Lia Smith, 21, the Middlebury College student who went missing earlier this month, has been confirmed dead.
Her father reported her missing on Sunday, October 19, two days after she was last seen on campus. A Vermont Police Department statement confirmed that her body, found near campus on Thursday, October 23, belonged to the young collegiate swimmer.
Search efforts had included drones and ground teams, eventually extending into the forests surrounding Middlebury College. On Wednesday, October 22, the search intensified with help from the Middlebury Fire Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Vermont State Police Search and Rescue.
Tragically, her body was discovered the following day at around 1:30 p.m. in a field near The Knoll, the college’s organic farm. Authorities reported no signs of foul play. The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Smith died by suicide.
Middlebury College President Ian Baucom expressed deep sorrow:
“I have spoken with Lia’s family to share my heartbreak. As president, and as a parent, I ache for them. This is a loss no one should have to endure.”
Smith, a member of the Women’s Swimming and Diving team, as well as the Chess and Japanese clubs, was an advocate for transgender rights and pursued a double major in Computer Science and Statistics. She was set to graduate in May 2026.
May Lia Smith rest in peace.
CARLSON’S ACCUSATIONS
After Tucker Carlson claimed the FBI lied about the Donald Trump assassination attempt, the agency responded directly. Carlson questioned the FBI’s statements regarding suspect Thomas Crooks, suggesting the bureau misrepresented his digital footprint. Crooks, charged with attempting to kill Trump at a July campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, ultimately only struck the president’s ear but killed 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore. A Secret Service sniper shot Crooks shortly after, while two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were injured.
Carlson said, “The FBI told us Thomas Crooks tried to kill Donald Trump last summer, but somehow had no online footprint. The FBI lied, and we can prove it because we have his posts. The question is why?”
THE FBI RESPONDS
The FBI Rapid Response account pushed back immediately: “The FBI has never said Thomas Crooks had no online footprint. Ever.”
CARLSON DOUBLES DOWN
Carlson later shared a video he claimed the FBI, under director Kash Patel, had tried to hide. The footage, allegedly from Crooks’ Google Drive, showed shooting drills and suggested Crooks maintained multiple online personas and left YouTube comments. Carlson argued that this proved Crooks “was not some secretive lone wolf who never warned anyone that he was planning violence.” He added, “Thomas Crooks came within a quarter inch of destroying this country, and yet, a year and a half later, we still know almost nothing about him or why he did it.”
He accused the FBI of “hiding from the public what they know” and described Crooks as a “volatile, troubled, possibly mentally ill young man with a long record of espousing violence in public.” Carlson claimed the bureau “used a selective read of those comments to lie about what Thomas Crooks was thinking.”
THE FBI SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT
On Friday, Patel released documents and statements that contradicted Carlson’s claims. On X, he wrote: “The investigation, conducted by over 480 FBI employees, revealed Crooks had limited online and in-person interactions, planned and conducted the attack alone, and did not leak or share his intent to engage in the attack with anyone.”
The bureau detailed its investigation, which included examining over 20 online accounts, data from more than a dozen electronic devices, numerous financial records, and over 1,000 interviews plus 2,000 public tips. Patel’s statement reinforced that Crooks acted independently and that the FBI had no record of him openly warning anyone about his intentions.