Was Tera Smith ever found?
No trace of Tera has ever been found, and no evidence to point to what might have happened to her.
According to the California Department of Justice's missing persons site, the 5-foot-7 blonde with blue eyes was last seen wearing a white sports bra, multicolored shorts and white and navy Nike sneakers.
“At that point, we felt really satisfied that they were giving it their all,” Terry said Date line of the authorities' efforts to find Tera. “They brought in dead dogs. . . . We have a lake nearby. . . They've almost drained that lake.”
He continued: “We feel like they really gave it their all for probably six months to a year. And then it was a major case for another year or two. And since then, it's been shelved. It's completely cold. Cold like the stone”.
Although Tera's mother said the realization that she wasn't coming home was “a gradual process,” Terry said she felt the search was a lost cause after two days.
“I think Marilyn held on to hope a lot longer than I did,” he said. “I was convinced it was gone almost from the start.”
