On August 22, 1991, 11-year-old Tazlina resident Mandy Lemaire was reported missing by her parents, triggering a massive search by law enforcement and townspeople. Ten days later, a volunteer searcher found Lemaire's body in a wooded area. Authorities suspected 61-year-old retiree Charles Smithart of the murder when another local man, Dave DeForest, told police he had observed Smithart driving near Mandy's house on the day she went missing. Police and forensic investigators found considerable trace evidence in Smithart's truck that suggested Mandy's presence in the vehicle, and learned from Smithart's eldest daughter that he had raped her and her sisters when they were Lemaire's age.