The Los Angeles County Sheriff missing persons unit served a search warrant Friday on a home in Chatsworth in connection with the disappearance of 20th Century Fox executive Gavin Smith.
The warrant was served in the 8600 block of Santa Susana Place (map), Steve Whitmore of the Sheriff's Department said.
"Information led us to this location in relation to the investigation into this missing-persons case,” Whitmore told City News Service.
Real Estate records list a Chandrika Winata as the owner of the Chatsworth home. She also owns a Beverly Hills Café, was divorced a year ago and filed bankruptcy around the same time.
For most of the day, crime scene technicians were moving through the house, gathering bags of evidence, even using a dog.
No arrests have been made and a man, woman and child remain inside the home. A black SUV was towed away from the house on Friday.
The development comes on the heels of an announcement of a $20,000 reward for information in the case.
Smith, 57, was reported missing after leaving a friend's residence in the Oak Park area May 1. He was last seen driving away from the home in the 500 block of Kellwood Court, where he had been staying.
A man from Wisconsin told NBC4 he saw Smith and a woman May 7 at a popular restaurant in Morro Bay, but did not realize who he was until he read about his disappearance the next day.
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The black 2000 Mercedes 420E in which Smith left the Oak Park area residence had a padded storage roof rack and California license plate 6EKT044.
The sheriff's department says it is using all resources, including a fix-winged aircraft, to try and find Smith. Some people fear Smith's car may have gone off the side of a canyon road, making it difficult to find.
A website, FindGavinSmith.com, has been started to draw attention to the case.
Smith is white, about 6 feet 6 inches tall and has graying blond hair and green eyes.
Smith has a goatee, a roughly 4-inch scar on his right inner wrist and a 5-inch scar on one of his calves, according to the sheriff's detectives.
In 1975, Smith was a member of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's last national championship team.
Smith, who lives in West Hills, is a long-time Fox distribution executive who worked in Calabasas.
Anyone with more information as to his whereabouts was asked to call detectives at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS. Anonymous tips can be submitted to http://lacrimestopers.org.
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