Case Details

Photo URLs:

This person was missing Missing Since 09/24/1984

Missing Since:

Missing Since 09/24/1984

Missing From:

Missing From Chicago, Illinois

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race Black

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 10/15/1982 (42)

Age:

Age 1 year old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 3’0, 50 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Deborah has a scar on her right ear. Some accounts spell her first name “Debra” or her middle name “Lynn.”

Details of Disappearance:

In September 1984, Deborah was kidnapped from her Chicago home by her father, Odell Sheppard, who didn’t have legal custody. He’d threatened her mother, Norell, beforehand. The police were hesitant to act initially because Norell and Odell weren’t married.

Deborah was last seen two weeks later at a funeral in Memphis. Sheppard let Norell talk to Deborah on the phone once after the kidnapping, but that was the last contact. He later threatened to kill both Deborah and Norell, and then offered to return Deborah for $2,000, which Norell didn’t have. He also allegedly threatened that Norell would only see Deborah “in a pine box” (a coffin). He denies saying this.

Sheppard was arrested in 1985 but without Deborah. He claimed he’d returned her, but this was proven false. He was convicted of kidnapping and served a short prison sentence. Because he refused to say where Deborah was, he was then jailed for an incredibly long time – possibly the longest sentence for contempt of court in US history – for refusing to cooperate.

Norell, Deborah’s mother, sadly died in 1998. Sheppard was released from jail shortly after. Deborah is still missing, and her case is closed. Her Social Security number hasn’t been used since the kidnapping.

Agency:

Illinois State Police 847-294-4400

Source Links: