Shannon Rayanne Turner

Turner, circa 1997; David Mays, circa 1997

  • Missing Since 12/04/1997
  • Missing From Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 08/10/1964 (59)
  • Age 33 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'9, 125 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description Unknown, but she usually wore a t-shirt, jeans and black combat boots.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, brown eyes. Turner has a small scar between her eyes. She has the following tattoos: a butterfly on her right shoulder, a spiderweb with flowers on her left shoulder, a ribbon across her lower back, a pair of lips on her right buttock, a half-moon smoking a cigarette on her right thigh, the word "Rage" on one of her ankles and a dragonfly on one of her ankles. Turner used the stage names Tawny and/or Bubbles when dancing in 1997. Her ears are pierced and she may dye her hair other colors. She wears contact lenses.

Details of Disappearance

Turner was last seen on December 4, 1997 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was employed as an exotic dancer at Babe's Showgirls West on Lafayette Road and was last seen leaving the club after her shift ended in the early morning hours. Turner has never been heard from again.

Turner and her boyfriend, David Mays, an enforcer in the Outlaws motorcycle gang, became engaged prior to Thanksgiving 1997. Photographs of Mays is posted with this case summary.

Authorities learned that Turner and Mays had an appointment to apply for their marriage license during early December, but she decided to cancel the plans. According to Turner's family and friends, she was attempting to end their relationship entirely.

Turner said she would bring Mays to meet her family in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the Thanksgiving holiday, but she never showed up. She last spoke to her family on December 1 of that year, when she called her mother collect.

Turner's car was being repaired several days prior to her disappearance and Mays was picking her up from work as a result. Turner's landlord and a service worker saw Turner and her boyfriend together at her apartment on December 3, the day before she vanished.

Turner chained her dog outside in her backyard, as was her routine before she left for work. She apparently never returned home after her dance shift. The neighbors called the Humane Society three days later, when Turner's dog was still outside. The animal was taken to a shelter.

Turner's family became concerned about her when she failed to arrive for the Christmas holidays at relatives' homes in Wisconsin. She did occasionally embark on vacations with little notice, so family members assumed she would reappear shortly.

Turner was previously employed as an exotic dancer in Las Vegas, Nevada before relocating to Indiana. Her landlord called her relatives in January 1998 and said that she had not been inside her apartment since early December.

There was no sign of struggle or foul play inside Turner's apartment. Her family traveled to Indiana to remove her belongings and file a missing person's report with authorities six weeks after Turner was last seen.

In January, Turner's mother called the number her daughter had called from in December. A man named John Walker answered. He said he did not know Turner, but he knew Mays, who was house-sitting for him in December. Turner may have been staying with Mays in Walker's house at that time.

Mays was imprisoned for three years following Turner's disappearance on an unrelated charge. Authorities questioned him about her case, but he denied any involvement and refused to submit to a polygraph test.

In the spring of 2002, he was charged with several counts of federal racketeering which included Turner's murder. He was acquitted of all charges in 2004. However, authorities hope to refile the murder charge against Mays in state court.

Turner is a high school dropout. She has previously lived in San Antonio, Texas. She is described as an outgoing, independent woman who led a carefree life and preferred the biker subculture. Extensive searches have been conducted in the Indianapolis area for signs of Turner since 1998, but nothing has been located thus far. She remains missing.

Investigating Agency

  • Indianapolis Police Department
  • 317-327-6613
  • 317-327-3811

Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 18, 2021; five pictures and clothing/jewelry description added, distinguishing characteristics updated.