Michael A. Sheppard Jr.

• Missing Since 05/08/2003
• Missing From Milan, Ohio
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 07/12/1967 (56)
• Age 35 years old
• Height and Weight 6'0, 160 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Sheppard was living in his mother and stepfather's Milan, Ohio home when, in April 2003, they found out he was selling drugs and asked him to leave. Late that month, he went to visit his mother driving a red Ford pickup truck. He said he'd just bought the truck and was on his way to get license plates for it, and would return to visit her in two days. He never did. He was last seen on May 8, and has not been seen or heard from since.

Several months after Sheppard's mother last saw him, she got phone calls from two brothers in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Sheppard used to live. The callers said Sheppard had stolen thousands of dollars from a drug dealer. They demanded to know his whereabouts and threatened his life. Sheppard's mother notified the police about the threats and filed a missing persons report.

According to his family, Sheppard began using drugs in high school and was selling them by the time he was in his twenties. They stated he tried many times to overcome his addiction, but always relapsed. In spite of his drug problem, however, he was devoted to his family and kept in close contact with them. None of his relatives have heard from him since 2003.

In May 2017, three men were indicted for murder in Sheppard's presumed death: Joshua W. Stamm, Adam White, and Scott Hall. Photos of all three are posted with this case summary.

Stamm cooperated with the prosecution. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in October 2018 and admitted to his role in the crime. In exchange for his cooperation, he was sentenced to three years in prison, to be served concurrently with an unrelated three-year sentence out of Florida for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to Stamm, Sheppard was shot multiple times during an attempted drug deal gone bad, and his body was buried in the Fox Lane area off U.S. 250 between Norwalk and Milan, Ohio. Investigators are hoping to recover his remains. White and Hall are still awaiting trial.

There have been many unsubstantiated rumors about Sheppard's disappearance and the supposed location of his body. Authorities believe he was murdered by his drug associates. They think his body may be in the Huron County, Ohio area. His case remains unsolved.