By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Michelle Parker was 33 years old and a mother of three when she vanished from Orlando, Florida. Nearly 15 years later, she remains missing and presumed dead.
Michelle was last known to have dropped off her 3-year-old twins at their father’s condominium in the Lee Vista area of Orlando on Nov. 17, 2011.
That same day, an episode of The People’s Court featuring Michelle and her former fiancé, Dale Smith Jr., aired on television. The episode had been recorded months earlier and involved a dispute over an engagement ring.
Then Michelle Parker disappeared.
At approximately 4:26 p.m., Michelle’s phone sent her brother a message indicating she was in Waterford. Investigative reporting later indicated cellphone information did not place the phone there. Who sent that message has never been publicly established.
By around 8 p.m., her phone stopped transmitting in the Belle Isle/Oak Ridge Road area. At approximately 8:55 p.m., a red-light camera captured Michelle Parker's black Hummer H3 at Vineland Avenue and Conroy Road.
Investigators noticed something important: The brightly colored advertising decals normally displayed on Michelle’s Hummer appeared to have been removed.
The following day, Nov. 18, her Hummer was found abandoned in southwest Orlando.
Michelle Parker was nowhere to be found.
Then another major piece of evidence surfaced.
Approximately three weeks after Michelle Parker vanished, police recovered her iPhone underwater near a bridge at Lake Conway in Belle Isle.
Her vehicle and phone had now been found in separate locations, but she was still missing.
Orlando police eventually publicly identified Dale Smith Jr., her ex-fiancee, as the primary suspect in her disappearance. He has never been charged with kidnapping, homicide or any crime connected to Michelle’s disappearance, and no court has found him responsible.
Investigators conducted extensive searches of waterways, wooded areas, retention ponds and properties connected to the investigation.
In August 2023, Orlando police conducted another major search at a property belonging to Smith’s father. Investigators used ground-penetrating radar and examined an area around a concrete slab in the backyard.
Police later announced that nothing connected to Michelle Parker was found.
Michelle Parker is described as:
• 5 feet 6 inches tall, 130 pounds; with brown hair and brown eyes. She had a distinctive angel-wings tattoo on her back, and was reportedly last known to be wearing blue jeans and a blue Florida Gators hoodie.
There are still major unanswered questions:
• Who was driving Michelle Parker's Hummer that night?
• Why were the advertising decals removed?
• Who sent the message claiming Michelle Parker was in Waterford?
• How did her cellphone end up underwater near Lake Conway?
• And most importantly: Where is Michelle Parker?
There has been no publicly announced arrest in connection with her disappearance.
Michelle Parker's children and family have lived with these unanswered questions since Nov. 17, 2011. Someone may know something. Someone may remember something they dismissed years ago. Nearly 15 years is too long. Michelle Parker deserves to be found. Her children deserve answers. Even information that seems insignificant could matter to Orlando police investigators.
Anyone who who knows anything about the disappearance of Michelle Parker is asked to please call the Orlando Police Department: 407-246-2470; Crimeline: 1-800-423-TIPS (8477); FDLE Missing Persons: 1-888-FL-MISSING.
Michelle Parker's children and family have lived with these unanswered questions since Nov. 17, 2011. Someone may know something. Someone may remember something they dismissed years ago. Nearly 15 years is too long. Michelle Parker deserves to be found. Her children deserve answers. Even information that seems insignificant could matter to Orlando police investigators.
Anyone who who knows anything about the disappearance of Michelle Parker is asked to please call the Orlando Police Department: 407-246-2470; Crimeline: 1-800-423-TIPS (8477); FDLE Missing Persons: 1-888-FL-MISSING.
Here is the summary of Michelle Parker's disapperance as described in a Reddit post:
Michelle Parker, 33, was last seen on Nov. 17, 2011 dropping off her then 3 years old twins at their father's home at the Carter Glen Condominiums in Orlando.
At 2:30 pm she visited with family members at her mother's, Yvonne Stewart, salon in Oviedo. She left to pick up her twins from daycare. According to her mother, she was planning to head home after dropping the twins off with ex-fiancé Dale Smith Jr.
Around 3:15pm she texted her boyfriend at the time, Nathan Mitchell.
At 3:17 pm Michelle was seen on a security cam in the area as she drove to his home. It's unclear why security cam did not catch the moment when she or at least her Hummer left the area. It might be due to the angle of the camera
3:30pm Michelle's 11 year old son arrived home from school. Shortly thereafter he called his grandmother, Michelle's mom, asking where his mother was. Yvonne Stewart was surprised to hear that Michelle wasn't home yet. She called her daughter's phone but no one answered. Stewart tried to contact to Smith several times, but she was unable to get in touch with him then.
Around 4:30pm her brother, Dustin Erickson, sent her a SMS and asked where she was. He got a SMS back that simply said "Waterford". A possible reference to a nearby area. Waterford Lakes is outdoor mall 11-12 miles from Carter Glen Condominiums. I've read that that area is called Waterford. Some speculate that someone else sent that SMS. Normally she sent longer messages or at least smiley faces, xo's and hearts, etc.
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