AR AR - Mary Jimmie Shinn, 25, Magnolia, 20 July 1978

[dotr]

I have become interested in this case. I had read an article about the sighting of her car swerving in the road with two people struggling. It was the tax accessor that saw this. I can’t find the article that mentioned what road this was on. Was wondering if you or anyone knows? Thanks!

rbbm

Mary Jimmie “Bobo” Shinn: Murder Mystery

Murder Mystery: Mary Jimmie “Bobo” Shinn. Her mother was the first to begin the search for her baby girl. Mary Jimmie Shinn – or “Bobo,”

aymag.com

'' A little after 11 that day, police were told that a man had come into the E-Z Mart asking for change so he use the pay phone. The description led to a composite of a white male, mid-20s, approximately 5’8, about 185-200 pounds with dark, curly hair. The E-Z Mart employee said that most notably, the man had a “lazy gait.”

After the picture of Bobo’s car was published, the Columbia County Assessor called. He had been baling hay on property near Hwy. 32 the day of the disappearance, around noon, when his attention was caught by a blue car, swerving from side-to-side on the road.''

 

[MangoCove]

Here's another description of the incident and location. This one is from Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe as interviewed by Jamie Davis of the Banner News in 2011.

"And there's another witness statement that Loe takes seriously, though the man who gave it has since passed away. Two days after Bobo disappeared, on July 22, 1978, Henry Erwin, then the Columbia County Assessor, saw a photo of Bobo's car in the Banner-News and called authorities.

He told them he was baling hay at about 12:05 p.m., July 20, on a gravel road just west of Highway 132 when he saw a blue car pass by on Columbia 32 with a male and female inside it. They appeared to be struggling, he told investigators, adding that the vehicle was going from side to side of the road, traveling at approximately 10-20 miles per hour."

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Mary’s birthday.

 

[chaddylex]

Trace Evidence Podcast just released an episode about Mary's disappearance.

Mary "Bobo" Shinn was a well liked, friendly and talented artist and teacher living in her native Magnolia, Arkansas. Teaching classes out of a small art studio she purchased north of the town square, she made strong connections with many people, both children and adults, as she guided them to find their artistic abilities.

On Thursday, July 20th, 1978, the twenty-five year old was supposed to get together with friends when she received a call from a man interested in purchasing a house she'd recently remodeled. Bobo agreed to pick the man up, since his car was in the shop, and left her art studio. She was spotted around town several times and then she mysteriously vanished.

Her car was found abandoned in a grocery store parking lot hours later. The keys dangled from the ignition and scratches and scrapes suggested the vehicle had been driven off road. Despite an assortment of eye witnesses, no one has ever been able to identify the man Bobo was seen with that afternoon and nearly 50 years later her case remains open.

LISTEN NOW

 

[AirForceVet24]

So I am curious about something in Shinns case. She was compared and excluded to #UP6942. To my knowledge #UP6942 has an incomplete set of DNA that has not yet been fully researched so I am not sure how she was excluded biometrically.

 

[AirForceVet24]

Update to mine lol.
Mary Shinn was excluded based upon Dental Records from 6942.

 

[mlhenn]

https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/arkansass-cold-cases-mary-jimmie-bobo-shinn/

Bump


….

Loe believes that whoever caused Shinn’s disappearance is still alive and residing in Columbia County.

 

[theshadow45]

Mary has been missing for 47 years today.

 

[TwinkieDefense]

Aug 5, 2025 article - indicates The FBI is searching in Bussey after receiving new leads.

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/47%e2%80%91year-cold-case-fbi-tracks-new-lead-in-south-arkansas-missing-person-investigation/