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I feel like his dad was one of those dads that couldn’t understand why his son was different to him and had different hobbies. He comes across as very controlling.

It’s dangerous to take your kids phone away when they are going out maybe to school or to a friends house they should always have a phone. Take it away when they are at home and safe

MY UNCLE HAD BEEN MISSING FOR 35 YEARS... HE JUST CONTACTED MY DAD IN 2020 AND TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS IN LA THIS WHOLE TIME. SOME FAMILY THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD. SO IT IS A HUGE POSSIBILITY HE JUST DOESNT WANT TO BE FOUND

Seniors in high school are usually out partying and getting into trouble; there was absolutely no reason this dude shouldn’t have been able to chill at home playing video games and watching anime

Strict parents raise sneaky kids 🤷‍♀️ sounds like communication between parents and child was bad/non existant.

I think he ran away and the reason he didnt take his wallet and ID is because he was going to obtain a new identity so he couldn't be found

It really bothers me they held a 'last" search and said they need to move on. I would never give up looking for my kids. NEVER.

I would have NEVER cancelled his phone until the day I heard from him.

I'm not really feeling any bad vibes about this one. I really do think that he just ran away to start a new life

I hope Macin is living a happy, free life in California.

When Kendall said she did not drive because she has anxiety... I felt that...

This case has hit close to home. My best friend was in a similar frustrating situation with his parents. He was meant to graduate in the next year. He excelled at school, was meant to go to med school. His parents controlled him whenever they could. Our friend group played WoW and he wouldn't be allowed to play on school nights, only on weekends. I remember when he would talk to us about how excited he was to get out of there and flee like his siblings had. The last night we had ever spoken to him, his mom was mad about his track and field results and destroyed his computer. She tore it from the wall, threw it, just total chaos. He spoke to one of our other friends about it and said he wouldn't be able to get on for awhile. The following week, his dad found him dead in his car. He had shot himself. It'll be four years next week, and this case just makes my heart ache for my best friend. I hope Macin is happy in the life he lives now, if he is still with us. If he isn't, I hope he rests easy and has found peace.

Befriend quiet children and adults!! They often have profound thoughts and are very loyal.

Imagine if Macin is out there, watching this and reading the comments. I hope you’re doing good if you are ❤️

I ran away at 16 from a controlling mother. During an argument, she told me that if I wouldn’t conform, to get out of her house. So, I went to my room and packed. She didn’t think I would leave. Then, she didn’t think I would stay gone. Kids get tired of it and want out.

I packed and left my “family” 21 years ago. I don’t want to be found. I hope he is alive.

It’s really precious that his family used an anime version of Macin on the bench. Perhaps too little, too late, but their respect for his hobby/passion is heartwarming and poignant.

There is a girl from my town that has been missing for a while her name is Caitlin Denison. This case is really weird because she just up and disappeared about 10 years after her cousin (definitely in the same family not 100% sure on relation) was murdered in her friends home. No one has seen or heard from Caitlin since January of 2018 but there has thought to have been some sightings. Everyone in My town is still very much in search of her and I was hoping you could help get her name out there!

I really hope Macin is on some beach in California, surfing! Probably learning to be a surfing instructor and living his best life. It’s really depressing to think otherwise. I really wish someone could’ve told him, there’s nothing wrong in being different, and that he’s loved and wanted. He deserves to be happy and live the life he always wanted. I hope he’s okay!

He would blend in here in Los Angeles. He honestly looks like half my neighbors. Macin, if you’re reading the comments. Live well and live free!

i hate not knowing the answers to the "where is...?" series.

I feel like if Macin is out there, he doesn’t want to be found and that should be respected. I feel bad for his mother though.

the boy was 17 and a senior. there’s no reason to be waking up in the middle of the night to make sure your son who’s about to be a legal adult isn’t awake using the internet 😭

The parents seem so out of touch with who their own son is. Nothing they say will be accurate.

When your kid is depressed and you take their last source of happiness :/

Anything's possible🤔 For his sake I hope he just took off and is enjoying life.

I hope he didn't meet foul play. But to my fellow parents, you MUST talk to your kids. You cannot bulldoze over them forever. Our children must trust us more than anything. They must feel safe enough that they can call us if they take drugs or get drunk at a party, even if they snuck out to get to that party. They must trust beyond anything that they confide in us as a child to parent without fear of punishment! Our parenting must evolve as they grow into their personalities.

he seemed like such a kind soul. i'm forever hoping he's still out there. He deserves the world.

Only you can make a 40 minute video fell like 10😂

kendall: “st george is a pretty small town of only 80,000 people” me, living in a town of 5,000 people: *heh*

I went to school with him when he lived in Canada. Never really talked to him but I new him from classes. I hope he's alright, happy and healthy.

Sadly I remember this happening. I thought the father was responsible and here it is 2021 and I still think he’s responsible. This is so sad.

Dad is willing to get up in the middle of the night to police his kid's internet usage, but not willing to get up to see him off to school in the morning. That's a pretty clear sign his controlling behavior didn't didn't come from love or overprotectiveness. It was JUST about control. I get why the son bailed.

One of the things that really shows the mom cares is that on the bench he’s drawn in an anime art style

Parents are suspicious af. It's already sketchy and too authoritarian for them to restrict a 17 year old, senior with good grades in the severe ways that they were. Can't watch anime!? Like, really??? Wow. I hope he is found and justice is served.

His family used an anime-style image of him on the bench design. What a beautiful way to show their acceptance of him; it literally brought tears to my eyes. Wherever he went, I hope that he found himself and is happy and safe.

He sounds like a good kid, I lived in California and there's a large homeless population I will keep an eye open for him.

I would NEVER turn my missing kids phone off.

One thing I found sus was that the mom found the suicide note AFTER the police had already searched the wallet. If she was involved with his disappearance, she could have faked the note to try to throw the police off her trail. Just a thought.

I always check back on this case for updates. Until he's found, I'm just going to imagine this kid somewhere not being bullied and accepted. I can't shake this feeling that his Dad knows exactly where this child is. I hope I'm wrong.

the fact that he was a senior in high school and they were taking his things and treating him like a child geez louise I don't blame him, he probably felt like they didn't even know him

I hope he's alive and happy, wherever he is and enjoying his anime.

How could they have heard him that morning without seeing him? So apparently then heard him in the house but didn't think to say "Hi" or "Bye, have a nice day"?

it’s kinda odd to me how no one saw him leave .. my mom always checked on me at least once before i left just to make sure i’m living and ok

I'm only 18 minutes into it so this may get answered but I wonder if he had an internet friend who came and got him that morning and then helped him start over.

Getting your internet turned off and phone taken away when you’re a good student about to graduate high school is so wrong...

Sadly in my opinion, I think he left with the intention of ending his own life. The home struggles, the night before, the depression, not taking any belongings with him, seems the most logical. Either way this sorry is so sad and if he is alive, I hope he is doing well

It hit pretty hard when I saw his picture on the bench. They gave him his own anime portrait. I really hope he is alive and well and living a good life somewhere.

He sounds like a great guy. I would’ve loved to be his friend!

When I was Mason's EXACT age (17 and in my senior year of HS) my parents were so controlling I ran away from home. They took my car away and I had never had a cell phone before. They took my car away because I had to take my sister to school (who's four years younger) and her school started at 8 but (I was so advanced I could have graduated of my junior year and my parents didn't let me) I didn't have to go to school until 11 a.m. but my parents expected me to wait at school until my classes started. So one day I was so bored I went to the Catholic Church across the street to pray and my parents (who had a tracking device on my car) found out and sold the truck my grandfather had given me. I felt so depressed and I had no control over my life so I ran away from home and got married at 17! Just to escape them. (In my state 17 is an adult and I'm allowed to do whatever). I was a good kid who never went out at all, never drank, got straight A's, cleaned the house and did all my chores, never partied, never argued or talked back to them, I wanted their approval so badly I literally never did anything wrong ect. I felt so suffocated and unfairly persecuted for no reason. So I called my guy friend up to see if I could live with him and if he would have said no I was secretly determined to kill myself, but he said yeah I could stay with him and we ended up married. My parents ruined my life. I had a full ride to university due to my grades and credits and ACT score my junior year but they wouldn't let me go. So I left that night. I legitimately would have killed myself if my guy friend wouldn't have been able to let me live with him. I didn't want to live like that anymore. I felt I had nothing to live for and no matter how perfect I was it was never perfect enough. It was my parents fault. Not saying it was Mason's parents fault exactly but....... If they had treated him with respect like the adult he was, he wouldn't have run away or, God forbid, have committed suicide. Hindsight is 20/20. Don't smother your kids. You will drive them to do ANYTHING to escape. Let them make their own decisions and own mistakes at that age. Learn a lesson form Mason's story AND my story. Don't be a smother. Be a supportive parent who allows their child to be themselves.

Their parents are huge people of interest right now. They're inconsistent with their details, falsifying info, fail to follow up with investigations, and even failed to show up during a big search for their son.

It’s unfortunate that the school emails at the end of the day that he never showed up. There’s definitely way more that went on that night. The story the parents tell sounds so chill and routine but I feel like that night was actually pretty scary and high emotions. I don’t know if he ran away or never made it out of the house, but that night definitely has more than they are saying.

This poor kid. Hospitalized for depression, tries to run away and still gets good grades. I can understand why he would want to run away, no matter what he did his parents were still very controlling.

I’ll be honest. Them taking his stuff away even at such an age where you’re basically an adult was triggering to listen to. Reminded me of the suffocation of living at home with my controlling grandma

You should do an 2021 update. This case has been one of the few that really hit me.

My husband struggled with drugs and became homeless, he went to LA when he was 17. He met a lot of other homeless people and many of them just wanted to restart. The good thing is that there were programs that help homeless people so my husband said he didn't struggle too much. He also went to live in Tijuana for a while before he decided to turn his life around. I truly believe Macin could have done something similar and I hope he is well.

“I would have accepted him if he was gay and hoped he would have known that” when you grow up gay you don’t know that... you need someone to tell you that people will still love you ESPECIALLY when your parents raise you religiously and the church says different

poor macin, he seems like such a nice kid. i wish i could have been a friend to him when he was growing up. feeling lonely and made fun of sucks.

One thing I can't get over with this situation is that if Macin was about to graduate, and he was active in the LDS/Mormon church- he could've gone on a mission and gotten away from his family that way. Also by going to college. Idk it just seems like either something huge happened to make him run away, or something terrible happened to him. I hope he's out there somewhere and happy

He looks so familiar for some reason. I hope he's out there somewhere living his life.

I don’t know, but I just have a heavy feeling that he’s still out there. Agree with you, he doesn’t want to be found. He’ll likely pop up one day.

This hurt deeply to watch. As an abuse survivor myself also raised in a cult, there are so many red flags in this story. The quiet kid, who doesn't connect well with others, well behaved, his family moving countries. The anime character on the bench dedicated to him is really a slap in the face to Macin. This FB group posted at the end is a huge phishing scam filled with abusive parents. Never give ANYONE you don't know information about someone. This video seems to focus a lot on the internet being shut off bit, but I can assure you that this sort of control goes way beyond a parent taking their (not child's) internet away. He has run away before, and has been hospitalized with depression. He is not feeling validated or loved. I hope Macin is doing well, and managed to get his identification and get his life to e he is truly free, and I hope that people will let it go, and let him go. I hope he has found a new name, and a new life.

They really put a death date on his bench.. WTF? I'd never give up like that. Especially like if he sees it.

Imagine if he commented on this just saying “I ain’t gay”

I wonder if one of the reasons he and his mom were enjoying life in Utah so much was because the dad wasn’t present as much. Just a thought.

Cases like this should serve as a warning to strict parents. As your child grows up, best case scenario is they remain cordial with you but you don’t have a close relationship. Worst case is they run away and you never hear from them again.

They're sugar coating the whole anime addiction. He was actually addicted to Hentai and his parents knew it was a problem, Lowkey I feel the parents know more than they say. His dad was very controlling it makes me suspicious 🤔 I went to school with Macin. Such a quiet kid.

I really hope he’s just living his life somewhere and is okay but the fact that he left his wallet and id behind really concerns me

‼️‼️PLEASE‼️‼️ look into “Emily Hieber” she’s from Yuma AZ and just disappeared. She went missing in 2013 I believe. She was involved in meth and a local cartel and posted on Facebook before she went missing that someone was out to get her and was scared about her boyfriend getting out of jail in the next week please help her see this and look into this case

The parents know what happened to Macin. A 2017 police affidavit said: "“Throughout the investigation, there have been discrepancies between what Macin’s parents, Tracey and Darrin Smith, have told the St. George Police Department, Red Rock Search and Rescue and the media. These discrepancies all point to the fact Tracey and Darrin know more information surrounding Macin’s disappearance then they have disclosed,” police wrote in an affidavit dated June 21, 2017."

Wow what a parent!! She decided to search his room on 2nd or 3rd day only.... Like wasn't she worried at all? As I listen to these stories I realize more and more how good my mom was. She would NEVER be chill if I went missing or didn't answer the phone.

I wonder if his mum knows where he is and she just let him go. I feel like if they were so close he wouldn't just leave without telling his mum But thats just a thought

It’s absolutely INSANE to me that the dad wouldn’t be apart of the shows or televised interviews involving the disappearance. We don’t know what happened to Macin, but what we DO know is that he felt trapped and felt so much like a disappointment that he wrote about it AND had already previously tried to run away. It’s super clear that his dad didn’t understand him. The dad was very much a “man’s man” and was athletic and went to the gym often, but Macin was sensitive and creative, liked to keep to himself, and loved anime.. Macin was more of a mama’s boy. (I don’t mean that in a bad or insulting way) Because of all this, you would think his dad would make it a point to go on tv and show Macin that he isn’t disappointed in him and that he accepts and loves him for who he is. But instead, if Macin is alive and saw that his dad isn’t participating in the search, it sends the message that his dad doesn’t really care that he’s gone and is still disappointed in him.. which is why he wanted to run away in the first place.

We have a 16 year old named Tyler Christiansen who went missing in Washington State. He was part of the Mormon church and they said he left on his own. His back pack was found in a wooded area but he was never found.

When I was in my twenties I lived on the East Coast and my entire family lived on the West Coast. I would go several years in between speaking to any of the them. I'm now almost 40 and live a mile from my dad's house. Hopefully, if Macin is still out there, he will return when he gets older. I like to think he is still out there, carving his own path the way he sees fit.

I hope one day he can at least give his mother the peace of mind and let her know hes okay if hes still out there...

Whatever you did with the camera, placement, lighting, makeup, hair, soul whateverrrr. This is it girl. 😍

If he did try to hitchhike and my first thought is how many people get abducted and get assaulted and murdered. Everyone keeps talking about him hitchhiking to Mexico and California and all that stuff but not taking into consideration how dangerous people actually are.

😳 I found this video on his birthday... well happy birthday 23rd Macin! All hoping your safe.

I made a report on a potential sighting and will say I’m disappointed with the conversation. Not sure if they were busy but legit feel like they rushed me off the phone. I had more details to give and she just asked me what city and state. I live in Ventura County, ca and work for human services agency and know how important reporting is. I even reached out to the mom and offered to give details but didn’t hear back from anyone. This was a year ago same week of the comicon convention. I understand the possibility of false sightings but this guy stood out to me.I remember this case when Danielle covered it and it hit my heart bc my son has a speech impediment. I explained to the officer that He caught my attention bc he was super tall and wasn’t dressed for the area. Very pale skin and seemed like he was red tanned around the nose and cheek area. Like he had been walking in the sun a lot- like a transient. Made his blue eyes stand out a lot. I was driving and even turned back to do a double look but was on a one way street and took some time to get back. It was near a bus and train station. I pray he is found, his family and mom are in my prayers. 💛

Kendall: "Okay time to film a video" *carries Bernie's adorable little sleeping self to be the background decor*

I hope he’s still out there and thriving. I hope he makes peace with who he is on the inside. Macin if you’re out there, you’re amazing.

The theme song melts my heart. I pray Macin is safe and happy

It's so kind, loving and thoughtful of Tracie to put an anime/manga-style drawing of Macin on the bench they had put up in his memory, it honestly brings tears to my eyes. Anime was obviously a point of contention between Macin and his parents, and it is very beautiful to me that they're embracing something that was clearly so important to him now that he's tragically gone missing. Very touching gesture!

So he was diagnosed with Depression, but they still took his anime from him? the poor guy had depression it doesnt help when theyre being too strict with him..

This story makes me so sad. My 17 yr old son has Autism and i couldnt imagine him being out there on his own. He depends on me so much. I hope mason is out there somwhere..

why does everyone make it seem like having no friends is sad? I'm more happier on my own than having others problems to deal with as well... I'm a loyal and open person and that's why I'm not letting anyone in my life... I have been taken advantage of so many times and I'm way happier on my own:)

It hurts my heart his parents didn't tell him they Loved him or have a good day before he left for school. I couldn't imagine hearing my child up and not going in to wish them a good day.

I wish there was a clip of his voice. And I absolutely think he ran away as well. I hope he is watching this somehow and sees all these comments that hope that he's living well somewhere.

Prayers for Macin 🙏🏼

How do you hear your child in the morning and don’t see them? Don’t you go check on them say good morning? Idk normal stuff

If he’s out there I wish he’d find a way to mail a note to his mom to let them know he’s alive. I’m a mother. I can’t imagine the pain of not having any answers. Macin if you’re out there I hope you’re well.

So sad because it seems like he and his mother had such a close relationship, and then the Dad really seemed to make the household tense. There’s always more going on behind closed doors.

I hope he’s okay.. I identify with this story on several levels.. his home situation is so like my own sons.. super strict dad in one house and mom who gets it in the other.. thankful that I was able to get my son to a better situation and now he watches his anime happily and doesn’t have to threaten to run away ... I cannot imagine how his mom gets through without knowing where he is.. I really really hope he didn’t come to any harm and he’s out living his life 💕

My mom at one point when I was in high school thought I was addicted to anime. I also skipped school a couple times by hidding in a bush until my mom left for work and I went back to my house for the day. I feel really connected to Macin.

I believe in my heart he is still alive and he just wanted to start a new life. I hope he’s safe at least 🤞🏾

has anyone ever thought about the possibility of him going back to canada

OMG!! I requested for you to review this case almost two years ago, maybe. Thank you so much for covering his case! This case had always baffled me and shook me to my core.

St. George is a little over 2 hours from me and it hurts knowing not only is this beautiful guy missing but he disappeared kinda in my backyard. I hope wherever he is he’s in peace!!