Published: August 27, 2008 11:49 pm      

Family remembers daughter abducted in 1986

TIPTON — For more than 20 years, Mike Sherrill has wondered what happened to his daughter, Shannon.

She was 6 years old when she disappeared from her mother’s Thorntown residence in Boone County on Oct. 5, 1986.

Two years ago, Sherrill thought he’d come close to unearthing the truth when an Ohio inmate in the Toledo Correctional Facility came forward with a possible suspect for Shannon’s abduction.

An eight-month investigation ensued in which the lead investigator, Lt. Jeff Heck of the Indiana State Police, delivered his report to Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer.

That was February 2007. There has been no development in the case since.

Mike and his wife, Becky Sherrill, held a rally for Shannon and other missing persons Wednesday at their gas station, the Eat Here Get Gas, located at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28 in Tipton County.

The rally was part of a 17-state tour hosted by the CUE (Community United Effort) Center for Missing Persons.

“I’m hoping somebody will move on something now... [Todd Meyer] had it for a year-and-a-half. It’s like nobody wants to do anything,” Mike Sherrill said.

“It’s time to put an end to the suffering Mike Sherrill’s been through for 22 years,” said Tina Winn, a Kempton councilwoman and friend of the Sherrills.

“It’s the unknown factor that wears on a family year after year,” said Monica Caison, founder of the CUE Center. “The truth is always out there, somewhere.”

Caison is a proponent of uncovering cold cases and ensuring that missing persons aren’t forgotten even if they’ve been gone for decades. She wants the Sherrills to learn what happened to their daughter during their lifetime.

“Time helps us accept things we can’t change, but you never heal from it,” Caison said. “It’s just as real today as it was when it first happened.”

Even more important to Mike Sherrill than seeing his daughter’s captor brought to justice, is learning where his daughter is.

“At this point, I really ... don’t care whether he’s brought to trial or not. I just want to bring Shannon home,” he said. “It seems like they know what’s happening and know who did it and just want to let it go ...”

Mike Sherrill has accepted that his daughter may no longer be alive, but he still wants some certainty in the case.

“She’s in my heart, even if she’s not here,” he said. “Her memory is still here.”

Todd Meyer could not be reached for comment.