Account
May 21, 2012
Apr 03, 2020
Donald
Smatlak
44
25
73 inches
230 lbs
White / Caucasian
Male
In the winter of 2006, a 25-year-old man named Donald "Donny" Smatlak vanished from his North Versailles, Pennsylvania, home, leaving behind a life that was just beginning and a mystery that endures. On the afternoon of Saturday, January 28, 2006, Donny spoke with his mother by phone from his apartment in the 1000 block of Logan Road. He mentioned he was planning to visit a friend in Delmont that evening. He had also made plans to have dinner with his parents the following day, but he never arrived for that meal, and his friend in Delmont never saw him. That phone call with his mother was the last time his family ever heard from him. At the time of his disappearance, Donny was described as being 6 feet to 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing around 230 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. His distinctive features included pierced ears, a small scar on the lower left side of his lip, a noticeable gap between his front teeth, and several tattoos in black ink: a Chinese symbol in the middle of his back and on his right shin, and his name in Chinese on the center of his chest. The days following Donny's last phone call were filled with growing concern. His mother tried to call him back shortly after their conversation to invite him to Sunday dinner, but he didn't answer. The alarm grew when the friend from Delmont contacted Donny's mother, saying he never showed up as planned. After days of no contact, his family reported him missing. A significant break in the case came on February 9, 2006, when Donny's vehicle, a silver 2004 Mazda 3, was found abandoned. The car was located near Meyran Avenue and Louisa Street in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, roughly 20 to 30 miles from his home. His family and friends were not aware of any connections he had to that area. The car's windows were rolled down and snow had collected inside, suggesting it had been parked there since a snowfall on February 2nd or 3rd. An inspection of his apartment revealed no signs of a struggle or foul play; it was clean, and nothing seemed out of place. As investigators delved deeper into Donny's life, a more complex picture emerged. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg with a degree in criminal justice, he had recently lost his job in the produce department of a grocery store and had an interview for a new job scheduled. Months before he vanished, he made a statement to his mother that, in hindsight, seemed ominous: "If anything ever happened to me or if I was ever missing, know that I'll be okay." While his family was initially unaware, police came to believe Donny had been involved in selling drugs for several years, a conclusion based on witness statements and evidence found in his apartment, including a significant amount of cash. Authorities suspect his disappearance is connected to this activity. Since that last phone call, there has been no activity on his cell phone or his bank accounts. The North Versailles Police Department reopened his case in March 2020, hoping to generate new leads. The case of Donald Smatlak remains an unsolved and painful puzzle, marked by a son's sudden silence, a car left abandoned in the snow, and a family left waiting for answers about the man they knew and the secret life he may have led.
Jan 31, 2006
North Versailles
Pennsylvania
Allegheny County
No
22003
North Versailles Police Department
North Versailles
Pennsylvania
Allegheny County
15137
1401 Greensburg Avenue, Pennsylvania
4128239354
Local
Law Enforcement
2006-00977
North Versailles Police Department
Brown
Hazel
Hazel
No
05/23/2026
