Thaindian News

July 8 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A man who was wanted for questioning in the case of the kidnapping of four year old Alisa Maier has shot and killed himself as the police arrived at his home in Hawk Point Missouri, while following up on almost 100 leads in the search for the abductor.

Wednesday afternoon, as police approached his home, Paul Sterling Smith pulled out a handgun, and shot himself, according to reports from kmov.com St.Louis News. He died later at the St. Joseph’s Hospital in St Charles Missouri.

Paul Sterling Smith was said to have had a 15 year long criminal record, and pleaded guilty on 1995 to sodomizing a 10 year old in Rolla Missouri. According to kmov.com Smith served 15 years in prison for that crime. He was also charged with receiving stolen property last December, but details in that case were unclear.

Smith was just released from jail on June 23 for a traffic violation. It is speculated that he snatched four year old Alisa from her front yard where she was playing with her little brother on Monday. She was found 24 hours later, wondering around at a car wash 80 miles from her home, with her hair cut. The police have not yet named Smith as a suspect, rather calling him a “person of interest”. He was 38 years old.

Alisa is said to be safe, and is celebrating her return with her family in an undisclosed location. They left the town of Louisiana Mo, and it is not clear when they expect to return. More details on the kidnapping are available here.