Missing Frederick teen found dead, sheriff's office investigates

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Mary Grace Keller, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·2 min read
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Mar. 22—A 19-year-old Frederick man who had been missing since Friday was found dead in a vehicle Sunday in a community north of Frederick, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office has classified the death as suspicious and is conducting a full investigation, according to a Monday news release. Police did not release the circumstances surrounding his death.

Curtis Mason Smith was found at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the 8100 block of Runnymeade Drive and pronounced dead on scene. The Frederick Police Department was handling the missing persons case and put out an alert Saturday night, stating he may be driving a dark gray 2012 Honda Accord with tinted windows. Police received a tip that a vehicle with a matching license plate was spotted on the abandoned property, according to sheriff's office spokesman Todd Wivell.

The body was transported Sunday to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Wivell said. An autopsy was expected to occur Monday or Tuesday.

The property was once the location of Dr. Nicola Tauraso's medical clinic, which caught fire in 2010. The property spans a few acres and includes a house and barn.

A sheriff's deputy guarded the entrance Sunday night, which was marked by a brick and stone wall. Numerous family members waited outside the entrance as police worked that evening. Wivell said the family did not wish to speak to the media at this time.

On Monday around noon, a uniformed detective knocked on neighbors' doors along Runnymeade Drive. Television stations sent reporters to film. Detectives worked the scene just shy of 24 hours, leaving around 1 p.m. Monday.

Initially, loved ones told police Smith could have traveled to West Virginia or the Pittsburgh area. The family organized a GoFundMe to set up a reward fund when Smith went missing. It closed at $3,585.

Anyone with information that could help in this case is asked to contact the FCSO tip line at 301-600-4131 and reference case No. 21-025637.

Photographer Bill Green contributed to this report.

Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller

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