Summary
Overview
In this Crime Junkie episode, hosts Ashley Flowers and Britt explore the mysterious 2018 disappearance of 23-year-old Brittany Wallace Shank, who vanished after a car went off a rural Michigan road. What begins as a seemingly simple incident spirals into a complex web of conflicting stories, suspicious relationships, and unanswered questions involving her boyfriend Sheldon, her estranged husband Eric, and a friend named Ashley Hooley who keeps inserting herself into the investigation.
The Night of the Disappearance
On November 30, 2018, Brittany Wallace Shank showed up barefoot and bleeding at a stranger's house in rural Michigan after a car incident. She asked to use the phone, initially trying to call her grandmother before a 911 call was made. When deputies were about to arrive, Brittany mysteriously fled into the cold darkness and has never been seen again. The abandoned car was drivable, raising questions about why she left it and whether she was running from someone rather than a car accident.
- 911 call came in just before 9 PM on November 30, 2018, from a house off Fawn River Road near Sturgis, Michigan
- Brittany arrived at John's back door with no shoes, no coat, bleeding feet and arms in bitter cold weather
- She tried calling her grandmother first before 911 was contacted
- Brittany fled just before deputies arrived, wearing a green John Deere sweatshirt John had given her
- The car was still drivable and the 'crash' was minimal - just veered into a shallow ditch
" I don't know. The girl just came to the back door and she had no shoes on, no coat. She's bleeding her feet, her arms. She said her boyfriend took off somewhere. He wrecked the car and took off running, I guess. "
The Missing Person Investigation Begins
Eight days after Brittany disappeared, her father reported her missing when it became clear she hadn't contacted anyone, especially her grandmother Vicki with whom she spoke constantly. Investigators learned that on the night she vanished, Brittany had been at her grandmother's house doing laundry with an unidentified man - not her boyfriend Sheldon as initially believed. This mystery man, described as thin, blonde, with mutton chop sideburns, became central to the investigation.
- Brittany was reported missing on December 8, 2018, eight days after she vanished
- The real red flag was that Brittany hadn't been in touch with her grandmother Vicki, who she talked to constantly
- Brittany was last seen at her grandmother's house around 6:30-7 PM doing laundry with an unidentified man
- Mystery man was described as thin, white, early to mid-20s, 5'6"-5'8", short blonde hair with thick Elvis-style sideburns, wearing a yellow sweatsuit
- The man and Brittany appeared to be arguing and he was rushing her to leave
" Since Britney slipped into the darkness that November night back in 2018, she has never been seen again. And trying to understand what happened to her, what even brought Britney out to that rural road to begin with, and who she was with, opens a Pandora's box of conflicting stories, troubling allegations, and a mystery that has taken on a life of its own. "
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