East Naples man missing since leaving for shelter during Irma

A woman is holding out hope in the search for her missing father that hasn’t been seen since leaving for a shelter during Hurricane Irma.

Donald Smith, 74, of East Naples has been missing for a year.

His daughter, Donishi Smith, has been searching for him since she discovered he was missing.

The last time the family made contact with Donald Smith, was when he was leaving his cousins house, heading to a hurricane shelter, to brace for Hurricane Irma.

The family didn’t realize he was missing until a few months after the hurricane. The Smith’s cousin thought Donald had moved out to live with a friend, until a few months went by with no contact from Donald.

Donishi Smith, is heart broken and wishes she had a chance to see him one more time.

“I love you because I know the last time we got into a big argument and we stopped talking for a while, before that I never told him that,” said Smith.

Donishi says her father suffers from memory issues, and that she filed a police report with Collier County Sheriff.

“I just pray, I just pray and take one day at a time and hopefully we find him,” Smith said.

“Investigators have exhausted their search efforts in places through the county where Donald Smith was known to frequent,” The Sheriff’s Office says.

Donishi is still clinging to the hope that her father will be found and that their argument wont be their last interaction.

“Never take what you have for granted always tell your love ones you love them because you never know if they’ll be here today or gone tomorrow,” said Donishi.