AR AR - Shannon Collins, military veteran, wife did not report him missing, Pottsville, 12 Mar 2021

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Shannon is the subject of this week's Vanished podcast
www.thevanishedpodcast.com

The Vanished Podcast Episodes — The Vanished Podcast

The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. The Vanished goes beyond conventional news reports to take a deep dive into the story of a different missing person each week. Host Marissa Jones brings you exclusive interviews with family members, friend
www.thevanishedpodcast.com www.thevanishedpodcast.com
 
www.todayinfortsmith.com

What's hindering the investigation of the March 2021 disappearance of Shannon Lee Collins?

Dennis McCaslin - TIFS Exclusive The family of a missing Pope County man says the ongoing lack of progress as well as pushback from local public officials involving recent social media comments, has them wondering about the direction of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of their...
www.todayinfortsmith.com www.todayinfortsmith.com
“…
Now, a member of the family has stepped forward and said they believe the evidence clearly shows what happened to Collins, but now believe that efforts have been stymied by the lack of impartiality by public officials due to their affiliations with specific local organizations.



That family member, who we spoke with on Friday morning said "we no longer believe that Shannon is still with us" referred us to a document that was shared on Shannon's Facebook page on May 28. ”
 
Direct attachment of the document written by Shannon’s family member that was attached to the above news article.

I’m not sure if the same family member who wrote this document is the one who has been posting here but, if so, I just wanted to say that you have done an amazing job with it and having it all written out has been so incredibly helpful. I admire your strength and determination in getting justice for Shannon!
 

Attachments

ShareShannonsStory said:
Appreciate the info. Knowing so much, but not knowing enough is a hard place to be for the family. Full transparency, I am not a relative of Shannon, rather a friend of the family.

I understand why you'd ask; to help others understand publicly available information vs. what I know or if I share an opinion. Will keep this in mind.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Police say veteran who vanished in Arkansas was killed

Shannon Collins, 52, vanished in March 2021 after returning to his home in Pottsville, Arkansas, from a trip out of state. Police say he was killed as a result of foul play.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Dailymail
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WHERE has anyone actually SEARCHED?!?

Seen a lot of articles, but nothing about searching (Ground Pene Radar of his own back yard, local water/woods, etc.) - is there a graveyard at the church?
 
threesevenninefour said:
This entire story blows my mind! It’s so beyond obvious the wife has something to do with his disappearance! His kids (his son and stepdaughter that he raised/her husband) seem to likely be in on it as well, though I don’t know if they’re possibly being emotionally coerced into covering for their mother. Regardless, they’re all adults and should do the right thing.

I get that it’s hard to bring murder charges without a body/physical evidence, but what about the fact that his wife was continuing to cash those $4,000+/month pension checks for months after he was last heard from? And impersonating a missing person over text message? Those both seem illegal to me, so why isn’t she under arrest?

Even if Shannon somehow died suddenly of natural causes and the family was (hypothetically) scared of losing a major source of income, it’s illegal not to report the death/dispose of a body and then continue to defraud the U.S. military by cashing a deceased person’s pension.

MOO.
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Wouldn't the fact the pension cheques were federal allow for the Feds to come into the investigation here for potential fraud at the very least???

The resources they could bring to the table in this investigation are vast .... and apparently needed.

Mr. Collins, this Veteran thanks you for your service. Justice for you will come. I hope it comes sooner rather than later.
 
Vern said:
Wouldn't the fact the pension cheques were federal allow for the Feds to come into the investigation here for potential fraud at the very least???

The resources they could bring to the table in this investigation are vast .... and apparently needed.

Mr. Collins, this Veteran thanks you for your service. Justice for you will come. I hope it comes sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...

"The FBI is now assisting in the three-year investigation into the disappearance of the veteran..."

 
?!? said:
WHERE has anyone actually SEARCHED?!?

Seen a lot of articles, but nothing about searching (Ground Pene Radar of his own back yard, local water/woods, etc.) - is there a graveyard at the church?
Click to expand...
Known to the family: Police conducted a couple of searches in early 2022. One search was conducted at the property Shannon lived at with his wife and grown son. Electronics and other items were seized. Backyard was dug up in various places. Evidence collected.

Another search was conducted on the 20 acre property owned by the wife's now deceased mother located nearby. I don't have any information about how thorough or what technology was used during this search. The family has been in contact with various search organizations who have all stated they can only assist with law enforcement approval. The family has requested additional searches and been met with "we're working on it" from police.

There are woodlands and a river <5 miles from their rurarly located home as well as a historic cemetery. Police, to my knowledge, have made no effort to search these areas and have been unwilling to allow the family to bring in resources to help conduct a formal search.

IMO a thorough ground search of the 20 acre property would likely yield results, in the least to eliminate it as a possibility.
 
ShareShannonsStory said:
Known to the family: Police conducted a couple of searches in early 2022. One search was conducted at the property Shannon lived at with his wife and grown son. Electronics and other items were seized. Backyard was dug up in various places. Evidence collected.

Another search was conducted on the 20 acre property owned by the wife's now deceased mother located nearby. I don't have any information about how thorough or what technology was used during this search. The family has been in contact with various search organizations who have all stated they can only assist with law enforcement approval. The family has requested additional searches and been met with "we're working on it" from police.

There are woodlands and a river <5 miles from their rurarly located home as well as a historic cemetery. Police, to my knowledge, have made no effort to search these areas and have been unwilling to allow the family to bring in resources to help conduct a formal search.

IMO a thorough ground search of the 20 acre property would likely yield results, in the least to eliminate it as a possibility.
Click to expand...

Anything at all from the FBI?

Any 'clue' from LE as to when they will get out of your way (when they 'are done') and co-operate with an 'outside' search?
 
ShareShannonsStory said:
Known to the family: Police conducted a couple of searches in early 2022. One search was conducted at the property Shannon lived at with his wife and grown son. Electronics and other items were seized. Backyard was dug up in various places. Evidence collected.

Another search was conducted on the 20 acre property owned by the wife's now deceased mother located nearby. I don't have any information about how thorough or what technology was used during this search. The family has been in contact with various search organizations who have all stated they can only assist with law enforcement approval. The family has requested additional searches and been met with "we're working on it" from police.

There are woodlands and a river <5 miles from their rurarly located home as well as a historic cemetery. Police, to my knowledge, have made no effort to search these areas and have been unwilling to allow the family to bring in resources to help conduct a formal search.

IMO a thorough ground search of the 20 acre property would likely yield results, in the least to eliminate it as a possibility.
Click to expand...
With elections looming, is there any way you could make this a political issue -- as in 'certain local officials not doing their job' or 'conflicts of interest,' or 'there are others nearby who are missing -- are local LE incompetent?'
 
?!? said:
With elections looming, is there any way you could make this a political issue -- as in 'certain local officials not doing their job' or 'conflicts of interest,' or 'there are others nearby who are missing -- are local LE incompetent?'
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The Prosecutor is unfortunately not up for reelection yet. Too many have relayed their own story of this coward prosecutor not proceeding with objectively good circumstantial cases, oddly a few more involving the wife being the lead suspect.

The Sheriff is also not up for reelection this cycle and has previously stated this will be his last term.
 
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?!? said:
Anything at all from the FBI?

Any 'clue' from LE as to when they will get out of your way (when they 'are done') and co-operate with an 'outside' search?
Click to expand...
The lead investigator has iced out the family. In May 2024 the family was given LE's blessing to share the story and spread awareness. They said they couldn't do anything to hurt the case at this point. Shortly after starting the Facebook page, a local church came under public scrutiny for hiding money for the wife and deleting prayer requests/blocking people on Facebook who brought Shannon up, the Sheriff's Office called the family and told them to lay off the church. The lead investigator has since failed to return any correspondence with the family.

Bridges are being rerouted and the family is working to advocate other agencies try to get their eye on this. The law is that the responsible agency has to allow permission for another agency to assist or take the case (i.e. the state police). The family has asked, the local Sheriff's haven't answered. It is my understanding that pressure has been applied and there is some movement on this front.

I think you asked in another post if local law enforcement is incompetent. They sure don't think so. But the way they've approached interviewing people, investigating leads, asking for help, and the search efforts is an indicator that they 1) definitely don't know what they don't know, 2) are scared to show their work should someone with more experience discover in what they have that mistakes have been made or the answer has been there the whole time.

IMO this county doesn't have enough violent crime experience or know how to do anymore with this case.

I suspect that since more agency eyes are on this now, there may be additional search efforts made but I can't speak to a timeline at this time. Same with the federal charges, I cannot fathom why it has taken almost 4 years for this case to be worked, but I'm not in that line of work so I don't know how long it should or could take.
 
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