Full Name: Shannon Nichole Paulk

Alternative Name:

Case Status: Deceased

Record ID#: 0197

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: May 8, 1990
Birthplace: Prattville, Autauga County, Alabama
Age at the Time: 11
Age Group: Pre-Teenager (10 to 12 Years Old)
Biological Sex: Female
Hair: Blonde to sandy brown, shoulder-length
Eyes: Green
Skin Complexion: Fair or Light
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: United States
Languages Spoken:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build: Slim or Thin

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

Medical Condition:
Physical Abnormality:
Dental Condition:
Scars & Other Marks:
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors: Friendly, helpful child who loved playing outside and visiting neighbors; lived in Candlestick Mobile Home Park with mother Marie Stroud and sister Lisa.

Clothing

• Orange Halter Top
• Blue Jean Shorts

Possessions:

Date of the Disappearance*: August 16, 2001

Description: Unknown

Shannon Nichole Paulk was an 11-year-old girl from Prattville, Alabama, whose boundless energy and kindness made her a beloved figure in her Candlestick Mobile Home Park neighborhood. Known for her outgoing personality, Shannon never met a stranger—she eagerly helped elderly neighbors like “Mrs. Mary” with chores, such as bathing and brushing her small dog’s teeth. “She had a heart of gold and just loved people—all people. And everybody loved her,” her mother, Marie Stroud, recalled. On August 16, 2001, that joyful spirit vanished in an instant, leaving a community shattered and a mystery that endures more than two decades later.

The day began like any other warm summer morning in Prattville. Marie Stroud left for work around 5:00 AM after kissing her sleeping daughter goodbye, leaving Shannon in the care of her older sister, Lisa, who was babysitting. Shannon, full of energy and eager to play, slipped outside around 9:00 AM while Lisa was still asleep. Dressed in an orange halter top and blue jean shorts, the sandy-haired girl with green eyes roamed the trailer park, visiting friends and neighbors as she often did. It was a routine she loved, chatting with everyone she encountered in the close-knit community off U.S. Highway 31.

The case exploded into national headlines, featured multiple times on America’s Most Wanted starting in 2006. In a poignant boost, actress Pauley Perrette (known as Abby Sciuto on NCIS), with family ties to nearby Equality, Alabama, donated $10,000 to double the city’s reward, bringing it to $20,000. Despite exhaustive efforts, including post-9/11 resource strains that briefly hampered federal involvement, no breakthroughs came. Investigators noted eerie similarities to other unsolved abductions of 11-year-old girls from Southern trailer parks: Teresa Melissa Dean (Georgia, 1999) and Heaven LaShae Ross (Alabama, 2003), both vanishing in mid-August amid nearby construction, with hometowns linked by major highways. Tabitha Danielle Tuders (Tennessee, 2003) was sometimes included due to comparable demographics and circumstances, though police have not confirmed connections.

• Age and Gender: All were females aged 11-13 (Teresa, Shannon, and Heaven were 11; Tabitha was 13).

• Demographics: All were Caucasian, fair-skinned, with light hair and eyes, though specific colors varied (Tabitha: blonde, blue-eyed; Teresa: brunette, brown-eyed; Heaven: red, hazel-eyed; Shannon: brunette, green/hazel-eyed). Heaven and Tabitha’s photos were occasionally confused due to similar appearances.
• Location: Teresa, Shannon, and Heaven were abducted from trailer parks where they lived. Tabitha’s neighborhood was a poor, run-down area, with unconfirmed tips placing her near a trailer park.
• Timing: Teresa (8/15/1999), Shannon (8/16/2001), and Heaven (8/19/2003) disappeared in mid-August, roughly two years apart. Tabitha’s disappearance (4/29/2003) does not align with this pattern.
• Circumstances: All were walking alone near their homes. Teresa, Shannon, and Heaven were near commercial construction sites, and Heaven and Tabitha were heading to school bus stops.
• Geographic Connection: The girls’ hometowns are linked by major highways, with a possible sighting of Tabitha in Linton, Indiana, also along a connected highway.

These similarities suggest a possible pattern, though no definitive link has been confirmed, and investigations remain ongoing.

The investigation remained active, with a neighbor briefly eyed as a suspect but cleared. By 2016, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Cold Case Unit took the lead, consolidating a “mountain of evidence” from multiple agencies. In February 2017, a special investigative grand jury of 18 members—including retired Prattville Police Chief Alfred Wadsworth—was empaneled in Autauga County for a fact-finding review, leveraging advances in forensic DNA technology to retest old evidence. Their first act: discarding the fabricated sketch. The jury’s term was extended into 2018, but no indictments followed. As of 2023, Prattville Police dedicate a full-time investigator, with a evidence room three-quarters full, and hope genetic genealogy could yield answers. Tips are urged to Prattville Police at (334) 595-0256 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS

Multiple Victims?: Maybe

Rumored or Actual Sightings: Initial reports of Shannon talking to a man near a vehicle were later recanted as fabricated by child witnesses (now adults) to assist police; no credible sightings confirmed.

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered: October 6, 2001

Description: On October 6, 2001—seven weeks after her abduction—two rabbit hunters made a gruesome discovery in the Autauga County Wildlife Management Area, an isolated public hunting preserve about 10-15 miles north of Prattville off Autauga County Road 66. Tucked away on an old fire lane in dense woods, the site was remote and familiar only to locals. They found the partial skeletal remains of a young girl, bound with rope, her underwear around her neck or head, and encased in a black trash bag—suggesting an attempt to conceal and relocate the body.

DNA confirmed the remains were Shannon’s, providing the devastating closure that she had been murdered. The discovery intensified community trauma, with former Mayor Jim Byard recalling how it “tore [Prattville] apart” yet united residents in grief.

Today, Shannon would be 34, but her memory lives on through annual candlelight vigils, like the 2020 gathering at Pratt Park Amphitheater with music, speeches, and lantern releases. A memorial tree planted in her honor has grown tall, symbolizing time’s passage without answers. Her family, including Marie and aunt Tammy Evans, clings to hope, haunted by “what might have been.” Evans holds her grandchildren close, fearing the outdoors’ dangers. The case, Prattville’s most infamous, underscores child vulnerabilities in seemingly safe spaces. As District Attorney C.J. Reynolds noted, the evidence volume offers promise: “Justice will be served… it might not be in this world, but it will come.”

Time of Death: Undetermined; estimated within hours to days of disappearance on August 16, 2001, based on decomposition at recovery seven weeks later.

Cause of Death: Homicide. Exact manner undetermined due to decomposition. Sources mention physical assault was involved.

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: Yes

Multiple Victims?: Yes

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description: Possible tan or gold four-door sedan seen near abduction site (from early, discredited witness reports); no confirmed vehicle linked

License Plate:

Description: None credible; 2007 composite sketch (white male, late 30s-mid-40s, mole under right eye) discredited in 2017 as fabricated.