Raechelle Smith, age 3, disappeared May 16th, 2006, from her home in Minot North Dakota. She lived with her aunt and legal guardian, Samantha Smith. The little girl was last seen by her aunt sleeping on the couch the night of her disappearance.

The next morning the little girl was missing, and Leigh Cowen who was living at the residence at the time of the child’s disappearance, told Samantha the little girl had been picked up by his mother for a few days.

The Aunt grew concerned when the days passed and the weekend approached, with no sign of Reachelle returning. On May 22nd, when Samantha awoke to find Cowen missing and his van gone, she called Cowen’s mom who had no idea about Reachelle's disappearance. When Cowen's mother denied having the child, Reachelle's Aunt called police and reported her missing and possibly abducted. An Amber alert was issued the same day.

Reachelle is believed to have been taken by 22-year-old Leigh Cowen. The circumstances of her disappearance are suspicious. Unfortunately, events took a strange and tragic twist when Cowen was found dead in his van the on May 23rd, in what appears to be a suicide by self induced carbon monoxide poisoning. Sadly, there is no evidence as to Reachelle’s location at this time.

If you have seen Reachelle Smith or know what happened to her please contact the local authorities, the Minot police at 701-852-0111, or contact your local FBI office. Can you help solve the mystery of this little girl’s disappearance?

Please be advised there are numerous sites claiming an email sent out at the time of Reachelle's disappearance makes this a hoax. This is NO hoax. There is a little girl named Reachelle Marie Smith would has disappeared without a trace. Websites claiming her disappearance is a hoax are only hindering her chances of a safe return. Please educate the people or websites that post Reachelle Marie Smith's case as an internet hoax and let them know Reachelle Marie Smith is an active missing child case. Let's bring Reachelle home!