Owen Smith
Owen Smith was 14 years old when he was held at the Florida Industrial School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, in 1940. In December 1940 he escaped with another boy and was never seen alive again. School officials said his badly decomposed body was later found under a house, and that they could not determine how he died but suspected he had perished from the cold. His sister, Ovell Krell Smith, a retired Lakeland police officer, has spent decades seeking answers, and the family says another boy reported that guards fired at Owen as he ran. The family has never received a death certificate.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed). School officials said the badly decomposed body was found under a home and suspected the cold, but could not determine the cause of death; his family does not accept this and says another boy reported guards firing at Owen as he ran.
Reported by: Florida Industrial School for Boys officials (the agency that held him); his family; another boy at the school.