B. Smith missing - The 65 years old model and restaurateur was found in a Manhattan restaurant on Wednesday afternoon after she was reported missing the night before.
The owner of the La Parisienne Coffee House in Manhattan's 7th Avenue and 57th Street is reported to have identified B. Smith when she stopped by and contacted her daughter.
According to her husband Dan Gatsby, the B. Smith missing notice was filed after she failed to show up at Sag Harbor, where she lives on Tuesday. She is reported to have boarded a jitney headed for Long Island from Manhattan earlier in the day.
Gatsby revealed that, together with his daughter, he sought to inquire from the jitney driver why his wife had not showed up at her planned destination. He was told that B. Smith, who looked confused, had gotten down at Southampton. Reports indicate that she boarded a jitney and headed back to Manhattan.
News of B. Smith missing has been widely circulated online. It is unclear how the Alzheimer-stricken patient is doing physically. It is also unclear how she spent the night. Eyewitnesses say she was seen with a woman at the La Parisienne Coffee House before she was reunited with her family. Some commentators have speculated that she was likely assisted by an old acquaintance or a fan.
The B. Smith missing notice was called off after she was found at the Manhattan neighborhood, where she once lived.
Medical experts say the news of B. Smith missing is consistent with her Alzheimer condition. People suffering from the neuro-debilitative disease tend to experience disorientation; lose track of time, direction and memory of immediate events.
B. Smith missing and going to her old neighborhood is also not strange. Medics say the Alzheimer patients attempt to continue old habits.
The B. Smith missing report has directed much attention to the background of the Afro-American trailblazer. B. Smith (Barbara Smith) is one of the first Afro-American models to appear on the cover of Mademoiselle. She later branched into acting and made a name for herself as a TV personality. B. Smith's also opened a chain of restaurants and authored a series of famous cookbooks.
