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Tracking dog brought in to find Colonial Heights missing man

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COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. --  A search and rescue dog was in the woods Wednesday Morning behind the house where a missing man Colonial Heights man had been staying.

Andrew Smith was last by his friends on May 1.  A neighbor also spotted him that same same day, just a few hours later, walking down Temple Avenue.

Smith arrived at the Wakefield Avenue home on  April 24,  just a week before he disappeared. All he had with him when he arrived, was a few bags of luggage, which he left at the house.

Police combed the woods with the tracking dog, but turned up no evidence of Smith.

"He walked away with nothing, I guess with just the clothes on his back that's about it," said Jesse Plaster, who was letting Smith stay at his home while he looked for a job.

Andrew Smith was last seen Friday. (PHOTO: Colonial Heights Police)

Andrew Smith was last seen Friday. (PHOTO: Colonial Heights Police)

The 23-year-old, who never mentioned leaving to anyone, had just finished with Job Corps at the end of April, according to Plaster.

"At first I wasn't really concerned, but it's been almost a week now, and it's starting to set in a little bit and it's kind of nerve-racking... I really don't know what to think at this point," Plaster said.

Police describe Smith as a black male, around 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, white t-shirt, blue jeans and black tennis shoes.

Amanda Edmonds, who lives across the street and had met Smith several times, said she spotted him Friday on Temple Avenue.

"He was actually walking this way, like he was heading to the house again," she said.

Edmonds and several other neighbors expressed concern over his disappearance.

"I mean, I think it's crazy because how does a guy go missing instantly," Edmonds said. "It's just strange 'cause it don't seem like something that could happen in your area."