Unheard: True Crime in Their Own Words - She Was Trafficked as a Baby… and Lived 50 Years Without Knowing Her Name | E. Monique Smith

Episode Date: April 6, 2026

In this episode of Unheard, I sit down with E. Monique Smith, a woman whose story almost defies belief.As a baby, she was taken from her biological family and raised by people who were not who they claimed to be. She grew up without knowing her real name, her real identity, or where she came from. For decades, she lived without documentation, without answers, and while enduring severe abuse behind closed doors.At 28 years old, everything began to unravel. What followed was a decades-long search for the truth that would take her through law enforcement agencies, national databases, and eventually DNA genealogy.She became known as the longest living Jane Doe.After more than 50 years, she finally uncovered her true identity and was reunited with the family she had been taken from as a child.This is her story, in her own words.Follow and subscribe for more stories that deserve to be heard.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Unheard, True Crime in Their Own Words. This is a show where we pull back the headlines, strip away the noise, and bring you face to face with the people who have actually lived these stories. Today's guest is someone whose story almost defies belief. I actually met today's guest at CrimeCon in Denver. A friend introduced us, and I sat there listening to her at my jaw drop, and I was not the only one. The person who was next to us was also stunned, and we both sat there in disbelief as she told her story because it's unlike anything I have ever heard. For decades, our guests lived without knowing her real name, a real family, or the truth about who she was. She was trafficked as a baby, as a child, raised by people who weren't who they claimed to be and left to spend a lifetime searching for answers.

She became known as the longest living Jane Doe. And through sheer determination, DNA genealogy, and an unrelenting search for the truth, she uncovered her birth name and finally reunited with the family she had been stolen from as a child. Today, she's here to share her story. This is E. Monique Smith. How are you doing today? Hey, man. How are you? How are you? How are you? I'm excited to have you here. So like I said in the, you know, the intro, we set down to Crime Con and, you know, I had a friend with us and she was listening to and we both just were like flabbergasted when you were telling our story or your story, I should say. And then I was like, oh, we, I'm doing this podcast. This is kind of how this came about, guys. I told her I'm doing this podcast. I need to have you on. This is the story's too incredible. Like I don't know if even incredible is the right word. It's an insane story, really. And Monique is one of the sweetest, nicest, most resilient people, incredibly successful people that you can need. And when you couple that with what she's endured,

she's really just quite remarkable. So that being said, you know, the premise of this show was to kind of let you share your story in your own words. So I'm going to just shut up now and kind of let you introduce yourself and tell the people kind of what your ordeal was. Oh, okay. So let me get to like the heart of everything before I get to, you know, the beautiful things that I've been able to do during the journey. And you're kind of coming in right now on a time that I call my justice journey.

You know, everyone kind of, you know, have a pocket of they want justice for things that happen to them. Yeah, you could begin if you have plenty of understanding, but you want to hold people accountable for the ills that they've done to other people. especially when you're violated people's everyday human rights is just ridiculous and a horrific way. So at the assumed age of 28, I discovered something was wrong. Like I really challenged my mother to give me my documentation. And my son had a chance to go to a Shiland Temple. And I realized I couldn't prove to anyone that my children were my children. I'd never seen my versipity here, never seen any documentation on me whatsoever.

And I always met with an abrasive tone and sometimes action when it came to getting my pay for work. And this was, you know, like challenged in high school and graduating. So it was just so odd. And she looked at me and said, you know, I'll go to my grave before we know anything. And at that very moment, I kind of did that reverse flow in fast-paced, to just hearing a child say to me at the age of eight, you know, we're playing, give me my toy, let me hold your toy,

it's not your toy. You know, I'm going to tell your mother, well, she's not your mother anyway. That populated in my head. at the same time when I was being sexually abused by her brothers and I, you know, with the school, tried to get help and one of the counselors said, you know, tell him what he's doing wrong. And I confronted him and said, you know, what you're doing to me is wrong. He said, you ain't, me ain't my use anyway.

So thoughts like that that I had heard over the course of those almost two decades just came to my face and said, these people are not my people. Like, this is not my family. Like, what is going on? Now, mind you, I had already been, like, staving through under the radar of life. With no versatility, no documentation. I was just, you know, using whatever I could use to say, oh, I went to school. You know, hear something from the school record.

But unfortunately, I was failed by every single municipal possible. because I went to school I had a social security number. There were baptismal people were on me but who really verified who really checked and received the required information

to even release a social security card to even enroll me into school even to baptize me on record and I kid you not it was the most chilling experience that I

indoor career on top of years on top of years. And so I had wrote a book saying that I am the ancestor before I die, I share my story. I almost died several times. People do not understand when they say to victims, why did you stay? You know, why didn't you, you know, why didn't you, you know, why didn't you, wait a minute, when your life is being threatened, there were times when I was at the age of seven that I thought that that was going to be the last day that I was going to be alive.

When I closed my eyes, I had no idea feeling comfortable that I would even wake up. That's how bad the abuse was. This woman beat me every day. She beat me twice if it rained. You know, it was a day that she wasn't having a good day. I'm talking from the age of four and five, and the sexual assault started at the end of three, three, up until literally at the eight or 18. And it just never dawned on me. You know, I thought things were right and okay.

I just couldn't figure out what was going on. And everyone in that asked with help knowing you anything. Everyone agrees to say anything. So even when she said what she said, and I went back and started interview with people, I got the whole little, oh, you get, no? I'm like, no, no what? Oh, I don't know. Well, I think I heard something. Heard what?

So here are adults. to watch me as a being go through this level of abuse for almost two decades and never stepped in. So I'm thinking of how many children in this world are being abused and people see it. I think, you know, either they're scared to step in, they're frozen because they're shocked at things are happening. But how many children are really just enduring pain every single day? And all I kept thinking is, how could I get my kids in a secure place? Because at the time I wrote my book, my children were still minors. It was no mother, no father, no aunts, no uncles, no sister, no one.

Absolutely no one. When I realized that I was literally my only force of hope, and I had to be the ancestor. I literally had to take on the end, the grandmother, you know, the aunt's to almost too much order. and to be believed. You can tell people and they just don't believe you. A victim shaming begins and that's more pressure on you, more levels of depression.

You know, and you're trying to become psychologically whole and balanced. And the challenges are there. And my goopie self decides you white. I'm 18, I'm bragging, I'm an adult now, I got my high school diploma. I sneak away. I jump on a greyhound butts and I go to Florida. Thinking that I had extake, I'm going to start a new life.

And I ran right into a Pimp. Ran right into the next thing I know, the trafficking started again. Prostitution life, living on the street, it began. And I kept saying to myself, I know that I meant for so much more. So again, now I'm trying to extate this new life. And I'm thinking the whole world has got to be creative to do it with the family. When I knew in my heart, I saw some are good people. I don't know why I was not running into the good people.

You know, I had classmates who, you know, parents picked them up from school, bought them the latest clothing, showed up to all the meetings. I had neighbors, you know, parents teach them how to chop rope and ride bikes and move, but it wasn't happening for me. And I decided to come back to Maryland. and I kept saying I know I'm making for so much more. Well, alternatives are out there. So because I couldn't go to college, I decided I bought my first house.

Then I bought another house. You didn't have that reimburse certificate to buy property. So luckily for me, I bought home after home after home and tried to secure it. And then I go, oh, my God, I'm paying up a $600,000 life insurance policy for my kids. Without a birth certificate, you get no Zabstit. get it. So being the ancestor, how do I pass these things onto my children? So instantly, as soon as my eldest got to read, I started, you know, giving them the homes, you know, there's nothing else like it, dude. By this time, I'm like, okay, you've got to find your identity, who am I? Where do I

come from? What happened to me? I go on a national search, literally. I contacted the national center misreported children. They were shocked. They were like, what do you mean? I'm sorry. I'm going missing kid. I'm just all grown up now. And they go, you're all grown up now. I said, like, there's a family somewhere in this country. I'm pretty sure it's looking for me. I just don't know my name. I don't know more. Or that I don't know anything about me. And I gave them all the paperwork and the inconsistency of the paperwork. Like one said I was born in 66, 67, 68. One said I was born in Chicago. One said I was born in New York. Cause one said I was in Baltimore, Maryland. The names were different. So I went from Monique to Monica,

to Monika. It was just so shocking to see this information. So eventually the National Center and Missispoited Children did work for me. They did take my intake. And it was probably the first of its kind back then because I think I came across them probably in 1996, maybe 1996. And they took the intake. So I'm listed on the National Center of Missing and Expoored Children. Like I've convinced that I'm just a missing kid all grown up. similar to the missing milk carton kids. And my campaign began all missing toward our day. Unfortunately, a lot of families want that closure,

even if it results in a body bag. They still want the closure. And I needed it. I didn't know how much longer I was going to hide for my employer. Like I literally was at the point of going into a financial institution thinking that I couldn't use my ID to get money to take care of, children. I thought all the hard work of acquiring my properties that they were going to get taken from me. My world was constantly coming apart by the thread as much as I was trying to use the

thread that stole it back up. And I said, okay, let's try the DNA. Why, you know, by the National Center's doing what they're doing, because you know, they do an annual loop to see if there's any links that comes up with your intake. So a 20-degree of me, Ancestuses.com. And I don't know if you're familiar with Namis. NamUs is a national organization to take the pictures of unclaimed bodies, homeless people that may have been under park benches, abandoned homes, individuals who pass away from a crime and no one claims the body. They record that information. I was in the registry with deceased before. I didn't, listen, I poured into me and my story like a river. I was leaving no stalled unturned.

so much so that when I reached out to the Salvation Army who's been around since the early 1800s, after they took my case, they said, oh my gosh, there's nothing that we can do for you. We've got to have something to start somewhere. And that's where I came up is I'm actually the longest-living J-go. Like a walking. I can't even, I'm trying to think, ooh.

Yeah. And I've been working with this case. My impersonal one for well over 20 years or now. Just to know that my story has helped a lot of people, but it's been a lonely journey. Like even though I have the love of my children, you know, to create, I'm just so grateful, you know, how he's asking me to take this assignment and run with it. But to just constantly get rejected and deny the member of the FBI kind of say, well, how do we know that you're not an illegal criminal kind of painting new identity? and the CIA something similar would say, you know, what they were,

but what if you've been incarcerated for a year, and you're trying to start a new life with this whole, you know, and I'm giving them all this paperwork, at least did some type of a paper trail. And the doors kept getting shut in my face again and again and again. And I took the book and spent thousands of dollars. I was sending books and transcripts to Oprah, Sally, Jesse, Raphael, Jenny Doe, Three-E late, Morty Bowler, you name it,

just so I get my face on television. that somebody would say, oh my gosh, I remember this year a baby went missing. This time, a woman spoke up about it. And literally 10 years had passed and that would happen. So I hired my own film crew and I directed my own documentaries, the longest living game. And mind you, to be clever, I had already had taken photos of myself prior to me running away. And I would able to use, use the photos. There's any event that no one could buy the book or see the movie, at least the photos of who I looked like was right there in front of somebody's face and be able to recognize me. That didn't happen. Literally that didn't happen. So my case was the case that opened

the eyes of detestives who had worked on cold cases. It kind of gave a pope. You know, they went back to these cases and said, oh my gosh, this, this leaves. Like, we are missing for over 50, years unidentified for over 50 years. No one, no connection whatsoever. I'd never got a pain for ancestors.com or being victim shame, you know, that's stupid. DNA is at the top of it's not right now. She should be able to connect to someone. She's not in 23 and me and nothing worked well. The state police had already had my case. Because justice, like I said, you're on my justice drain, right? Justice to me was making sure that this woman who told me she would tape my story to you, great. And she happened to

if she passed away at 77, 1990, 19, I mean, so I'm a 2019. He passed away at 77. And it was just, it just felt like how could I get any information from anybody? So the documentary did good

and the protectors here in Merlin did all they were going to do. And it was a sleuth. And you can tell your story and tell your story. People are following your journey. Tell your story. tell your story and this lady

inbox me one day and she says Mooney for the last 15 years like I've been following your story and I think you're Phyllis Powell Phyllis Powell is a girl missing in the Carolanis and I contact my detective and she said I don't think that's you

and I said I don't think so either because yeah I got Andrew Bassetties but I'm not that old but out of the process she definitely stuck to the protocol They alerted the sheriff. They didn't contact the family, although I wish they would have

because I do feel that to me, letting the family know the transformation is still out there and someone's looking at it. There's some type of oak. But we knew that once they did the match, that it was not a complete match. But my detective W. Fowler, she said, oh, my gosh, I can't believe it. So she reaches out to C.C. Moore. I don't know if we know C.C. Moore, the DNA. and she reaches out to her.

And I said, oh, girl, I didn't already send her team and some information, you know, years ago. I think an hour later, she called me back. Guess what I just spoke to? I said, ooh, CC more. I gave her all your information. And lo and behold, she pulled together a team with Tang, DNA specialists, and they pulled my information

from Ancester.com 23 and Nainis. And they did this. I'm going to call it a cocktail. And sure enough, in less than a week, it probably was like four days, three or four days. She reached back out to her executive and made a soft from John Doe. She said, listen, I got this live Jane Doe here in Maryland. She's my only case.

I followed all my cases. And she was even shot. She was shocked. So I think that was something that kind of, you know, gave her team something new when it came to solving a crime. and I know she got an immediate response because she's law enforcement 80. I'm a, you know, a citizen.

So I'm not saying that I couldn't have got help. But again, it's open in the eyes the individual who work in the industry to say here is a case similar to. And lo and behold, they found a woman that was 60 looking for the death certificate. So no one was even looking for me anymore. They were looking for the death certificate.

of her baby sister. So I called her up and we had the conversation and lo and behold, because of COVID, we couldn't get tested. Done at that time. It took us almost two years before we get confirmed it.

But we looked like identical twins. You know, we looked exactly like identical twins. So if she wound up being my bio sister and then I got the whole story. But during the course of time, HBO was doing a documentary on the disparity of African-Americans not getting resources, you know, compared to other people.

And they wanted to know, could they do the story? And I said, yeah, but it was weird how it came about because someone said, oh, you need another story? There's a missing girl. This is how bad my advocate. I was on point with this advocacy. And they were in Virginia, and they said, oh, it's a girl that's missing in Baltimore. And it was like, what is it her mom? You know, no, it's a girl.

She's missing in both of them. So they called me up. So ATEO, they did a documentary called Black and Missing. And it just really focused on, like, how can get more resources, more attention, more media coverage. So that helped, again, sharing my story a whole other platform. So I was grateful of that. And then next thing, you know, it came like, wow. And A&E reached out to me and said, you know, you have an incredible story. We said you get to help a lot of people. Would you be well when you share? So yes. I was able to successfully help them and really just help, help society to me, elevate humanity. You know, what's the little bit of hope?

I know you got questions. I mean, I was. Oh, I do. I do. But I'm just like, I'm not interrupting your story. You got a good flow going there. So, yeah, I mean, I mean, it's, again, it's a remarkable story. So, all right, let's go back toward the beginning.

So you went missing, you know, as an infant, as a baby or toddler. right? Do you know roughly what year? I was one year old. Yeah, I've traced everything back now. So I would have been one and about the turn two in 1968. Okay, so you know now what year you were born then? In 1966, yes. Okay. So do you have pretty much, so you have all your identification, like now you know who you are after all these years, first certificate and all that stuff. And your biological mom, your bio mom, was she still? No. Yeah. She was she at her. he passed away. So I even kind of pieced together what happened. They have peace together.

In my mind, when I met my sister, there was seven surviving sisters, seven, all over the age of 50. And my mom at that time had the seven kids. And this woman took advantage of a vulnerable woman. My mom was by herself, no mother, no father herself. She was a single child. I only child. Sorry. She was the only child with no safety net, no resources. Like I said, she had seven kids by seven different men. And she was a teenage woman. So when I started looking at the ages that she gave birth to my siblings, I knew right then that this woman was looking for love in all the long places. So I couldn't cold her or just feel ill against that. But this woman came across a female who once heroin came to Harlem, You know, what her mindset. I think what we call post-partum depression now, had to be what she was going, Drew. And this woman took the advantage of it.

Because she literally took me from New York, from the Bronx, bought me a Baltimore, Maryland, and was bad, but was gone for several years. So even her family did not know, how did I come about? Did she give birth to me? What did this baby come back? They were even asking her,

What is this child's name? These are things that I found out later on in this story. And it was weird. So to me, she was hiding because someone said, well, how do you know if your mother didn't sell you for drugs? She had seven kids. Back in the day, every child you got, that was more money, you know. And the older kids always took care of the other kids. You know, just like my sister just happened in them doing when she shared her story.

And it was just wild to see that this woman took advantage of my, you know, know, a vulnerable woman at the time. And she could not deceive children. So when you guys got to match, you and your sister, obviously, I'm sure you were probably beyond excited to have something. What was that conversation like? Oh, my God. So I always tell this, my speaking and doing, because one of the most funniest things.

So once I got the list and the information from the DNA detected, then my, my detective in Maryland. I called the number. I saw the name. I saw the ages. I saw the of the nation. And I called the oldest persons, you know, name. And it kind of went like this. And I called. I say, hello. And I was like, hi, how are you? Who is this? I said, oh, well, I'm just trying to call for you. Don't play games at me. I'm from New York. You don't play games at me. I'm over 60. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no problem. I said, I was just looking for Veronica and she said, yeah, this is her. So what do you want?

I said, well, that's what I'm trying to figure out. She goes, who is it? I said, I don't know. I said, I'm trying to figure it out of you. Let me talk to you for a minute. I don't play on the phone. I'm over 60. And the way these people play with this internet, all this spam is up. I said, no, ma'am, this is not the situation. Then who is this? I said, I'm about the ex.

And she goes, oh, my gosh, I know your name. And I go, I said, what is it? I'm not telling you anything. I told you this could be a prank call. I said, listen, I said, you must be my sister. I said, because you are fighty as hell and so am I. And she hung up the phone. So I said, no, before she hung up to.

Did she realize that you were the missing sister at this point or one of the others? I don't even think that she, I mean, I think she might have knew when I called to say, I'm looking for my name or looking for, you know, you keep asking me, what's my name? And I'm trying to call you to ask the name. And she was, what do you look like? I said, I don't know what I look like. I don't have any distinguishing features. No, fuckles, no birth mark.

I don't know. And when she hung with the phone, I said, oh, so she wants to know what I look like. I found her on Facebook. And I just started sending pictures. Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping. I'm just throwing up. I said, you want to do it. And sure enough, she did a side-by-side photo and synced it back.

And that's what we looked just alike. And that's when she called me. She was crying. And she said, I was, you know, I was just looking for your death certificate. did. I didn't know you were, you know, still alive. I was trying to find, you know, all the seven sisters again. And everyone was alive, you know, met them all. And it was just, it was just incredible. But it was just wow how she was not trusted but trusting. She was happy, but she was a little more about, you know, making the connection. Yeah. I mean,

you've been missing for 50 years. So yeah. Yeah. They thought I was dead, actually. So that was the same. After that law, most people would think that, you know, you, you know, I mean, legally, you can be cleared after seven years. So how much older is she than you? It's easy. Let me see. Oh my God. I think seven years, eight years.

So does she remember you going missing? Yeah. So two of the sisters remember because she was 16 at the time. No, she was younger than 16. When our mom passed, she was 16. My other sister was 14. So those two older ones. So she would always say, I remember you being there.

You were there one day and then that's thing you were gone. And that's the, that's the, they were the oldest two. So they were the only two that really knew, you know, that something happened. They just couldn't figure out, you know, what had happened. And were you ever reported missing, like to the police? So I went to the National Archive and definitely the one in New York City once I really realized it was in New York City. And I searched, but, you know, just learning how New York changed, the Bureau's changed, there were so many, you know, five to ten years. I was going through.

So again, being a single mother, and I had four children, like, I was always watching. I had proper detectives over that long period of commerce searching, you know, just fill out these applications and a process of the mailing. So I never saw anything, but I'm not going to say that there wasn't anything. My mother had some criminal activities as well because of her drug use. And like I said, back then, if a child, you know, he's removed, that's less income that you get. So I don't know, you know, she was wrong for wrong, you know, drug use. A lot of things played in the, in the fact that it's a lot of things fact that am I've got so.

I never recovered one. So maybe what you're saying is possibly and, you know, she was, I mean, it sounds like your mom had a pretty rough go of it. Just in general. And, you know, she passed away. It sounds like she was pretty young. She was 34. It's very, very young. Right.

Right. You know, with, you know, substance uses, drug usage and then, you know, like you said, looking from in the wrong places, maybe it was one of those situations where she's like, well, I'm going to keep collecting that check and not, you know, I got six others here. So, you know, I'm not saying that that's okay, but it's great. So was your, the one sister that you spoke to that was looking for your death certificate, had she been kind of like looking for you for a long time? Or had she been kind of like wondering or what's?

I think she gave up after a while. Like I said, because to me in the beginning, she was looking. And I think because the time lapse. And then I think it stopped. And then was the additional time lapse. It went from looking for me to looking for a death certificate. So I was grateful that had even been remembered. You know what I'm saying?

She remembered through snoring. That was important to me. That meant, you know, that was something I could hold on to. She was able to tell me that, you know, our mother was a good mom. She said in the beginning before the drug use, she sold me clothes for us. She cooked breakfasts, you know, they went to school. Everything was fine. And it just started out slow with, you know, little peace, love and happiness with marijuana.

And then I guess over time it progressed. And they never saw grandma or grandfather, you know, at all. And again, I think, like I said, once heroin came in the hall, let me just, she just took a dive and just the result in the way they did. She actually died in a drug house of an overdose, you know, at 34. That's really sad. Yeah, it was really sad. They did see less of her.

My sister would have been young, like, I'm talking. My sister was young. She was actually 16. And she took on the role, you know, she dropped out of school. She took on the role of trying to keep the kids together before. society and social service and all kids. So she did the better she could under the circumstances.

And she literally never went back to school. Like my book was the very first book and she read her in its entirety. So it showed me family value. It really meant something to her, you know, to get the siblings together only half of our mom. Because she saw the mom.

She saw the two oldest kids saw the mother, like saw the mother. Even if he was a young, teenage mom, you know, she, they saw it. Like, my mom was having kids at pregnant at 14, having kids at 15. And before, before I get into the woman that, that, that took you, um, how's the relationship and everything now with, I mean, have you met all, all your siblings at this point? Yeah, back in 2009, I mean, 2019. Yeah, 2019. Yeah. 2019. Yeah. Okay. And good relationship, everything, all excited. Well, you know, everything. I was,

Everyone has a different life. It's just like real life, you know, real life. So even though I have two movies, the real life is they still had their real life. And of course, some didn't even know about me. There were the younger ones who never even knew I existed. Just the older ones and they would share, but it still wasn't connected.

And then to pop up on the scene, after your mother's back, the way to say, what, there were more. And when I say seven surviving sisters, that's how many kids survived. So they were more children. Gotcha. Yeah.

That was really sad, dude. She, you know, I think Satan drug my mother through hell on her. You know, pregnant, 14, 15, 16, you know, having kids like that was. He has a lot of kids. I 34. Yeah. So, so let's, let's switch to the, for a minute and talk about the woman who took you. So you said that she had taken advantage of your mom.

Was she, was she like supposedly coming in to like help your mom out with some of the daily activities? or how did she integrate herself into your mom's life to get access? I never knew that part. I said, that's what my mom. You know, I just don't know how they came. I don't know if they were friends. I don't know if they were coworkers.

I did hear stories that one story was they did work together at a bar that was one story. And then another story was they were friends, some kind of way they were friends. And it could have been how she was able to you know, manipulate or we into this family, my mom's family,

and just be there. You know. Yeah. Yeah. And so she takes you and she's trying to pass you off. And I mean, I, this is more like a rhetorical, like, statement, but it's like I don't, I don't understand

somebody who would want to take a child to pass that child off as their own to then be so incredibly abusive to that child. Yeah. I don't, I didn't get it either. And to be honest with you, I don't know if you remember the story of Connolly and the white, the little, the baby that was stolen right out of the hospital in New York. And so she was, she was, she was abused, but not severely abused like myself. It was just war on the reason.

And I think, I just, you know, I don't know what possessed this woman to do it. I don't know if she was angry because she could not concede children and it still wasn't hers. It was a fear because of what she did. She was having anxiety. To this day, I could not pinpoint, you know, why she did it. But she was a criminal. This woman was, this woman. When I got a chance to learn about her record, she was a criminal.

You know, and I witnessed. And again, like I said, you know, growing up with her, I witnessed all the fraud, the socially security abuse. the fake bankruptcies. Like I thought back of all of these cases. You know, her slip into the

supermarkets, you know, it just didn't don't know me. I didn't, you know, you're living the life and that's your parents. You're thinking, you know, you don't think about it. But when you look back in hindsight, as they say,

I was raised by a criminal. This woman had, she had a rap sheet. You know, so her, it's, taking me and bringing me to Baltimore and going back within like within a week her family said within a week she showed up brought me off and she went back and um her brother's i just think that they knew something it was almost like well you can't tell me because i'm going to mention something for you so

um yeah she yeah yeah so when and i know that you know at 28 you had said that um you know you know you there was a kind of a larger blow up, like she'll go to her grave. When did you really kind of start, like, you know, when you're eight or nine, you hear these questions, oh, you're not my niece anyways, or you're not, you know, this, that's not your mother. You know, that could be just like people being mean. But when did you start to really connect the pieces, like in your mind to start thinking, like, all right, maybe something's really not right about this whole situation?

I honestly didn't. I don't know because I was so hopeful. I honestly didn't. Like literally, I was in high school. and it was time for all of our friends to go to drive his egg. You know, the whole class thing would go. You take the test, the exams, you know, you can get your permit. And I confronted her.

And I'm like, oh, mom, guess what, you know, you don't have to worry about came for me to go to driver's school. You know, driver's ed is at school. You know, I'll be able to go that way. And then I'll charge him for the bleed. Oh, my gosh, I almost got beaten until I couldn't see. You know, you don't just drive my car. Who's going to pay for this insurance?

who do you think you are? And I played it off. And then the following year, like right in my senior year, you know, when the armed forces come to your school and your recruiters are talking to you and, you know, you can pick what force you want to go into. And I did the same thing. And I was like praying the whole time. Like, you know, mom, you don't have to pay for college.

You know, I can go into the service. You know, all they need is my birthday. And still at that moment when I'm asking for the birth to be very similar to what I did when I asked for the birth to be. Or private school. the same beating. Now, I kid you not. I was with a diploma

over the age of 18 working a whole time job and I was still getting beat. So I had not put, I just thought that I had to crave me mom. Like, my friends would say, oh, I can't stay at my mother. My mother's a bee, you know,

and I'm like, yeah, mine's too, you know, because your curfews being taken away versus you get beat every day. Like, yeah. Until you get beat with her back, the note of pay I couldn't even imagine I thought my friends

were actually going through the same situation I thought it was I did not think of it until I was so far gone in life when it hit when it actually hit

when I wrote the Department of Social Service Department of Education and cost of it I mean you name it all the mail started coming in and that's when it hit at the issue of age 28

literally I'll open up this paperwork and I'm saying the alias is that she were the how many times my name it changed and it just right there at the same day to 28 and I didn't I wasn't actually 28 now I think a lot out of it 29 so now my real birthday it would have been when I was 29 so this is just this is just kind of a curiosity sake because obviously you had to jump through some hoops than to get any time of ID which obviously you did it you you did at some we know it because you know you've bought houses you I know you I know you own a business. I know you own a bit of business. You've obviously driven a car. How did you circumvent that? Like, how did you, like, I don't, maybe I should be asking that question because maybe that's going to have some. But like, I'm like, how does you, huh? It's in the book? Yeah, it's in the book. So God has been on my side since day one, because for me to be so blessed and so fruitful now, I think I was saved before I knew I was saved. And when I went in enrolled to the police department in Hartford, Connecticut, I applied, the application came through, and I got all the documentation because it's required for HBO and Lifetime. So I got the documentation from the Hartford Police Department

said, congratulations, we got the application, you know, you can come in, da-da-da-da-da. So I go in the application process. And they did actually my first, I didn't have it, my daughter, I didn't have it. But the system automatically set you up after the interview. You go back for a physical. So I just went back, followed the instructions on the paperwork, and I went, you know, that was perfectly fine. So sure enough, the physical came back. And again, automatically the congratulations, you're on phase two.

Now you can go and meet your recruiter. So I go and I meet the recruiter. By this time, I'm in the academy. Like I'm literally in the academy, you know. And there were four, maybe five. I don't remember how many exactly. Cadets that did not have their driver's license. When you're going to training, you have to have

your driver's license because you're going to be in one of the vehicle. They put us on a bus and they take us to the motor vehicle. And I'm thinking to myself, oh my God, I've got to pass this. That's I got to pass this. That's like to pass this. That's like a got to. I literally passed the test on the first spot. I was driving. Don't get me wrong. I was, I was driving.

I knew how to drive and was driving. I was driving. I don't know. I kind of, yeah, yeah. I can't even say what I want to say right now. But I was already driving. Yeah. Taking my time getting through the test and not paying.

So let me tell you something. I never let the driver's license expire. And back then, you could take a driver's license from one state and come to another state and they would just swap them out. You could actually, you know,

I was in Hartford, Connecticut when I moved back to Maryland, I gave them the driver's license and they just take it and you just give you a Maryland warrant. You don't take an exam all over again. And it's different now. But back then,

so I would never let them. it expired. You know, it'll be a whole year before and he was like, Ms. Smith, it's not even going to renew it. Yeah, so that's how I wasn't able to fly under radar. That one driver's license from the police department in Hartford, Connecticut has allowed the order me opportunity to get jobs. Like, I worked at John Hopkins. Sixty years. Yeah, assistant medical director. Like, I was scared, petrified every day that someone was going to come in. Did you call it the year, you know, with identity theft and immigration, did a new, reason to get your IDs updated.

You know, now we have the smart IDs that are out, you know. And so I was always fearful. I would think I would go into the bank and like, all my money would be gone because, you know, I knew I gave people information, you know, that was fraudulent. I had to live. I didn't create the plot on it. I knew I was using it. Gotcha.

So you were set up with a, I'm guessing your mom or somebody had set you up with like a different identity. And we're using that kind of, because of that you had some kind of a social, you had some kind of a, maybe not a birth certificate, but you had two socials? Yeah. And it's actually, you know, when you think, like, I've been working since I was nine, physically working. Like, I had BIDs physically working since the age of nine. Like, I'm surprised the department, but social service never caught there. There was nothing a glitch that would question, how is this child making this much money? you know, it's just not making sense.

But things weren't, technology wasn't the way it is now. We had glitches and things in that nature. It could get caught. So I was trafficked when, you know, label force with her because she would get all the checks. I would just give her my paycheck every week or she would take the paycheck every week. And then when I got to high school, she would have me cash the check. But I can only give her, I mean, she would only give me back enough money to get back and forth to work for the following week. Gotcha.

Yeah. this woman, I'm telling you, I was raised. This woman was, I don't know. You're raised by a monster. Yeah. I mean, you know, I'll say it. You don't have to say it. I'll say it.

Yeah. So obviously, you know, that whole family was incredibly abusive to you. Is there anybody on that family that, you know, from the, I don't know what you'd call them, the fake family that that was ever good to you? There were two people. Her mom, I think, was scared of her. but she was always, you know, nurturing the situation, you know, after the abuse, it'll be dead there, baby, dad, but, you know, better day they got to come, better day they don't know. So, you know, she was, she was just really, you know, that person.

Like, I didn't get a chance to really learn anything from her. She was just that big mama to kind of keep everybody together, regardless of how things happened. And then one of the uncles who, he, he. had no idea. Like, I think he was almost, he was heartbroken to a point of depression. Once he realized what she had done and what the Heartland brothers were doing. And he was generous enough to work with the police department. So him utilized a new DNA was the first way to help me get my case going. You'll prove because it was only allegations. It was not my mother.

but by them sharing the same by old parents, mother and father, them doing the DNA with him. So he went to the authorities with me and relinquished his DNA. And that kind of got my case going. So I always you had a couple people there that were, I used to come in your corner loosely, but you know. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they saw the, they saw the how I was being chastised. They were, you know, they were kind of like intervene, like, you know, they saw her, or say, okay, that's enough.

You can, you know, she gets it. Stop, you know, stop the abuse. Stop being where I stop beat. Like, I was, watch this woman, you know, get tired. Like, you'd beat a child until you're tired. You're exhausted. It doesn't make sense. Yeah.

And not that abuse was, is ever okay. But, you know, that was also, I guess, a time too, where, you know, physical punishment was not uncommon when it came to disciplining. I'm using air quotes here. Disciplining children. And so maybe they just thought that. that's what it was. I don't know. But it's... I agree. Yeah, but not to that, not to that severity. I mean, you know, T. Y, four, them backs and, and they know, that's never okay.

Yeah. Yeah. There's a scene where, like, one time a friend of hers was coming over, and when they were having a conversation, and they were talking, and the next thing I know, she knocked on the door. And when the fake mom went out the room, I looked up my shirt to show like this massive breeze to cross my back and she was like this. And then I heard her comments, I pulled my shirt galleon. You know, we pretended to, she never said anything to.

She never came back. I just knew that she was going to call the authority. I need you to go come and snatch you. She was going to help you. She never said anything. She literally. It's amazing how many people just stand there and, like, know,

that kind of stuff's going to be. going on just like, I'm just not going to get involved. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, it's really, really bad. So that's what this is why I've been really deep into. So I was doing side by side advocating at the same time that I was searching, you know, to be able to share my story, use it in one form and then, you know, be able to try to pride place to prevent it, you know, because you can advocate for forever, but until people implement. Yeah.

Like I said, you know, missing children are, you know, every. And human trafficking is a $150 billion, not million dollar, $150 billion annually industry a year. And this woman was definitely, you know, even if it was like not the sex trafficking with her, with sex trafficking. And once I turn to Keith with a whole other person. But this woman used every way possible having me work for her and exploit the welfare system. it's really quite like it said at the beginning of this it's really quite a crazy story like you know it's this is why our jaws were on the floor because there's just so much to it being missing for

for so long but how many other children do you think i'm sure that there's a lot know that they're missing they i don't i think there are children that are being raised in this country who abducted as you know little children in elementary school or brainwash you know once they got of like anything over seven or eight brainwashed enough than not even know that these people are not their biological family. I think that there's probably more than we realize for sure. I think that with the days of DNA and things like that, it's getting more difficult. But, you know, we've seen even recently, you know, the extent there's a story that this was

about a month or so ago, maybe not even from the time that we're recording this, where a little girl in Oklahoma gave birth to her stepdad's baby. but like they tried to claim that it was another little boy and it was just quote kids being kids just exploring and curious and she this this little girl got pregnant and you know she I said 12 I think she was 11 yeah it was 11 I mean she got pregnant 10

and then they did the DNA test and it's it turns out like we all were not surprised that it was the stepdad's baby but what they did to hide her is they pulled her out of school home quote homeschooled her she didn't see a doctor she didn't see you know anybody and there's not really checks and balances in there for people to check on these people. In fact, I'll take it one step further in Oklahoma specifically with this child. The house was so filthy. It was, you know,

described as being, what's the word? I don't forget exactly what they use, but it was, it was horrific. Like no running water, animal feces everywhere, just living in absolute, like a squalor, I think, is the term they used it from squalman. And people reported this like, hey, there's kids living here. This is in good conditions. Nobody from CPS, nobody from family services,

no police never showed up ever, no matter how many people reported it. So that's an, and my point of saying this story that this was all in 2025, you know, this all just happened. And still,

this child fell through the cracks. And now, you know, she could have died. And the reason they end up calling the ambulance, just the record of that story. She could have died giving birth. You're right. She could have a guy remember.

And the mom was pregnant, too. I recall three. I don't know if she's given birth. Yeah, if she hasn't given birth, it's got to be any day now. But yeah, the mom is pregnant at the same time from the same man. So she helped deliver the baby. And the only reason they called EMS was because the child started hemorrhaging. Right.

So, I mean, it's just, you know, I watched, I haven't gone through about. I watched my wife give birth. It was my daughter was a preemie. She, it was a C-section. They took everything out, patted on the table because there was partial placenta creta, partial abrupt. and so they were trying to like save her years, the whole thing. And that was in a medical facility.

I cannot. A child's body is not meant to go through that. And there's no medical, like nothing, no prenatal care, nothing. And the point to all of that whole story, and for people listening, it's horrible. You can just Google it and look it up. But that this is in 2025 and she was able to, they were able to circumvent the system for over a year. And had they're not been hemorrhaging, they, probably would have made her, they still probably wouldn't have gotten, you know, and she would have

just said the mobs and she's pregnant at the same time. Oh, I had twins and passed it off as her own kid or something like that. And the system is bad. You mentioned earlier that, you know, that, you know, even if you call the farmer, so the case load is, is unreal. The case load is unreal. So what do you do when you take these family, you know, these children away? I do feel like the, at least a social worker could do is to physically. go to the site and view the child. They put eyes on it. In the environment, put their eyes on it.

Right. The whole phone call thing, hey, I got a call. So I neglect. How was everything going? Oh, everything is fine. Okay. No. Physically go. But we've had several cases where the workers had a multitude of calls and sites and intakes where they went on

the premises, saw the conditions, but their hands are still tied depending on the policy. What jurisdiction are you actually in? Yeah. Do we have housing? Do we have bedding? Do we have enough workers? Even with restless care? So if you don't have a foster care, pharaoh, where's your list of restless? Who can take a child in for 30 days until you find permanent outing?

What on-profit organization can you get enough resources from until you can find permanent outing? That's where the biggest problem is. What's out when is? Because as I'm speaking to you right now, there's a child being abused. As I'm speaking to you right now, there's a child gate abducted. As I'm speaking to you right now, somebody being called at one of these agencies. So it's, you know, my mind to keep my psyche together is every moment of the day, no matter the time of the day, there's a child being horrifically abused. And in these last five years, post-COVID, I mean, not five years, but anything post-COVID or including the five years, mental health awareness has really sore.

people getting help, you know, and what we're about to, what we're walking into, not about to, with how many people being closed down. Think of how many daycare providers are losing that client because the mother and or the father lost their job, you know, and then it goes back to the abuse. How much can a parent take to be able to provide for your child that you don't take it out on the child? No, it's not the child's fault. It's not the child's fault, but this is what's happening. The levels of depression, I just kick in, you know. Is this every day when you open the open social media or the media, what have you, it's more stories. I know.

I do a lot. How do we combat that? So, you know, my goal is always to be result-driven, you know, so I can share my story. But, you know, when we went to crime con, you know, what is the actionable stats? I just want to take the average person, every single individual, and convert them into an advocate. Like, even if you have to do it anonymously, please do it anonymously. You may not want to get involved. You don't want to go to the hearing.

You don't want to go to the hearing. That someone's going to come back to you to retaliate because you turned them in. Do it anonymously. Can't say go to a payfold, but they don't have any playfoles anymore. but, you know, you can find ways, find ways to report. And even when they say, well, I don't really, I don't know if it was really, you know, abuse, you know, or was it, was that a really a trafficking situation? Call the hotlines. Like, I program 188-38-37-388.

It's programming in my phone. I don't have to Google weaving trafficking. It's programmed in my phone. So set yourself up for your community. That's a task to everyone right now That if you're living anywhere One, put those phone numbers in your phone That way if it's not for you

You can immediately assist a family member or a co-worker You know, or a friend Just arm and prepare yourself with information Now, oh, even if it's, you know, unfortunately, even if it's overload Be able to do, you know, just be able to do something You mean if you're not taking a person in Not donate any money just to be ready and prepare

It is happening. wherever you live at, check to check registry. Do you know how many predators like I did in my registry? That's so many. Yeah, it was 33 that was registered. Just imagine how many more that... Those are just the ones who have been caught.

Yeah. And the ones who haven't been caught. So you had ones that haven't registered and were caught that didn't register and then you had ones who never been caught before. Somebody said, oh my God, how can you do that at the day game? You can have as many background checks what you want. And so on your record, it just takes that

first time that they take advantage of a vulnerable person. And that's it. And I feel so bad for daycare providers. Here you've been in business for 20 years for a clean record, background check, your employees fine. And the next thing you know, the female molasses the baby. You know, it's just constantly throwing the awareness out with actionable steps. You know, and I might catch heat for saying this because I know that women can be the

abusers too, obviously. but um but like one of the things um that that when we were before when my daughter was in preschool um before she started kindergarten one thing that we looked at was if there was a male child care worker we were not going to leave her there right and i know that females can do it too i know that females can do it too but um but if there was a male child worker like i've done i've done enough stories is my point to to know that, you know, we are typically, you know, a problem. You know, it's not all, it's, it's almost, it's like 97% are men who come. How many more breaking news do we have to hear?

Oh, you know, how many more movies? How many more abducted, kidnapped, stolen, you know, did we have snatch? Do we have to hear? To me, it takes just as much time to go on social media is if you have a teacher, Merlin K. Sturge, I go right to Merlin K. Search. you know if I have somebody who's you know teaching my kids karate when they was going up Merlin State search throw their name in it and see what come up okay maybe they didn't pay their credit card back and it went to court but there's no molestation there's no you know harmful

to have criminal activity so to me every single person and then if you have a daycare provider you know yeah your license is on the wall but when was the last time you had everyone go through you know a background check I need to be reassured Like, yeah, my kids been going here for five years, fine, you know, but then what, when was the last time you had your certifications updated? Not yet for that for everything. And I think, too, another important thing, and let's go ahead and just have this conversation. If you have a child that's going to be around, you know, you, you know, your kids go to school. Your kids might have extracurriculars, whatever.

From a young age, teach them. I know it's an uncomfortable conversation, but you know what's more uncomfortable conversation is they have to come to you because something terrible happened and you or you find out. but have those conversations around boundaries, know that you're an advocate for them, that if something happens that they can come to you, you will always be that trusted adult. And if you are a parent listening to this, it's not a trusted adult,

well, then shame on you. Yeah, I say teach them to tell. Teach them to tell. 100%. Yeah, my daughter, we teach her. We continue to reinforce and have those discussions. If somebody does something, says something,

makes you feel uncomfortable, whatever the case is, she's sick, so we have to be cautious on how we word it. But, you know, enough that, Hey, hey, you know, if people are, you know, we use the real terms for things because we don't want their. One thing I learned covering true crime just for anybody to listen to is, you know, you don't say like, don't just say like my bathing suit area or use the real terms. You know, I know that they kind of make you like, you know, come back a little bit, but like use the real terms. Like if you're, if somebody touches you here, nobody's allowed to do that.

I agree. Nobody should have a secret. No other adult. You should know those secrets. No. I am the only one that you should be having a secret. You should not have a secret with any adult. I don't have a sitting right here, but I actually wrote a book called surprises are okay secrets or not.

Oh, say to it again. It's called surprises are okay secrets or not because surprises have end dates. Secrets don't. So we don't use the term secret. Like, why don't have a secret? Like, oh, I have a surprise. Like, okay. So that's kind of what we try to do.

That's in our house. And we also teach, I have another book called Boundaries, but we also teach kids that, you know, the first time she says no we stop we don't keep trying like oh you know like we're play fighting or whatever you know because i rough house with my kid and you know she'll be like daddy i don't like that i want to stop i'm like okay when we stop we don't like oh you know you're fine or whatever we stop on the first try because i want her to know that when she says something no is no and it doesn't mean keep trying till we wear you down to a yes yeah and i think the getting seem should be the same way i think you know teaching your daughter to have that conversation with whoever you're dating.

Like when my daughters were, you know, dating when, you know, like 18, 19, and I would say to them, you tell him, you tell him before you even start holding hands. If we go on your brother, if I say no, it's no. And I don't let me have to explain. Are you confused about the end or the O? No is a complete sentence. No is a complete sentence. So these are important conversations, you know, to have.

with your kids. Now, obviously in your situation, you weren't even able to talk when you were taken. So this wouldn't have helped you. And then you were groomed and put into a situation where you couldn't. But for those who aren't this, you know, take this as a lesson. Now, we have a couple minutes left. I want you to be able to talk about your books and stuff and all the things that you've done. Anything else that you want to chat about that we have? And I don't want you to be, you know, where people can follow you, who want to hear more about your story or learn where they can purchase your book, all that kind of stuff. All the self-promot. and so. Oh, wow. Thank you. Thank you. So, of course, I'm asked Monique, and I can't even use my real name, which is symbolic ruffin until I have to petition the courts to go do this whole legal process. But knowing as Monique is across all social media platforms, I've been so blessed. The book came out in 2011. The very first check I wrote was for $10,000. And it went to the National Center of Missy for the Children. And since that time, we have exceeded over $100,000. in contribution. So the book is called I Am the Ancester.

Before I die, I'm going to share my story, and I almost died twice. And I've been able to utilize those funds to help any agencies associated with missing children and or human trafficking and homelessness. Because a lot of people are groomed, like from being homeless into the life of trafficking. So I've been very, really grateful for that. So the book sales are doing good. The speaking engagements are wonderful. we do come out with a whole outline for not only public safety,

we also do anything at the high schools and universities. They want to bring awareness to college campuses or the high schools or any nonprofit organizations known as Monique. On the website.com is the website, and you can just do a quick intake. And again, it's just the beautiful thing that when people become involved in advocacy, it keeps that balance of what we're trying to do. to help elevate humanity every single day.

There are hope out there. I just never want the world become so overwhelming with so many horrific things that happen around us. You don't hear about the great things that are happy. What's working?

Like your book, boundaries. That's a workable resource. It's a viable tool just to have that conversation with each other, even when it's uncomfortable. A lot of guys, you know, dad's been saying, I got girl, I got, you know, a little girl, I don't know what to say.

You say it. Yeah. Say it. She got here some kind of way. So say it. So everything is known as Monique. And I really appreciate you for sharing me on your platform. This is huge. This is how the advocacy really works is as many platforms we can get.

Of course, Lighttime did that. If anybody wanted to see the Lighttime and get a little bit of that, it's called Not My Family, the Monique Smith story, if you wanted to see it. But the book is better because they could not fit all of that in two hours. Yeah, the book, you know, books, you know, Lifetime, they put in what they can. They, like things get edited down. So, oh, I so appreciate you coming on. I'm happy to give the platform because it's an incredible story.

And I'm just going to encourage everybody to follow. It's a good way for advocacy. And, you know, kind of what she said, if you see a missing person's like flyer on social media, share it. Just all you got to do is just to repost or share it. You never, you never know. And with social media the way it is, there's no excuse not to. So just, you know, next time you see one of those, think about it. Yes.

You know, get it out there. You're the reason that I know the advocacy, there are some success stories out there. There really are. You know, there are plenty of. And I heard the story. I saw this. I got this information. You never know.

You never know who it's going to reach. You know, so I'll say this before we close. You know, I live in Tennessee and I might get flat with this. But, you know, I kind of have coined a hash. Not really, but kind of a hashtag like hashtag, don't go missing in Tennessee. Because Tennessee doesn't find anybody. You know, when people go missing, like, I mean, we all, we have Sebastian Rogers still missing. Summer Wells is still missing.

There's Jennifer and Adriana Wick still missing. These are just off the top of my head. When Riley Strain went missing, it wasn't the police that found him. It was somebody going to work and saw his body in the river. You know, so it's not always, you can't rely. My point to this is not to bash the police. They have a huge workload. There's a lot going on.

There's a lot of missing people. But the point is that what it takes is it takes tips and awareness from, from, from average citizens, people like you and me who see something and say something. And that's where you make, that's the point. Again, it's not, it's not trying to like sit here in bachelor's police. I'm definitely not trying to do that because I appreciate the work that they do. But at the same time, it takes tips. Again, they found, Riley Strain was found because a citizen saw him and called, called it in. That's it. Well, Monique, thank you so much for being here today. And for all the listeners, we will see you guys next time. All right.

The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the individual speaking and do not necessarily reflect those of the host. Unheard is intended to provide a platform for personal stories and lived experiences, not to establish facts, determine guilt, innocence, or provide legal, medical, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to conduct their own research and form their own conclusions. Thank you for listening to Unheard.