afterward, but then communication stopped.

This is a family account of their last contact, not an independently established reconstruction of Alyssa’s final movements.

Alyssa’s missing-person record uses February 1, 2022, as her disappearance date. That administrative date should not be interpreted as confirmation of the precise day or time she was last seen.

Sources: The Charley Project — Alyssa Renee Smith and WSAZ family interview.

August 2022: Alyssa Is Reported Missing

On August 3, 2022, approximately six months after her disappearance, Alyssa’s sister reported her missing.

Historical case information indicates that Alyssa had previously maintained periodic communication with her sister, generally about once a month. The prolonged absence of contact raised serious concerns.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office investigated her disappearance and expressed concern for her safety.

The available public reporting does not establish a confirmed explanation for why contact stopped, nor does it identify a verified final destination after her last reported communication.

Source: Websleuths — Alyssa Renee Smith case discussion, which preserves historical missing-person information.

Investigation History and Forensic Evidence

Fall 2022: Human Remains Discovered in Boone County

In the fall of 2022, West Virginia State Police troopers discovered human remains in Boone County, a neighboring county to the area where Alyssa had disappeared.

The remains included a human skull.

At the time of recovery, investigators had not publicly established that the remains belonged to Alyssa.

The precise discovery location was not disclosed in the September 2024 reporting. WSAZ reported that Kanawha County detectives intended to coordinate with State Police to revisit the recovery location.

The public record reviewed does not establish whether additional remains, clothing, personal belongings, or other potentially significant physical evidence were recovered.

Source: WSAZ — New cold case database helps ID missing woman.

DNA Testing and Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy

A significant development came through the use of forensic investigative genetic genealogy.

This technique can help identify unknown human remains by examining DNA information and identifying potential biological relationships. Investigators can use those relationships, together with other evidence, to establish an individual’s identity.

In Alyssa’s case, the West Virginia Fusion Center and Marshall University’s forensic laboratory were involved in the identification effort.

According to WSAZ’s September 18, 2024, reporting, officials credited the state’s developing cold-case infrastructure and forensic genetic genealogy capabilities with helping identify the remains.

Jack Luikart, director of the West Virginia Fusion Center, described the identification as an example of how previously unresolved cases could benefit from centralized records and modern forensic methods.

The public reporting confirms the role of DNA-based identification but does not disclose a complete laboratory methodology, the genetic relationships examined, or every confirmatory procedure used.

Importantly, DNA identification established whose remains had been recovered. It did not, by itself, establish how Alyssa died.

Source: WSAZ — New cold case database helps ID missing woman.

September 17, 2024: Identification Announced

On September 17, 2024, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office announced that the remains discovered in Boone County had been positively identified as Alyssa Smith.

Her family received confirmation after more than two years of uncertainty.

For Emily, the identification brought an end to the possibility that Alyssa might unexpectedly return home. However, it did not answer the family’s remaining questions.

In her September 18 interview with WSAZ, Emily explained that knowing Alyssa had died was a form of closure, but the family still did not know what had happened to her.

The identification changed the focus of the case from locating Alyssa to understanding the circumstances of her death.

Source: WSAZ — Family reacts to missing woman’s remains identified more than two years later.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

What Caused Alyssa’s Death?

The most significant unresolved question is the cause and manner of Alyssa’s death.

The available reporting does not establish whether her death resulted from an accident, natural causes, an overdose, violence, or another circumstance.

Although her family described her struggles with addiction, that history does not establish that drugs caused or contributed to her death.

Likewise, the discovery of her remains in another county does not independently demonstrate that a crime occurred.

Without verified medical examiner findings or an official investigative determination, none of these possibilities should be presented as an established explanation.

How Did Alyssa Reach Boone County?

Alyssa was last associated with communities in Kanawha County, while her remains were recovered in Boone County.

Publicly available information does not establish how or when she traveled between these areas.

Investigators have not publicly confirmed whether she traveled voluntarily, was accompanied by another person, or was transported under circumstances relevant to her death.

Those questions remain unresolved in the reporting reviewed.

Were Other People Involved?

The available sources do not establish that authorities have publicly identified a suspect or person of interest in connection with Alyssa’s death.

There is also no verified public evidence supporting allegations against the friend Alyssa reportedly intended to visit, or against anyone else associated with her final known movements.

Identifying people from her past as suspects without investigative evidence would be inappropriate.

What Does Alyssa’s Family Believe?

Alyssa’s family has publicly expressed the need to understand what happened to her.

Emily and other relatives spent years searching for information. Their statements reflect grief, uncertainty, and a desire for answers.

These concerns are important, but they should not be confused with official forensic conclusions.

Source: WSAZ family interview, September 18, 2024.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

Research reviewed through October 25, 2026

September 2024: Statewide Cold-Case Initiative Helps Identify Alyssa

The most significant confirmed investigative development was the September 2024 identification of Alyssa’s remains.

WSAZ reported that West Virginia lawmakers had approved legislation in March 2024 to establish a statewide cold-case database. The initiative was intended to preserve and centralize information about unresolved cases, including missing persons, unidentified remains, and certain violent crimes.

The West Virginia Fusion Center worked with forensic partners to help identify Alyssa, demonstrating the potential of the new investigative infrastructure.

The identification was an important forensic achievement, but authorities acknowledged that questions surrounding her death remained unanswered.

Sources: WSAZ — New cold case database helps ID missing woman and WSAZ — DNA testing leads to break in 2022 missing persons case.

January 2025: Family Continues Seeking Answers

A January 9, 2025, discussion on Websleuths references subsequent WOWK reporting about West Virginia’s forensic genealogy efforts and the backlog of unidentified remains.

The report included comments from Alyssa’s sister, who emphasized that identifying the remains had not resolved the family’s questions about the circumstances of her death.

This was continued public attention to an existing identification, rather than confirmation of a new forensic discovery.

The related reporting can be found through Websleuths’ Alyssa Renee Smith discussion.

Current Public Status

The Charley Project classifies Alyssa’s missing-person case as resolved, reflecting the positive identification of her remains. Its case profile states that her death remains under investigation.

The West Virginia Missing Persons Project also acknowledges that Alyssa has been found and continues to preserve her case information for public awareness.

No publicly confirmed recent developments were located establishing a cause or manner of death, a homicide determination, an arrest, criminal charges, or a court proceeding connected to Alyssa’s death.

There is also no verified recent announcement of additional recovered remains, a new forensic identification, or a publicly named suspect.

This does not necessarily mean investigative activity has stopped. It means that further developments could not be confirmed from the publicly accessible sources reviewed.

Sources: The Charley Project and West Virginia Missing Persons Project.

Conclusion: A Family Still Deserves Answers

Alyssa Renee Smith’s disappearance began with unanswered telephone calls and months of uncertainty. More than two years later, DNA technology confirmed that she had died, bringing her family heartbreaking news.

The identification resolved one central mystery, but it did not explain what happened during the final period of her life or how her remains came to be in Boone County.

Her story also highlights the importance of treating missing and deceased individuals with dignity, regardless of whether they experienced addiction, homelessness, or other difficult circumstances.

Alyssa’s family remembers her for her humor, personality, and relationships—not solely for the challenges she faced.

How to Share Information

Anyone with firsthand information about Alyssa’s movements in February 2022, her final known contacts, or the circumstances surrounding her death is encouraged to contact the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Section at 304-357-0556.

Information can also be submitted through the sheriff’s official tip line.

Potential witnesses should contact investigators directly rather than publicly naming or accusing individuals online.

Although Alyssa has been identified, her family’s remaining questions deserve careful investigation and answers supported by evidence.