Jennifer Lancaster, Sidney Smith and Monique Smith

Twenty-year-old Jennifer Lancaster and her two daughters: 1-year-old Sidney Smith and 1-month-old Monique Smith were last seen on May 12, 2000 in Topeka, Kansas.

Background

At the time of their disappearances, Jennifer and her daughters lived with Jennifer's mother, Vicki Lancaster and Jennifer's 17-year-old sister. According to Vicki, Jennifer got into the trouble with the wrong crowd during her high school years. When she was pregnant with Monique, Jennifer worked at a local bar called Remington's and then worked at an adult entertainment club called Baby Doll's. Jennifer had a boyfriend, who was the father of one of her daughters.

Disappearance

On May 12, 2000, Jennifer, Sidney and Monique left home at approximately 8:00 at night to go to a male acquaintance's home; however, they never made it there. Jennifer's 1994 Jeep Cherokee was found abandoned in the parking lot of a small apartment complex. All personal belongings in the car had been removed including both infant car seats and the keys to the car.

When Vicki last saw Jennifer, she said that Jennifer left the apartment at 8:00 p.m.; she was carrying a trash bag of quilts and baby clothes in them. Jennifer told Vicki she was taking them to get laundered which confused Vicki because the apartment had a washing machine & a dryer.

After Jennifer and her daughters went missing, Vicki discovered other items missing and believes that Jennifer had been removing her belongings for some time, except for her cell phone. Jennifer had no credit cards and little money in her checking account. She also left behind her last paycheck from Remington's.

A few weeks later, Vicki got a mailing card from a Steak n' Shake restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri addressed to Jennifer, thanking her for filling out a comment card. Vicki called the restaurant to see the comment card so she could identify Jennifer's handwriting; however, the card had been destroyed by then.

Jennifer is described as a responsible mother who wouldn't harm her children and police could find no evidence of foul play. As of 2024, Jennifer, Sidney and Monique remain missing.