Missing Girl: Shannon Sherrill -- IN -- 10/05/1986

[Denise]

20 Years Pass Since Thorntown Girl's Disappearance

POSTED: 6:16 am EDT October 5, 2006
UPDATED: 7:05 am EDT October 5, 2006


Age-progressed to 23 years



THORNTOWN, Ind. -- The passing of 20 years since 6-year-old Shannon Sherrill vanished from her mother's yard have not erased the pain her family feels.

Shannon was last seen Oct. 5, 1986, in a disappearance case that leaped back into the public's view in July 2003, when a Kansas woman faked being the girl before the Sherrill family's hopes were crushed within days by the hoax.

Even two decades later, her family can't forget the 6-year-old they knew.

"You still think she's small. Still think she's 6 instead of 26," Jody Ames, Shannon's aunt, told the Kokomo Tribune for a story Thursday. "Like if we saw her today, we'd still think we'd see her as she was."

Shannon's father, Mike Sherrill, continues to look for answers and hope for a miracle.

"Right now, they haven't proved she isn't here. I go on believing she's out there somewhere," he said. TheIndyChannel.com - Local News - 20 Years Pass Since Thorntown Girl's Disappearance

[Denise]

20 Years Pass Since Thorntown Girl Vanished

Oct 5, 2006 10:26 AM CDT


It is 20 years to the day since a six-year-old Thorntown, Indiana, girl vanished from her mother's yard. Shannon Sherrill was last seen October 5th, 1986, in the small town about 30 miles north of Indianapolis.

The case returned the news in 2003 when a Kansas woman faked being the girl before the Sherrill family's hopes were crushed within days by the hoax.
WISH-TV - Indianapolis News and Weather - 20 Years Pass Since Thorntown Girl Vanished

[Denise]

Shannon M. Sherrill

M I S S I N G

Date of Birth - 8/12/80
Date Missing - 10/5/86
Missing from - Thorntown, Indiana
L.E.A. - Thorntown Police Dept.
Contact - Town Marshall Jeff Woodard
Telephone Number - (765)436-7677

ID Info - NCIC #M-221505185. Shannon is a white female, 3'1" tall, weighs 40 pounds, has curly brown hair and blue eyes. She has a four inch scar across her abdomen and was last seen wearing a white sundress with blue trim and she was barefoot.

Circumstances - Shannon disappeared while outside with five or six friends playing hide and seek. A three day ground, air and K-9 search followed but Shannon was not found.

If you see this missing child or know where he or she is located, please contact the Child Protection Education of America, Inc. at (866)USA-CHILD or the law enforcement agency above.

[Denise]

Shannon Marie Sherrill

DOB: Aug 12, 1980
Missing: Oct 5, 1986
Age Now: 26
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 3'0" (91 cm)
Weight: 30 lbs (14 kg)
Missing From:
Thorntown,Indiana
United States

Shannon's photo is shown age-progressed to 23 years. She was last seen at 1:30 p.m. playing in her yard with several other children. She was wearing a white dress with blue trim. She has a 4 inch scar on her abdomen, pierced ears, and is extremely shy.


Contact Information:
Thorntown Police Department (Indiana)
1-765-436-7677

Poster

[Denise]

Posted on Fri, Oct. 06, 2006

After 20 years, pain of little girl’s disappearance remains

From The Associated Press

By The Associated Press

THORNTOWN --� Twenty years have passed since 6-year-old Shannon Sherrill vanished from her mother's yard, but time has not erased the pain for her family.

Shannon was last seen Oct. 5, 1986, in a disappearance case that leaped back into public view in July 2003 when a Kansas woman faked being the girl before the Sherrill family's hopes were crushed within days by the hoax.

Even two decades later, her family can't forget the 6-year-old they knew.

�You still think she's small. Still think she's 6 instead of 26,"� said Jody Ames, Shannon's aunt. "Like if we saw her today, we'd still think we'd see her as she was."

News-Sentinel | 10/06/2006 | After 20 years, pain of little girl's disappearance remains

[Denise]

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7184363&nav=menu188_2

Shannon Sherrill's family: Investigation moving too slowly

Oct 8, 2007 02:44 PM CDT

Chris Proffitt/Eyewitness News

The family of Shannon Sherrill is looking for answers into the disappearance of the little Thorntown girl 21 years ago and hoping to locate her body. They say the investigation with a potential suspect is moving too slowly.

Friday was a somber anniversary for Mike Sherrill. Twenty-one years ago, his daughter Shannon, then six years old, disappeared while playing outside of her Thorntown home. Not since a hoax involving a woman claiming to be Shannon in 2003 has Mike Sherrill felt so much hope and frustration.

"It's been 21 years and we're this close and it doesn't seem like we're going to get any closer. It doesn't seem like there's going to be anything happening," he said.

Sherrill is frustrated after learning that a Ohio prison informant and former cellmate of convicted child killer David Penton was allegedly implicated Penton earlier this year in Shannon's abduction. Indiana State Police interviewed Penton, who's serving a life sentence. Penton said in a prison interview that he expects to be charged with her murder.

"I've done wrong in my life. I'm not going to pretend I haven't done wrong, but I can't convince anybody that I'm not running around the country killin' young girls," he said.

State Police turned over the results of their investigation to the Boone County prosecutor, who has declined to comment on the case. Investigator Mark Harper, working with the Sherrill family, claims he's even learned where Shannon's body is located, but has been told by Indiana authorities not to interfere in the investigation.

According to Harper, "We've offered to come up with more information and we've been told not to."

Mike Sherrill, now in frail health, fears he's won't live long enough to bring his daughter's remains home, but still holds out hope that after 21 years, investigators are close solving a tragic mystery.

[Jenn]

Charley Project profile on Shannon and her case: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/sherrill_shannon.html

[La Vina]

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/20607565/detail.html

POSTED: 7:36 pm EDT August 28, 2009



Shannon Sherrill was 6 when she disappeared in 1986.

Calif. Case Renews Hope For Father Of Missing Girl
Shannon Sherrill Disappeared In 1986

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indiana father said he still holds out hope that the daughter who was taken from him more than 20 years ago will some day come home.

Mike Sherrill told 6News' Renee Jameson that he has been watching closely the developments in the California case of a woman found 18 years after she was kidnapped.

Police said Jaycee Lee Dugard was taken in 1991 when she was 11 years old and kept in the backyard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido

Here in Indiana, Shannon Sherrill, 6, was last seen playing outside her mother's mobile home in Thorntown in October 1986.

"You never forget. Somewhere out there I have a little girl," Sherrill said.

While he said he is encouraged by the California case, Sherrill said he is frustrated that a state police investigation was turned over to the Boone County prosecutor in 2007, but no charges have been filed.

Lt. Jeff Heck, who is now retired from the Indiana State Police, said he centered his investigation on a tip from an informant, and turned over the information, including the person's name, to the prosecutor.

Prosecutor Todd Meyer was not available for an interview on Friday.

Mike Sherrill said he is confident his little girl is out there somewhere.

"Oh no, I've never given up hope," he said. "Someday we'll find her, or she'll find me."

In 2003, Kansas resident Donna Walker claimed to be Shannon Sherrill, but it was later determined to be a hoax. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to impersonating the girl.

Meyer's receptionist said the prosecutor would return Jameson's call on Monday.

[La Vina]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/283dfin.html

The Doe Network: Case File 283DFIN-Shannon Marie Sherrill

[La Vina]

http://www.indystar.com/article/20091006/LOCAL/91006004/+Person+of+interest++in+23-year-old+missing+child+case

'Person of interest' in 23-year-old missing child case



Shannon Sherrill from Thorntown Ind. has been missing since Oct. 5, 1986.

October 6, 2009
Star report

There's a possible break in the nearly 23-year-old case of a missing Thorntown girl.

Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer says a convicted serial child killer and rapist is one of several �persons of interest� in the disappearance of six-year-old Shannon Sherrill, according to a story in today's Lebanon Reporter.


David Elliot Penton is not a suspect, but he hasn�t been eliminated as the person who kidnapped Shannon Oct. 5, 1986 as she was playing hide and seek at a Thorntown trailer park, the newspaper reports.

The newspaper says they were told by Meyer that while David Elliott Penton was not a suspect, he has not been eliminated as a "person of interest" in the child's kidnapping.

News on Shannon is timely. Today, Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indianapolis Colts Coach Jim Caldwell will join representatives from the FBI National Child ID program to announce a plan to distribute more than 162,000 children's ID kits this fall to Indiana kindergarten and first grade students.

The ID kit allows parents to collect record the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on cards that are then kept at home. If ever needed, the kit will help authorities' efforts to locate a missing child.

Family members of Shannon have held out hope for years that she was alive. In July 2003, the family subject of a hoax by a 35-year-old woman who claimed to have been the missing daughter.

Donna Walker, who impersonated the missing Boone County girl, plead guilty to two of the original charges against her in 2004.

[La Vina]

http://www.wibc.com/news/Story.aspx?id=1148773

Prosecutor Asks for New Investigation into Case of Missing Girl

10/7/2009
By Liz Thomas
Network Indiana

The Boone County Prosecutor is asking that investigators revisit a cold case involving a missing Thorntown girl.

Prosecutor Todd Meyer wants state police to take a fresh look at the nearly 23-year investigation into the disappearance of six-year-old Shannon Sherrill, but denies there's been a significant break in the case.

Meyer confirms authorities interviewed convicted serial child killer and rapist David Penton about the kidnapping, but says they were unable to secure enough evidence to charge him with any crime.

State police have since assigned the case to the cold case division. Meyer says there are no other persons of interest.

The renewed interest comes as Governor Mitch Daniels and Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell announce a plan by the FBI to distribute more than 162,000 children's ID kits this fall to Indiana kindergarten and first grade students.

The kit allows parents to collect record the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on cards that are then kept at home. If ever needed, the kit will help authorities' efforts to locate a missing child.

[Jenn]

http://www.indystar.com/article/20091008/LOCAL02/910080456/1145/LOCAL02/Police+may+have+break+in+missing+girl+s+case

Police may have break in missing girl's case

Posted: October 8, 2009

Lebanon -- There's a possible break in the nearly 23-year-old case of a missing Thorntown girl.

Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer told The Lebanon Reporter that a convicted serial child killer and rapist is one of several "persons of interest" in the disappearance of 6-year-old Shannon Sherrill.

David Elliot Penton is not a suspect, but he hasn't been eliminated as the person who kidnapped Shannon on Oct. 5, 1986, as she was playing hide and seek at a Thorntown trailer park, the newspaper reported.

Shannon's family has held out hope for years that she was alive.

In July 2003, a woman falsely claimed to be Shannon. Donna Walker, who impersonated the missing girl, pleaded guilty to two of the original charges against her in 2004.

[LoriDavis]

Annual concert series aimed at finding missing persons to stop in Indiana
The International Squeaky Wheel Tour will stop at Sam Ash Music, 8284 Center Run Dr., from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 4.
  
By Reba Reader
9:58 p.m. EDT, October 24, 2011

When a loved one goes missing, many families beg and plead for anyone to speak up, take notice or even just look at a photograph. An annual concert series aimed at raising awareness for those families will stop in Indiana Nov. 4.

The International Squeaky Wheel Tour is a grass roots effort to raise awareness about missing children and adults whose disappearances don't often garner the public's attention. The event was created by the GINA for Missing Persons FOUNDation.

[Excerpt..]

Missing persons highlighted at the event will include Molly Dattilo, Jason Ellis, Lola "Kathy" Fry, Brookley Louks, Jamie Meadows, Daniel Reaves, Shannon Sherrill, Karen Jo Smith, Steven Smith, Walter Tom Smith Jr., Lauren Spierer and Esther Westenberger.

Read more: http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-annual-concert-series-aimed-at-finding-missing-persons-to-stop-in-indiana-nov-4-20111024,0,4517751.column