Is it possible for a murdered woman to return from the dead and help guide a living person to her body? On December 15, 1980, a nurse named Melanie Uribe waited at a stop light. Unknown to her, a group of men had noticed the attractive dark haired nurse and planned to rape and kill her.

Moments later, three men left their pickup truck and abducted Uribe from her car. The men then raped and beat Uribe to death. Afterward, they dumped her body.

On December 17, 1980, Etta Smith, a shipping clerk for Lockheed Corporation in Burbank, California had an overwhelming vision. While listening to the radio, she heard an announcement that police were canvassing local neighborhoods trying to find a missing nurse named Melanie Uribe.

From out of nowhere, Smith had a powerful vision telling her that someone had killed Uribe. She also knew police wouldn’t find Uribe inside a residence. Smith knew Uribe’s body was outside. She said her vision wasn’t anything she had ever experienced in her life. She wasn’t a psychic, so she couldn’t understand her strange vision. Not knowing what to do with it, she called the police to report what she knew about the missing nurse. She told the officer it felt as if she could hear someone directing her. Smith added, someone had struck Uribe in the head, killed her and then dumped her in a canyon near a dirt path.

Police dismissed her claim since it’s not protocol for an officer to give much credibility to someone’s vision. She then did her own investigation. Smith and her daughter Tina drove to Lopez Canyon. Once they arrived near the target area, Smith felt powerful impressions—she was close and she knew it. Smith noticed tire tracks in the dirt.

She followed them.

Tina saw white nurse shoes and knew she had found Uribe’s body. Smith notified police about finding Uribe. Now the police had to take her seriously, but Smith didn’t get a warm welcome. Instead, she found herself on their radar as a potential suspect.

Smith agreed to a lie detector test, was strip-searched and placed in a cell for three days after police considered her deceptive. Police felt she had learned details about the killing from neighborhood gossip. They didn’t believe she had a vision.

Police would eventually arrest three men for raping and murdering Uribe. One killer even bragged about the killing. A witness reported the information to the police, which led to the killers capture.

After authorities released Smith, she became angry about her treatment from the police. She sued Los Angeles Police for her false imprisonment. Her attorney requested $750,000 but received a judgment for $26,184. Michael Fox, the City Assistant Attorney claimed Smith was suing in hopes for a future movie about her case.

During Smith’s incarceration, police put an undercover officer in her cell. Supposedly, Smith told the officer she wanted money. Smith claimed she said the incident felt like a bad movie. Although Fox apologized for Smith’s false arrest, she wasn’t thrilled that it only took seven years.

The jury felt that Smith didn’t suffer grave emotional distress from her jailing. Janet Fowler, the jury foreman said they believed Smith had a vision and thought a year’s salary seemed reasonable.

As someone who has had a supernatural experience in the past, I believe Smith. I realize people have a difficult time believing in supernatural events or the dead can return to visit the living, but there are too many instance to dismiss.

Stories about the supernatural and people returning from the grave have been told for centuries. Consider the Bible, Jesus and Lazarus both returned from the dead. Even if you don’t believe in the Bible’s teachings, there are many other instances of return visits from the dead.

Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and avid reader. He can be contacted through his website at www.themarcabe.com, through Facebook: www.facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. And be sure to listen to his podcast at www.spreaker.com/show/the-marcabe.