PARKVILLE, Md. — In 1984, 13-year-old Shannon Potter disappeared from her Parkville home, leaving only a note saying she was "going out." Four decades later, Baltimore County Police are still searching for answers.
Shannon lived on Foster Avenue in Parkville when she vanished in March 1984.
"She was sent to bed by her mother and at some point during the night, we believe she left through a bedroom window," said Cpl. Dona Carter of the Baltimore County Police Department.
What happened to Shannon Porter?
Investigators believe she was supposed to go to a party, but according to police, she was never seen again.
"Initially, it was thought that maybe she had run away. She had been a troubled child and she had run away in the past. So at first, it was thought that she may have gone to be with her father instead of with her mother," Carter said.
Shannon's parents were divorced, with her father living out-of-state. Investigators checked whether she had run away to him, but she wasn't there.
"She'd been making phone calls to various different states. She had ties to Colorado, she had some family in Georgia, she had some family in Florida," Carter said.
Detectives have pursued numerous leads over the decades. Just last summer, Baltimore County Police investigated a lead in Springettsbury Township, Pennsylvania, using cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar, but they couldn't find Shannon.
"There's been a lot of interviews that have been ongoing. We've sent some things out for DNA testing. We've been actively pursuing this case still," Carter said.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, has created several age-progression images showing what Shannon might look like now—work that investigators find valuable.
"I think it's very helpful because if she is still out there, obviously she's not gonna look anything like the picture that we have of her from the early 80s when she's a 13-year-old girl," Carter said.
Despite 41 years passing, authorities have not given up hope.
"We stay hopeful in any disappearance case that the individual will be located alive, especially with her being a child, she may have just found somewhere else to go and possibly is just living her life out there," Carter said.
Anyone with information about Shannon Potter's disappearance, even small details, is urged to contact Baltimore County Police at 410-887-3943.
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