Sharon, a bright and talented 12 year old girl from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, was known for being mature beyond her years. Her disappearance devastated her family and all those who loved her dearly.

After her parents separated while Sharon was a toddler, her father, Taylor Baldeage, obtained primary custody and raised her over the years. Eventually, he remarried and, although the marriage did not last, it did give Sharon a new younger half-brother (Jay) with whom she was incredibly close. Sharon lover her father and little brother and appears to have been quite happy in those formative years.

Unfortunately, as Sharon matured, her father felt that he was unable to provide her with the guidance she needed as a growing young woman. He finally made the difficult decision to enroll her in the Indian Placement Program, a Mormon charity that found church-based foster homes for Native American children. Sharon initially thrived in the program, participating in church activities, excelling in school and “learning those things a girl has to know” (Source).

She was so happy in the program that she even convinced her younger brother Jay to join the program with her as well. The arrangement proved ideal, and both were placed with foster parents in Rexburg, Idaho who were already related and the two were able to attend the same school. The siblings were finally reunited and had the chance to spend more time together. Sharon was thrilled and seemed to settle into her new situation quite well. Her foster family reportedly enjoyed having Sharon in their home and described her as “full of life. . . a good student, had friends. She was smart. . . an awfully sweet little spirit” (Source).

The following year however, things just seemed to go downhill.

For reasons unknown, four days before she returned to classes, the LDS Social Services suddenly pulled Sharon out of the foster program while Jay was allowed to remain. Allegedly, she was being expelled because of her ‘attitude’ although it is unclear where the issue arose. The rejection was unexpected and devastating for both Sharon and Jay. Sharon and her father were left struggling to find a new school for her; while both siblings were unhappy with being separated once more.

Finally, Taylor Baldeagle was able to find a new school that would accept Sharon and on August 25th, Sharon started a new school year at Brainerd Indian Training School near Hot Springs, South Dakota. Although not far from the Wyoming border, Hot Springs was still about 550 miles from Rexburg, Idaho where Jay had now returned to.

Sharon once again appeared to be adapting to life at her new boarding school. She enjoyed the many outdoor activities the school offered – horse-back riding, swimming, hiking, etc. and she had recently joined their cheerleading squad. The school described her as scrappy with some form of self-defense training; she could hold her own in a fight.

No matter how happy she might have been at her new school however, Sharon was desperate to get back to her brother in Idaho. During a basketball game, Sharon made the acquaintance of another girl (S.) age 15 who also wanted to run away. Together, on September 18, 1984, the girls headed out one evening and caught a bus out of town.

By the following day (September 19), the girls had made their way from South Dakota to Casper, the state capitol of Wyoming. There, the girls were picked up by a long-haul trucker name Royal ‘Roy’ Russell Long from Evansville, a small town that is essentially an outlying suburb of Casper today. Roy offered to take them to his place where they could take a bath, wash their clothes, rest, and grab a meal before he drove them on towards a gas station on the west side of town.

The girls agreed and he picked up some groceries while driving them to his place. Roy would later tell news reporters that it was common for girls hitchhiking to exchange sexual favors for food, lodging, and a place to clean up. He thought it was going to be another of those situations. At first he said that S. was offended when he offered them $25 to sleep with him but that she later consented because they needed the cash. S. disagrees and claims that the sex was never consensual. It is here their stories diverge.

S. Testimony

Once they arrived, Roy offered both girls $25 to perform sexual acts with him. When they refused, he held them at gunpoint and tied both of them up. Sharon was badly beaten before Roy then turned his attention to S., raping and assaulting her as well. Later, Roy became distracted and S. took the opportunity to flee and seek help. She fled to a neighboring area and contacted police; however, by the time they arrived both Roy and Sharon were gone.

Roy’s Testimony

The girls had told him they were eighteen and nineteen respectively and all sexual acts were consensual. He did confess to offering the $25 but said that after they were finished, S. suddenly revealed their true ages and began blackmailing him for an additional $200. Roy acknowledged that in his panic at learning their true ages and in the face of S.’ blackmail attempt, there was a struggle. He tied the girls up, but said he only threatened them with a weapon and never intended to hurt them. When it was over Sharon had a bloody nose although Roy said he never hit her. He claims that Sharon was willing to negotiate with him but that S. was “mad, upset, and not scared a bit” (Source).

With S. unwilling to make a deal, Roy claims he was tired and not feeling well so he went to take a nap but woke to find S. had disappeared. He carried Sharon to his truck and drove along the smaller side roads to Cheyenne. Once there, he arranged with someone in a light-colored truck to drive Sharon down towards Dallas, Texas. He stopped at a gas station in Cheyenne and was heading back towards Casper when he found out he was the suspect in her disappearance. Instead, he turned and went south towards Amarillo, Texas and then on to New Mexico.

A week after Sharon disappeared, police found Roy two states south in Albuquerque, New Mexico but Sharon was no longer with him. This is the opposite direction from her intended destination of Rexburg, Idaho and there is no evidence to support his rendition of events.

Charges & Sentencing

Roy was later charged and pled guilty to reduced charges for kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, and drug abuse, According to his defense attorney, Roy was an informant for the Casper Police Department, and the drugs were from a purchase he was making for the police. The police later announced that this was not true – he had made a purchase for them but those drugs had been confiscated from him at the time.

Roy would later testify that police had been rushing to close the case and simply chose him as the scapegoat. He was told shortly upon arriving in prison that he may have stomach cancer with a negligible survival rate. He had no health insurance and could only receive treatment if in prison. He claimed that this information was fabricated to pressure him into accepting a plea deal. After his sentencing, Roy would recant his confession and plea deal and continued until his death to assert that he did not kill Sharon.
He was sentenced to two life terms in the Wyoming State Penitentiary and died in prison in 1993.

Shannon & Parazoo.

In March of 1985 (the following year), a man accused of homicide managed to arrange his release from prison by promising to lead investigators to Sharon’s remains. Parazoo was in the same prison and cellblock as Roy Long and soon became familiar with the story of Sharon’s disappearance.

Parazoo somehow managed to convince Roy that he knew where Shanon was and that he could bring her back alive to help clear Roy of some of his more serious charges. In return, Roy handed him $400 cash to help him investigate.

On the other side, Parazoo also convinced prosecutors that he knew where Shanon had been buried and had information to share about Roy. Prosecutors apparently believed him and released him to the public.
Approximately six weeks later, Parazoo was arrested and accused of killing Ronald Clay Tyler (40) of Gillette Wyoming. His remains were found not far outside of Casper.