This Teen Left Her House To Run An Errand In 1994 And Mysteriously Disappeared
In 1994, Shaylene Marie Farrell was an 18-year-old looking forward to the start of her senior year at Piqua High School in Piqua, Ohio. But after leaving her house on the morning of August 8, 1994, to run an errand, she mysteriously disappeared.
That day, Shaylene had left her family’s residence, located on Haverhill Drive, at about 10:00 a.m. She intended to visit a local Pick-N-Save grocery store in the 1500 block of Covington Avenue to buy a bottle of Lipton Iced Tea.
For the prior two weeks, the teen had worked part-time at the Pick-N-Save as well. However, she never returned home from the grocery store and failed to arrive for her shift that night, which was supposed to start at 7:00 p.m.
After Shaylene didn’t show up for work, she was reported missing. The car she’d been driving, her mother’s silver 1981 Chevrolet Malibu, was then discovered abandoned later the same day.
The vehicle had been left in the parking lot of the Pick-N-Save, located on Route 36. Still, Shaylene was nowhere to be found. Additionally, she didn’t take any of her clothing, money, or identification with her.
Leading up to her disappearance, Shaylene reportedly had some trouble with her parents. She was supposedly caught smoking marijuana and kicked out of her home by her mother.
Shaylene moved in with a friend for a brief period and stayed in close contact with her family. Things seemingly resolved, too, as she moved back in with her parents several weeks later.
Early on in the investigation, authorities thought Shaylene had left of her own volition. Her mother and her best friend believed otherwise, though, and the police ultimately concluded she was likely met with foul play.
Some have speculated that one man named Christopher J. Below was involved in Shaylene going missing. He’s reportedly a suspect in the murders and disappearances of multiple women, including Kristina Porco, Mary Kushto, and Heather Teague.
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In 2004, Christopher also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in relation to Kathern Fetzer, a 26-year-old woman who vanished on November 26, 1991.
Christopher claimed to have shot Kathern, whose body had never been found, and he was sentenced to 11 to 18 years in prison.
Yet, according to a Facebook page entitled “Justice for Shaylene,” which was created as a memorial and to spread awareness about her case, authorities have ruled out this theory.
“Though many internet web sleuths have attributed her disappearance to be the work of a serial killer, these have all been investigated by the police and ruled out as a possibility,” one Facebook post reads.
Rather, the post goes on to detail how Shaylene was supposedly spotted at a Greenville, Ohio, club in the days before she went missing. It was thought that someone at the club might’ve played a role in Shaylene’s suspected homicide.
“Reports are that her body may have been disposed of in a wooded area in Union City close to the border between Ohio and Indiana,” the post said.
Nonetheless, the police conducted searches in the area, and no evidence was uncovered.
Today, Shaylene’s case has gone unsolved for over 30 years, but the “Justice for Shaylene” Facebook page remains active, continuing to advocate for answers.
Shaylene was five foot three, weighed 135 pounds, and had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She smoked cigarettes, sometimes wore eyeglasses, had four missing teeth, and had a brown-colored mole under her lower lip.
Shaylene was last seen wearing blue Piqua High School shorts, a white T-shirt with the words “No Fear” written in blue lettering on the front, and black sandals. She would be 48-years-old today.
Anyone with information about Shaylene’s case is urged to contact the Piqua Police Department at (937) 778-2027.
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