July 18, 2026 – Valerie M Elder Smiley is still missing. There is still no public facing law enforcement missing person post on TN BIA – only Silver Alerts listed for adults (https://www.tn.gov/tbi/tennessees-missing-children/active-missing-adult-alerts.html), Hamilton County Sheriff (https://www.hcsheriff.gov/), Chattanooga PD (http://www.chattanooga.gov/police-department), Chattanooga Crime Stoppers (https://www.stopchattcrime.com/).

Valerie is only listed on NAMUS.

Valerie M. Elder Smiley has been missing since June 28, 2024, after leaving her Chattanooga, Tennessee, home around 2:00 p.m. in her red 2004 Ford Expedition (Tennessee license plate 079BFQD) with a “TSU Mom” sticker on the passenger-side door.

She was on her way to her twin sons’ baseball game but never arrived. During a phone call that afternoon, Valerie told her husband she was heading home, yet she never returned. Concerned when he could not reach her, her husband reported her missing later that evening.

Investigators later tracked Valerie’s cell phone to Fayetteville, Georgia, the following day, and then to an area about 30 minutes from Union City, Georgia the day after that. While her family said she occasionally traveled to Georgia to shop, they emphasized she would not normally travel that far and rarely ventured such a distance alone.

Valerie’s loved ones do not believe she left voluntarily. As a devoted mother of four sons and co-owner of Sak’s Wing Shak restaurant, they say it would be completely out of character for her to abandon her family or business. They also believe medication she was taking may have caused confusion or disorientation, leaving her unable to find her way home.

Valerie’s disappearance remains unsolved, and anyone with information about her whereabouts is encouraged to contact law enforcement.