Dashad “Sage” Smith Killed in Charlottesville Virginia

Dashad “Sage” Smith was a 19 year old resident of Charlottesville, Virginia, whose disappearance became one of the city’s most troubling unsolved cases. Sage vanished on November 20, 2012, after leaving home and apparently arranging to meet a man named Erik Tyquan McFadden. Although Sage has never been found and no one has been convicted of killing her, investigators eventually concluded that the circumstances surrounding her disappearance warranted treating the case as a homicide.

The date of Sage’s disappearance is sometimes reported incorrectly. The established date connected with the case is November 20, 2012, not November 12, 2012. That evening, Sage left the place where she was staying in Charlottesville and headed toward the West Main Street area. She reportedly expected to return later, but she never came home.

The case initially began as a missing person investigation. As detectives examined Sage’s communications, movements, and personal contacts, attention increasingly focused on McFadden, who had been communicating with Sage before she vanished. He became the central person of interest in an investigation that would continue for years without an arrest or recovery of Sage’s remains.

Who Was Sage Smith?

Sage Smith was born on December 13, 1992. She was 19 years old when she disappeared and was living in Charlottesville, a central Virginia city located roughly 70 miles northwest of Richmond.

Sage was a transgender woman who was in a period of transition in both her personal identity and her young adult life. Friends and relatives described her as someone with plans for the future. She had interests that included beauty, hair, and cosmetology, and she was attempting to build a more independent life.

Her disappearance would later attract attention from advocates concerned about missing Black people, transgender people, and members of marginalized communities whose cases sometimes struggle to receive sustained national coverage. For Sage’s family, however, the case was never primarily about statistics or social debates. It was about finding a loved one who had suddenly vanished without explanation.

The uncertainty became more painful as days turned into weeks and weeks into years.

Sage’s Final Day in Charlottesville

On November 20, 2012, Sage was communicating by phone and text message with Erik McFadden. Investigators determined that the two had discussed meeting that evening in Charlottesville.

Their communications became a critical part of reconstructing Sage’s final known movements.

During the evening, messages were exchanged about where they were and when they planned to meet. McFadden indicated that he was near the Hampton Inn in the West Main Street area. Sage was apparently traveling toward him.

At approximately 6:30 p.m., Sage was seen in the 500 block of West Main Street.

This location was significant because it placed her close to the Charlottesville Amtrak station, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in a busy corridor connecting downtown Charlottesville with the University of Virginia area.

A relative reportedly encountered Sage as she walked along West Main Street. Sage was talking on her phone and appeared to be heading somewhere nearby. She reportedly indicated that she would reach her destination within several minutes.

That sighting became one of the last reliable observations of Sage before she disappeared.

The Planned Meeting With Erik McFadden

Erik Tyquan McFadden was 21 years old at the time Sage disappeared.

Investigators learned that Sage and McFadden had communicated before November 20, 2012, and that they were apparently planning to meet that evening.

Phone records and text messages gave detectives an important timeline.

During the late afternoon and early evening, Sage and McFadden exchanged messages regarding their locations. McFadden reportedly told Sage that he was near the Hampton Inn. Other messages suggested that he was waiting for her.

At approximately 6:27 p.m., McFadden reportedly sent Sage a message suggesting that she had stood him up.

Only a few minutes later, however, Sage was reportedly seen walking along West Main Street while talking on the phone.

The relationship between these events became an important question for investigators. If Sage was only minutes away from the meeting location, investigators needed to determine whether the meeting actually took place.

McFadden’s later statements would make that question even more significant.

Conflicting Accounts About What Happened

One of the most important aspects of the investigation involved conflicting information attributed to McFadden.

McFadden initially indicated that Sage never arrived for their planned meeting.

According to that version of events, the two had arranged to see each other, but Sage failed to appear.

Later information reportedly suggested something different.

Investigators learned of another account in which McFadden indicated that he had actually encountered Sage. In that version, other people supposedly approached them, after which McFadden left.

The conflicting accounts raised obvious questions.

Did McFadden meet Sage on November 20, 2012?

If so, how long were they together?

Who were the other people allegedly present?

Where did Sage go afterward?

Investigators never publicly established definitive answers to those questions.

The inconsistency nevertheless made McFadden extremely important to the investigation.

Sage Suddenly Vanishes

After the West Main Street sighting and the communications surrounding the planned meeting, Sage’s trail effectively disappeared.

She did not return home.

She did not maintain her normal contact with family and friends.

There was no confirmed departure from Charlottesville, no clear evidence that she had voluntarily started another life, and no reliable indication that she had planned to disappear.

Family members became alarmed and contacted authorities.

Searches began, but investigators faced the difficult challenge common to missing person cases. Charlottesville is surrounded by wooded areas, rural roads, waterways, construction zones, and transportation corridors. If someone had harmed Sage and moved her body away from the city center, the possible search area could have been enormous.

Police began examining Sage’s communications and relationships in an attempt to understand what happened during the final hours before she vanished.

The Search for Evidence

Investigators pursued a wide range of leads.

Police reviewed phone records, text communications, electronic information, witness statements, and other evidence connected with Sage and McFadden.

Search warrants were used to obtain information that could help establish movements and communications.

Authorities also examined items associated with McFadden. Clothing, electronic equipment, and other property reportedly became part of the investigation.

Detectives searched locations they believed might contain evidence.

One major search involved a landfill in Henrico County. Investigators attempted to determine whether trash originating from a location connected with the investigation might have been transported there.

Searching a landfill is extraordinarily difficult. Large quantities of waste must be separated and examined while investigators attempt to identify material associated with a specific place and time.

Despite extensive efforts, the landfill search did not produce Sage’s remains or publicly announced evidence that solved the case.

An Unconfirmed Restaurant Sighting

Another element of the case involved a possible sighting near Charlottesville’s Amtrak station.

A witness reportedly believed that Sage had been seen at the Wild Wing Cafe around 7:00 p.m. on November 20, 2012.

The possible sighting was important because it would place Sage alive after the earlier West Main Street sighting and potentially after the planned meeting with McFadden.

However, investigators were unable to establish the sighting with enough certainty to treat it as a confirmed part of the timeline.

This distinction matters in unresolved cases.

A reported sighting can completely alter the direction of an investigation if it is verified. If it cannot be confirmed, however, detectives must be careful not to build a timeline around information that may be incorrect.

The last reliably documented period of Sage’s movements therefore remained centered on the West Main Street area during the early evening.

McFadden Leaves Charlottesville

As investigators attempted to learn more about Sage’s disappearance, McFadden himself became difficult to locate.

Police wanted to conduct a detailed interview with him.

Instead, McFadden left the Charlottesville area.

His departure quickly became another mystery surrounding the case.

Investigators searched for him and attempted to determine where he had gone. Information over the years suggested that he might have traveled through several states, including Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, and New York.

The fact that the person detectives most wanted to interview was no longer available complicated the investigation considerably.

Police could examine records and interview other witnesses, but they could not fully question McFadden about his actions during the critical hours surrounding Sage’s disappearance.

His whereabouts remained uncertain for years.

A Message That Raised More Questions

Another reported development involving McFadden concerned contact with a man who had previously known him.

According to investigative information later discussed publicly, McFadden allegedly contacted the man on November 21, 2012, the day after Sage disappeared.

McFadden reportedly asked the man to delete his contact information.

If accurately reported, the timing of the request immediately after Sage vanished attracted investigators’ attention.

The man later spoke with authorities.

The episode did not establish that McFadden was responsible for Sage’s disappearance, but it became another piece of circumstantial information detectives considered while trying to understand his actions following November 20.

No publicly disclosed evidence has shown that this communication directly established what happened to Sage.

Years Without Answers

Sage’s family spent years searching for information.

Vigils were held.

Flyers were distributed.

Advocates continued sharing Sage’s photograph and story.

Police followed tips and attempted to develop new leads.

Yet Sage remained missing.

Her case became increasingly difficult as time passed. Witness memories faded. Physical evidence became harder to locate. People moved away. Telephone numbers changed. Relationships shifted.

Cold cases often depend on someone eventually deciding to reveal information they previously withheld.

Sage’s relatives repeatedly asked anyone who knew something to come forward.

For them, even recovering Sage’s remains would provide answers that had been denied to the family since November 20, 2012.

The Case Becomes a Homicide Investigation

In 2016, authorities made an important change in how they publicly classified Sage’s case.

Charlottesville police began treating her disappearance as a homicide investigation.

That decision did not mean investigators had recovered Sage’s body.

It did not mean they knew exactly how she died.

It also did not mean prosecutors had enough evidence to charge anyone.

Instead, investigators had concluded that the circumstances surrounding Sage’s disappearance made voluntary disappearance increasingly unlikely and that the available evidence justified investigating the case as a presumed killing.

The distinction is important.

Sage is commonly described as a murder victim because police classify the case as a homicide investigation. Legally, however, no individual has been convicted of murdering her, and authorities have not publicly announced a definitive cause of death.

The case therefore remains both an unsolved homicide investigation and an unresolved disappearance.

Concerns About the Attention Given to Sage’s Case

Sage’s disappearance generated criticism over the amount of attention the case initially received.

Family members and advocates argued that Sage’s race, transgender identity, and personal circumstances contributed to the case receiving less national media coverage than other missing person investigations.

Their concerns became part of a larger discussion regarding missing Black women and girls, transgender victims, and disparities in national media attention.

Charlottesville community members attempted to keep Sage’s name visible.

Her family continued appearing publicly and discussing the case.

Advocates emphasized that Sage should be remembered as a person rather than simply as a statistic or symbol.

The persistence of her relatives and supporters helped ensure that the case remained active even as the years passed without a major public breakthrough.

McFadden Is Eventually Reported Missing

The situation became even more unusual when McFadden’s family eventually reported him missing.

The report was made in June 2019, approximately 7 years after Sage disappeared.

By that time, investigators had already spent years attempting to locate him.

Authorities had information suggesting that he remained alive after leaving Charlottesville, but his exact location was unknown.

Police continued regarding him as an essential person of interest in Sage’s homicide investigation.

For years, Sage’s disappearance therefore involved two unanswered questions.

Where was Sage Smith?

And where was Erik McFadden?

Investigators Locate McFadden in California

A major development finally occurred in 2025.

Charlottesville investigators developed information indicating that McFadden was living in the Los Angeles, California area.

Detectives traveled to California and located him.

The discovery was announced around the 13th anniversary of Sage’s disappearance.

Authorities confirmed that McFadden was alive and that detectives had interviewed him regarding Sage’s case.

Investigators reportedly located him while he was involved in efforts connected with changing his name.

His discovery ended the separate mystery regarding his whereabouts, but it did not immediately solve Sage’s homicide.

Police did not disclose everything McFadden said during the interview.

They explained that information obtained from him would be reviewed as part of the continuing investigation.

What McFadden Has Not Been Charged With

McFadden’s importance to the investigation must be distinguished from criminal responsibility.

He has not been convicted of murdering Sage Smith.

He has not been publicly charged with her homicide.

Authorities have not announced that he confessed.

Police have also not publicly stated that forensic evidence proves he killed Sage.

Calling him the convicted killer would therefore be inaccurate.

He remains the most prominent publicly identified person of interest because of his communications with Sage, their planned meeting, questions surrounding his statements, and his departure from Charlottesville shortly after Sage disappeared.

Whether investigators will eventually develop sufficient evidence for criminal charges remains unknown.

The Continuing Search for Sage

The greatest unanswered question remains the same one Sage’s family has asked since 2012.

Where is Sage?

Without recovering her remains, investigators face significant challenges determining exactly how she died.

A body can provide forensic evidence involving injuries, DNA, toxicology, time of death, and other information that may help reconstruct a homicide.

Without those answers, detectives must depend more heavily on communications, witness statements, digital evidence, circumstantial evidence, and the statements of people connected with the victim.

Finding Sage would therefore be important not only for her family but also for the criminal investigation.

Investigators continue to seek information from anyone who may know what happened after Sage entered the West Main Street area on November 20, 2012.

An Unsolved Charlottesville Homicide

More than a decade after Sage Smith disappeared, her case remains unresolved.

What began as a missing person investigation evolved into a presumed homicide involving a young woman who vanished while apparently traveling to meet someone she had been communicating with.

The basic timeline is clear.

Sage was in Charlottesville on November 20, 2012.

She traveled toward West Main Street.

She had communicated with Erik McFadden and apparently planned to meet him.

She was last reliably seen around 6:30 p.m.

Afterward, she disappeared.

McFadden left the area and remained difficult to locate for years.

Police eventually classified Sage’s disappearance as a homicide.

McFadden was finally located in California in 2025 and interviewed by detectives, but no arrest followed.

Sage has still not been found.

Her case remains a painful example of how a disappearance can continue haunting a family and community long after the initial searches end.

Until investigators recover Sage, identify definitive evidence explaining her death, or obtain information sufficient to prosecute whoever may have harmed her, the disappearance and presumed murder of Dashad “Sage” Smith will remain one of Charlottesville’s most enduring unsolved mysteries.