Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 07/06/1986

Missing Since:

Missing Since 07/06/1986

Missing From:

Missing From Owensboro, Kentucky

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 09/21/1969 (55)

Age:

Age 16 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’4, 110 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Clothing/Jewelry Description Black jogging shorts, an aqua-colored shirt, sneakers, a gold chain with a heart pendant, a gold watch, and possibly an engagement ring and other rings.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Shannon has red discolorations on the back of her neck and at the base of her hairline, and a light brown birthmark on the back of her right arm. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance:

Shannon went missing in Owensboro, Kentucky on July 6, 1986. She was walking to a friend’s house and never arrived. A few days later, someone claiming to be her runaway husband called her mom – but this was likely a false lead.

Around the same time, another teenager, DeWayne Bell, also vanished. They knew each other. Police think their disappearances might be connected, possibly to the murder of a 23-year-old woman whose body was found a few months earlier.

A key suspect is John Reneer, a convicted murderer and sex offender who knew both Shannon and the Bells. Reneer claims DeWayne confessed to killing Shannon and implicated his father, David. Reneer says he recorded this confession, but the police lost the tape. While Reneer passed a lie detector test, police remain suspicious.

David Bell, DeWayne’s father, denies involvement and thinks Reneer is responsible. He suggests DeWayne may have been killed to keep him quiet.

Police investigated a field in 2005, believing Shannon’s body might be there, but found nothing. Shannon’s case remains unsolved, and while initially treated as a runaway case, foul play is now suspected.

Agency:

Owensboro Police Department 270-687-8888

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