Shawny Lee Smith, 32, was found dead on February 8, 2003, near U.S. Route 85 in Weld County, Colorado, about a quarter mile from the Wyoming border. A property owner discovered her remains; investigators determined the Cheyenne mother of two had been beaten and raped. Authorities believe she was killed late on the evening of February 6 or in the early morning hours of February 7. She had last been seen at the Cowboy South Bar on South Greeley Highway in Cheyenne. Smith worked as a machinist at Gater Industries and was described by her sister as a single mom who liked to socialize; the night she disappeared she had told her sister she was having car trouble and was going out.

The case moved from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation cold case unit and remains unsolved. No suspects or arrests have been publicly identified. Investigators have highlighted a set of rare tire tracks at the scene and believe the killer’s vehicle may have had Sport King A/T Steel Radial tires, which are no longer manufactured; authorities have sought help locating one of those tires to compare tread patterns.

Did anyone in the community know Shawny, her movements that weekend, or ever see a vehicle with those rare tires near U.S. Route 85?