Smith known as fighter, popular

BY:Holly Kramer, Staff writer

“So thanks for making me a fighter” states the strip across the top of Overland Park teen Kelsey Smith’s Xanga Web page.

Smith’s strong spirit provided the biggest source of hope for family and friends, boyfriend John Biersmith said.

“She fights,” Biersmith said. “She could kick someone’s butt. She’s the strongest woman I know.”

Smith, an 18-year-old Shawnee Mission West High School graduate, went missing about 7 p.m. Saturday, June 2. Law enforcers discovered her body Wednesday in Grandview, Mo.

Smith’s family said she went shopping for a graduation present at Target, adjacent to the south side of Oak Park Mall, and did not return home. Police found her car on the mall parking lot.

One of Smith’s blogs shows her excitement for bands that played at West’s Rock for Hope benefit concert. Another said how ready she is to attend Kansas State University in the fall.

Biersmith called Smith “cute, outspoken and blunt.”

“She has a go-get-it attitude,” Biersmith said.

He said he started dating Smith either Nov. 18 or Dec. 1.

“It depends on when she said we started dating,” he said.

The couple met and worked together at the AMC movie theater in Leawood.

Smith’s Web pages on Xanga.com and Myspace.com show a life filled with music, books and friends. She lists “band, choir, theater, dancing and many more” as the clubs to which she belongs.

“She’s hardcore into band. She plays the clarinet,” friend Hannah Groom, 18, said.

Overland Park Elementary teacher Kellie Rhodes had Kelsey’s siblings in class and said she remembered Kelsey as “family oriented.”

“When she came to pick them up, she would always ask how they were doing,” Rhodes said. “They’re a close family.”

Smith’s father, Greg Smith, called Kelsey “great.”

“She’s so outgoing, so popular,” Greg said.

He thanked the people who helped search for his daughter. “So many friends have shown up just to help. We miss her, we love her,” Greg said.