An Alabama Baptist pastor’s wife missing since March has returned to Alabama, according to news reports.
Mary Elizabeth Byrne “Beth” Smith, whose husband, Jason, is pastor of First Baptist Church, Summerdale, in Baldwin Baptist Association, disappeared four months ago from a Beth Moore conference in Bossier City, La.
Police found Smith in late July working at a fast-food restaurant in New York.
Took bus to New York
Authorities learned recently that Smith pawned her wedding ring at a shop near the convention center and then shelled out $169 for a one-way Greyhound ticket to New York, according to the (Mobile) Press-Register. She found work and housing through public assistance offered by the city and state of New York, her attorney, Robert Stankoski, said.
Once found, Smith expressed remorse, and after encouragement from detectives, she told them she “might” contact her husband and two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl.
Days later, Smith came home, saying she had made a “serious mistake” by leaving, Stankoski said Aug. 2.
In the time since Smith’s disappearance, her family, close friends and fellow church members at First, Summerdale, prayed and pleaded for her safe return, hoping she hadn’t fallen victim to foul play.
They recently held a balloon release as a vigil and have stood beside the pastor through his grief during the ordeal.
It took him weeks to return to the pulpit.
‘Had no plans to return’
Meanwhile Smith — who authorities say had developed an addiction to painkillers prior to leaving for New York — had started a new life for herself a thousand miles away from her Alabama home.
According to Bossier City police, she had no plans of returning to Alabama.
Now that she’s come back, Stankoski said Smith is “exploring several options about reuniting with her family.” (TAB)
Share with others: