At 4:51 p.m. on May 15, 2014, Jennifer Cahill-Shadle was captured on surveillance video walking from the North Atherton Street Wal-Mart across the parking lot toward the Dollar Tree store.
She was reportedly seen later that night between 7:30 and 11 p.m. at Don Patron Mexican Grill and Simply Tan in the same North Atherton Place Shopping Center.
Where she has been since then remains unknown.
Sunday marks two years since Cahill-Shadle disappeared, and where she went or what may have happened to her remains a mystery.
While he couldn’t speculate on what may have happened to Cahill-Shadle, Ferguson Township Detective Jonathn Mayer, who is leading the investigation, said it seemed unlikely she simply left the area without telling anyone.
‘The best we can hope for is that she just picked up and moved,’ Mayer said. ‘It seems kind of far-fetched given what we know about her. We’re hopeful that’s the case.’
Cahill-Shadle was 48 years-old at the time of her disappearance. A mother of three, she lived with her husband and children in the Saybrook area of Ferguson Township for several years before moving to Orwigsburg in Schuylkill County to live with her mother and stepfather. But in April 2014 she returned to the State College area to be closer to her children, staying with friends and at local hotels. She was last known to be staying at the Rodeway Inn.
Mayer said Cahill-Shadle usually spoke to her children every few days. The last time her family heard from her was on the afternoon of May 15 when she called, and was supposed to call back later to arrange a meeting place to pick some mail. That call never came.
Cahill-Shadle — who is white with brown hair and blue eyes, 5-feet 4-inches tall and approximately 112 pounds — did not have a car and police don’t know whether she left the shopping center on foot or in a vehicle.
Eleven weeks after her disappearance, police learned of four men who shared drinks with Cahill-Shadle on May 2 at Champs Sports Grill on North Atherton Street. They are the only other people known to have had contact with her prior to her disappearance. They are not suspects, but police have hoped they may be able to shed light on anything Cahill-Shadle may have said about her plans for the near future.
To date those men, who were only described as Hispanic, have not been identified or come forward, despite public appeals since August 2014.
The only mention she had made to others about her plans was that she wanted to move back into her family’s home in Ferguson Township, but that she was looking for apartments in the area.
There have been no traces of her since her disappearance. There were reported sightings in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but after investigation they turned out not to be Cahill-Shadle. Her family says there has been no activity on her cell phone, credit cards or health accounts.
‘We’ve been able to get access to her bank records and there has been no activity on her account,’ Mayer said.
Mayer continues to lead an active investigation. All of Cahill-Shadle’s information — including her DNA, dental records and fingerprints — have been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Mayer routinely checks that system for any possible information. It could help if Cahill-Shadle has any contact with other law enforcement, or to identify or exclude her if unidentified remains are found.
Most recently remains found in Beaver County in December 2015 excluded Cahill-Shadle as the identity of the deceased based on information in the system.
Cahill-Shadle’s family has worked with a private investigator Mayer said police will continue to investigate and make public pleas for anyone with information to come forward. The missing person flyers posted throughout the area for the past two years have been updated and will be posted again.
‘We’re hopeful it will spark someone’s memory,’ Mayer said. ‘Hopefully someone with information will come forward.’
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Ferguson Township Police at 814.237.1172, your local police department, or submit an anonymous tip at www.twp.ferguson.pa.us
