STURGIS, MI (WTVB) – The investigation into the 2018 disappearance of Brittany Shank from Sturgis has received a significant boost with new leadership at the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in fresh leads and multi-agency cooperation as the case nears its seven-year mark.
St. Joseph County Sheriff Chad Spence, has assigned two new detectives to the case and received assistance from the FBI and Michigan State Police (MSP).
All agencies are working together to follow up on new information, including enhancing 911 audio and video evidence and conducting name searches through federal databases.
The new focus has provided renewed hope for Shank’s family, who had previously expressed frustration with the pace of the initial investigation and advocated for outside agency involvement.
Among the key investigative focuses are identifying the man last seen with Shank and determining the ownership of the vehicle they crashed in on Fawn River Road the night she vanished. Shank, a 23-year-old mother of four, was last seen on November 30, 2018, after she appeared at a neighbor’s home, bleeding and without shoes or a coat, and then fled before deputies arrived.
A missing person report was never filed for her boyfriend, the other occupant of the crashed car, whom investigators have struggled to identify. Investigators are now looking into the car’s ownership, which they believe was transferred to a third party.
In the coming weeks, the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office plans to conduct more foot and aerial searches in the area where she was last seen.
Anyone with information related to Brittany Shank’s disappearance is urged to contact the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office at (269) 467-9045 ext. 227, by email to Detective Sargent Jason Auton at autonj@stjosephcountymi.org, or through Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345.
Did they ever search the old mans house where she was supposedly last seen? I mean that old man could have put them in his basement or harmed them both. Is there any real proof that she ever left that farmhouse just what he says? Just saying .My gut is saying she didnt .