Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Shannon Marie Sherrill







Shannon, date, approximate 1986; Age-progression to age 38 (date, approximate 2018); David Elliot Penton, date, approximate 2007
Date Missing 10/05/1986
Missing From
Thorntown, Indiana
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 08/12/1980 (42)
Age 6 years old
Height and Weight 3'0, 30 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white sundress with blue trim and no socks or shoes.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Shannon has a four-inch scar on her abdomen, and her ears are pierced. She had an extremely shy nature at the time of her 1986 disappearance.
Details of Disappearance Shannon was last seen at her family's trailer home in the 600 block of Plum Street in Thorntown, Indiana on October 5, 1986. She was playing a game of "Hide and Seek" with about ten other children at approximately 1:30 p.m. Sherrill disappeared from behind the trailer and has never been heard from again.
An extensive search of the area produced little evidence as to her whereabouts. No one saw her leave the yard. Bloodhounds traced Shannon's scent to a nearby cornfield and cemetery, then lost the trail. The day she disappeared had been unusually warm, but that night temperatures dropped into the 40s.
A Topeka, Kansas woman named Donna Lynette Walker claimed to be Shannon in July 2003. She telephoned and emailed her family, sending them photographs of herself and claiming to be the missing girl. Shannon's loved ones initially believed her, but the claim turned out to be a hoax and Walker was charged with a dozen felony counts of identity deception and false informing.
Walker accepted a plea agreement for the criminal charges in April 2004 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to felony attempted identity deception and misdemeanor false reporting. Ten other charges were dropped. She severed nine months in prison before being released on probation.
The child rapist and serial killer David Elliot Penton is a possible suspect in Shannon's disappearance and in the disappearances and murders of several other young girls, including Amber Crum, Angelica Gandara and Ara Johnson. A photograph of Penton is posted with this summary.
He is has been incarcerated in an Ohio prison since 1987. He also signed a plea agreement admitting to the murders of three girls in Texas. The Texas victims disappeared over a period of 18 months in the Dallas area, and ranged in age from 4 to 9 years old. Penton was also convicted of manslaughter in the child abuse death of his own infant son in 1984.
Shannon lived with her mother and younger brother when she went missing, and was a kindergarten student at Thorntown Elementary School. Her parents are divorced and her father lives in Tipton, Indiana. Both her mother and her father passed polygraph tests and aren't considered suspects in her . Her disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Thorntown Police Department
317-436-7677
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
The Indianapolis Star
Wish TV
MSNBC
The Child Seek Network
The Indy Channel
Indiana State Police
Operation Lookout
Still Looking for Shannon
Unsolved in the News

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos