William David Shannon -- Missing Since September 1995 in Washington state

Paraphrased details from government source**: 

Left home in Salem, Oregon for a camping/hiking trip and never returned. Did not take medications for mental and medical problems. Vehicle found at the National Forest trailhead to Lake Angeline. An extensive search operation was unproductive. The vehicle was left at the trailhead and impounded by the US Forest Service.

Update: The original time of writing was April 3rd, 2021. The MP is still missing as of March 25th, 2025.

Not the actual vehicle. AI was prompted to generate a picture of the vehicle's likeness near a hiking trail. Shows a 1991 Pontiac 2x2 that's blue with Oregon plates.

Missing Person: William David Shannon
Last-contact date: September 4th, 1995 (this was Labor Day that year, a Monday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Skykomish, Washington
Link to government source: NamUs MP 

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 47 years old
Birthdate: William David Shannon was born between September 5th, 1947, and September 4th, 1948, based on his reported age at the last date of reported contact.

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Scar: None known

Height/weight: 6'4" and 180 pounds
BMI*: William David Shannon was in the normal range for BMI.

No photo found: If a photo can't be found, rely on BMI, height, weight, ethnicity, and other physical features to describe or picture the person. 

Tattoos: William David Shannon did not have any tattoos associated with his profiles.

William David Shannon was last heard from on September 4th, 1995, when he was 47 years of age. That was a Monday, and as the first Monday in September, it was also Labor Day in 1995. William David Shannon has now been missing for about 26 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

When it came to expanding details, this was a difficult case. I did not find a newspaper article that covered the missing person's disappearance. 

Sometimes, with a first name like William, selecting the proper keywords to search can be difficult. There's Will, Willy, Willie, Bill, Billy, Billie and then all the combinations that come with whether or not to use the middle name (ie. which could be "Dave" or "David"), just the middle initial, or to use first and last name alone. There are dozens of way this person might be named in media, if not using a strict first and last name combination.

William David Shannon: Limited Media Coverage

In the end, I felt like there were no newspaper articles on this disappearance in the Newspaper.com database. That may change in the future, so take a moment to double-check if you are reading this well after the publication date.

I did note that the individual did not have a photo included with his profile. When I encounter that situation, I usually attribute it to a lack of public interest in the case. Perhaps the hard-to-find newspaper coverage or web news source isn't too surprising.

When a missing person doesn't have a photo, researchers can try to find one at Ancestry.com or at Newspapers.com. I am convinced that William David Shannon has profile information at Ancestry, as his NamUs profile says he was from Salem, Oregon.

I found someone who was in the right birthdate range who had an exact name match at that website for Salem, Oregon. There might have been a Yearbook photo of him at the site, but I couldn't authenticate it as the missing person for sure. Furthermore, a photo of him in his 20s isn't great to use when he disappeared at the age of 47. 

This William David Shannon might be the same one as the missing person: his date of death is listed as September 23rd, 1995, which would be 19 days after the disappearance. It just might be that September 23rd was when someone filed a missing person report. Conversely, they could be different people, but there is a lot of overlap between the NamUs William David Shannon and the one at Ancestry.

Hiking Without Medication - Seems Odd

What stands out with this case is that this individual went hiking and/or camping without medications that he presumptively needed. That certainly doesn't bode well for his health and well-being.

The Lake Angeline area that is mentioned in the NamUs description appears to be a puny lake near Darrington, Washington. These were the coordinates I noted off of Google Maps for what looks like little more than a pond: 48.24182048327208, -121.54171666844462.

I wondered if his vehicle might have been parked on a road labelled as NF-2420, but I wasn't sure what I was looking at.

I have looked at a lot of cases involving missing hikers in the past. When the vehicle is found near the trailhead, then they should be presumed to be lost on the trail. Hikers who are rescued under these circumstances are usually rescued only if found within a week. That would suggest that this missing person is dead, something supported by his 30-year absence as of 2025.

Clothing and Possessions Associated with William David Shannon

Item	Description
Backpack	Blue Jansport backpack
T-shirt	Plain T-shirt (color not specified)
Pants	Long pants (color and material not specified)
Cap	Baseball or golf-type cap (color not specified)
Glasses	Light-colored wire-frame glasses

Note: These items were associated with William David Shannon at the time of his disappearance on September 4th, 1995. They may be linked to a John Doe or could become associated with one in the future as part of ongoing identification efforts.

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Tags that I've associated with this blog post are below. It's interesting to see what can connect unrelated cases. Click one of the tags to go to an article that is related to this one in some way, shape, or form.

Author: Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.

Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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Jessie Hoover -- Missing Since May 1983 in Maine

Paraphrased details from government source**:  

Jesse Hoover was last seen on May 20, 1983 at the Baxter State Park Headquarters. Hoover traveled to Maine from Texas to hike the Appalachian Trail. She had no special equipment or knowledge to aid her while hiking. Jesse was reported missing on July 11, 1983 by her sister.

Photo credit: Picture taken from Maine State Police website. Cropped and enhanced by RSS Flanagan on 11/21/2011.

Missing Person: Jessie Hoover

Last-contact date: May 20th, 1983
The area where the MP was last seen: Millinocket, Maine
Link to government source: NamUs MP 

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 53 years old
Birthdate: June 13th, 1929
Hair: Gray or partially gray
Eyes: Blue
Scar: None listed
Height/weight: 5'8" and 240 to 250 pounds
BMI*: This individual was obese by BMI standards at the time of her disappearance.
Tattoos: Jessie Hoover did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

Jessie Hoover was last heard from on May 20th, 1983 when she was 53 years of age. What stands out with this case to me is that she was going on a hiking trip that she was nowhere near prepared for. This individual has now been missing for about 38 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

Apparently, she was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail with what could only be considered a haphazard plan. AllTrails.com describes this trail as extending from Maine to Georgia at a distance of 3,207 kilometers. This is a hike that would require planning, both in regard to what you bring with you and in regard to developing the fitness to carry what you need.

According to some sources, Jessie had a terrible plan for her hiking trip. For instance, CharleyProject stated this: "Hoover was going to climb Mount Katahdin on May 20, but park rangers refused to permit it because they felt she was unprepared. She was last seen at the trailhead of the 100-Mile Wilderness, the most remote stretch of the Appalachian Trail." The same source describes a woman who barely had any food with her. Meanwhile, the source below depicts a hiking plan in the same region by a different group of people. It shows what kind of planning in required for this trip, one that was once a 'rights of passage' journey for some Boy Scout youths.

22 Jun 1972, Thu The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) Newspapers.com

In addition to poor planning, there's also the question of Jessie's health. A newspaper source that will find below listed her as epileptic.

Additionally, her NamUs profile said she was 53 years old, up to 250 pounds, and just 5'8". When you plug those demographics into Body Mass Index calculators you get someone who is obese. At the age of 53, this wasn't an individual who had any hope of walking or hiking the Appalachian Trail or the 100-mile Wilderness trail.

In fact, I think a 250-pound 53-year old would have plenty of trouble with just a 10-mile trail. The plan, according to CharleyProject, was "to wire home for money and pick up her prescriptions as she passed through towns on the way." 

That plan sounds so fanciful that if all of it is taken at face value, then Jessie Hoover clearly wasn't in a strong place mentally from the start of her trip. This might have been suicide by hiking trail (ie. suicide by exposure).

This is a case, in my opinion, where Websleuths should be looking for a Jane Doe that didn't get too far up the 100-mile Wilderness trail. Jessie Hoover may have had the following articles when she disappeared: blue knapsack, blue jeans, blue shirt, and blue windbreaker. These items affiliated with a Jane Doe in that area should be compared to Jessie Hoover's case details.

In the sources I consulted, I found some inconsistencies with her middle name. CharleyProject listed it as Albertine but one newspaper source gave her the middle initial of "O." Some sources say she was 53 when she disappeared, others say 54. That may be due to the fact that her birthdate was close to the time she disappeared.

27 Jun 2009, Sat The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) Newspapers.com

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Non-opinionated information at this site generally comes from government sources or police reports. Other sources may be used.

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Penney Faye Cruser -- Missing Since March 1997 From Spokane, Washington

Details from NamUs**: 

Family last saw Penney December, 1996. She has had no contact with family or friends over the years.

Missing Person: Penney Faye Cruser
Last-contact date: December 1996 (disputed -- NamUs lists March 1997 but this might be the time when she was reported missing)
The area where the MP was last seen: Spokane, Washington
Link to government source: NamUs MP 

---

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 30 years old

Birthdate: May 23rd, 1966
Hair: Brown, dark brown, shoulder-length, straight
Eyes: Brown, did not wear glasses
Scar: None listed
Height/weight: 5'5" and 100 pounds
BMI*: In this case, the missing person was underweight by BMI at the time of the disappearance.
Tattoos: This missing person might be identifiable through her tattoos. Please note that she had the following: 'Cat on pelvis', 'butterfly inside of her right ear', and 'names of Rodney and Arthur on ankles'.

 

Penney Faye Cruser, a missing person, was, according to her NamUs profile, last heard from on March 21st, 1997 when she was 30 years old. However, I did find some inconsistencies between her NamUs profile and journalism on the matter. It seems that March 1997 may have been when she was reported missing.

Sun, Dec 3, 2000 – 18 · The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) · Newspapers.com

The missing person was mentioned in conjunction with a serial killer in the Spokane area in a news article from the year 2000. His name was Robert L. Yates (Jr.). From the article below, you can see that the last-contact date may actually have been December 1996.

Sun, Dec 3, 2000 – 13 · The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) · Newspapers.com

This individual has now been missing for about 24 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. People that have been missing for several years, as this person has been, might not be identifiable through some of their distinctive characteristics. For instance, if Cruser died near the time of her disappearance then her tattoos might not be useful in identifying due to decomposition.

Her profile at CharleyProject indicates that she was a drug user, that she was disabled, and she did not like taking her medication.

There were not a lot of articles or possessions associated with this missing person. However, please note the following: she may have carried a weapon. Presumptively, I would think this meant a handgun, however, the term "weapon" is much broader than that. You could look for Jane Does in databases that were found in proximity to a gun or even a blade of some sort.

Penney Faye Cruser had the following distinctive characteristic: she broke her right hand in 1985 and she previously had broken her nose. Sometimes these kinds of bone injuries can be useful when it comes to identifying someone because the injuries, even when healed, are detectable in skeletal remains. When Jane Does are entered into databases, they often have skeletal injuries listed.

Author: @UncoolNegated on Twitter

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

@UncoolNegated on Twitter is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.

Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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