Norma Jolene Madera - Missing Since 1991

Missing Person's Name: Norma Jolene Madera

Last contact: July 1st, 1991

Age when disappeared: 27

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64 (which is 5'4")

Weight in pounds (lbs): 110

Ethnicity: Native American. She was/is a member of the confederated tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Hair color: Brown

Eye Color: Not given, presumed to be brown due to Native American ancestry. Looks brown in the photo.

Scar or distinctive characteristic: None known

Details from government source: Norma was last seen at the Greyhound Bus Station in Yakima, Washington where she planned to travel to Seattle and then south on Pacific Hwy South to Tacoma. Norma never arrived at her destination. It was not confirmed whether or not she ever made it on the bus in Yakima. 

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/124251?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: July 15th, 2024

Norma Jolene Madera was last seen on July 1st, 1991. There were not a lot of details on this missing person in the newspaper articles or online. However, there was a chat forum started on her at Websleuths that may develop over time. There is a 33-year gap between her last-seen date and the upload date at NamUs.

Her name was not found in the newspaper database that I use, at least not for any news related to her disappearance. I think she appears in some obituaries for other people (ie. "survived by") years after her disappearance. 

Also, she appears to have an entry at Ancestry with a birthdate of March 12th, 1964. Her parents at that source are listed as David A. Madera and Linda Marie Madera. Norma was born in Great Falls, Montana.

Those working on this case should think about what it means to be last seen at a Greyhound Station.

On a related matter, being last seen at a bus station is not that uncommon for missing people. Mekayla Bali was last seen at a bus station in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Vickie Annette Smock was last seen at a Greyhound Station.

Furthermore, there are 59 hits for the search "Greyhound" with NamUs in the circumstances surrounding the disappearances listed there. That doesn't mean that they all disappeared from a bus station but quite of few of them were last seen at such a place. If you click the tag "bus station series" in the margin, then several links at this site will appear.

In my opinion, bus stations invoke dodgy and unsafe premises in typically sketchy parts of town. They are often in areas where some questionable characters are loitering. Also, that she was not confirmed to get on a bus does invoke the possibility of ridesharing or hitchhiking. Some people look for passengers at bus stations.

Vickie Annette Smock - Missing in Utah Since 1986

Paraphrased details from government source**: Vickie was last seen in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1985. Her father, a man named Shonnie Smock, dropped her off at the Greyhound Bus Station. She was with a male companion that has not yet been identified. She planned to go to Wendover, Nevada to work as a cocktail waitress at The Red Garter Hotel & Casino. It's not clear if she boarded the bus. She hasn't been seen since her father dropped her off. Vickie's family states that it is very unusual for her to leave and not be in contact.

Missing Person: Vickie Annette Smock
Could be referred to as: Last names: Robinson, Davis, Mismash, Thrisa
Last-contact date: April 12th, 1985
The area where the MP was last seen: Salt Lake City, Utah
Link to government source: NamUs MP#34617

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 25 years old
Birthdate: April 11th or 12th, 1960
Hair: Natural medium brown, dyed blond
Eyes: Hazel
Scar: None
Height/weight: 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-8 and 125 to 145 pounds
BMI*: Vickie Annette Smock was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Vickie Annette Smock did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

Vickie Annette Smock was last heard from on January 1st, 1986 when she was 25 years of age. That date is according to her NamUs profile, however, she may have gone missing in 1985. The news telecast below uses 1985 as the year she went missing and, in the video, you can see a missing person poster at one point that says she went missing in 1985. This individual has now been missing for about 36 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

I did not find any original news coverage associated with this disappearance using Newspapers.com. However, if you have a membership it may be worth looking at from time to time as they continually add new publications.

There was a news piece published on Youtube by mainstream media in mid-2021 in two parts. I have embedded those below for my readers.

A Facebook group dedicated to finding this missing person had the following description as of time of publication:

"My biological mother disappeared over 30 years ago (1985) from Salt Lake City, Utah. Her name is Vickie Annette Smock (maiden name) her birthday is April 12, 1960. I really don't have much identifying information about her. She was born in California and her father's Name is Shonnie Smock. Her Last known whereabouts were at the greyhound bus station in Salt Lake. She was dropped off by my grandfather with an unknown man. She was supposed to go to Wendover Nevada to work as a cocktail waitress at The Red Guarder and hasn't been seen since. It was very unusual for her to leave and never came back. My sister and I both lived with our fathers at the time of her disappearance. I am not sure if she is dead or alive. I have tried everything that I can think of to try to find her and have had no luck.

Her mother: Arlene Huff

Her Father: Shonnie Smock

Vickie married Rueben Earl Robinson in Nevada Feb. 11/84

She was not married long before she went missing.

She may have used the name Robinson."

Please, take a moment to share this blog post on social media using hashtags relevant to the missing person's area. Also, please include the website hashtag #MPCSL.

Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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