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Family offers USD 20,000 for info on missing Fox executive

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Press Trust of India Los Angeles

The announcement of the reward came as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department stressed that there was no new information regarding Smith, the Hollywood Reporter said.

"It is still an open and ongoing case. It has not taken any particular direction," a spokesman for the sheriff's department said.

Smith, 57, an 18-year veteran of Fox's distribution department and former UCLA basketball player, was last seen on the night of May 1 at a friend's residence in Oak Park, an affluent Ventura County community.

He left the property in his black Mercedes-Benz E420 sedan between 9 and 10 pm.

Smith worked as Fox's branch manager for theaters in Dallas and Oklahoma City. He served as a liaison between the studio and theaters, making sure films get to their destination.

 

The detectives have received many leads but none of them have been useful so far. The department also has conducted searches of undisclosed areas on horseback, on foot and with fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

Smith's family has created a website seeking information about the executive and has taken to Twitter and appeared on television news programs to appeal for information about his whereabouts.

In mid-May, the family planned a search for Smith and sought the public's involvement but called off the effort after consulting with the sheriff's department.

Family members have said that Smith was staying with a family friend in Oak Park, which is also near Calabasas, on May 1 after returning from the CinemaCon theater-owners convention in Las Vegas. He was supposed to stay overnight with the friend, the Smiths have said.

Investigators hope that the reward offer will spur someone with credible information to come forward.

  

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First Published: Jun 06 2012 | 5:39 PM IST

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