Philbert Leo Shorty

• Missing Since 01/28/2021
• Missing From Fort Defiance, Arizona
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race Native American
• Age 44 years old
• Height and Weight 5'8 - 6'0, 150 - 180 pounds
• Associated Vehicle(s) Blue 2005 PT Cruiser (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Native American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Shorty is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.

Details of Disappearance

Shorty was last seen leaving his aunt's Fort Defiance, Arizona residence between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on January 28, 2021. He told her he was going to Navajo, New Mexico and then possibly to Tsaile, Arizona. He has never been heard from again. On January 31, his blue 2005 PT Cruiser was found abandoned and suck in the mud outside of Tsaile.

In 2023, authorities finalized a plea deal with Shiloh Aaron Oldrock in Shorty's presumed death. Oldrock admitted he and his uncle, Erwin Beach, had killed Shorty in an argument on January 29, the day after he was last seen, and dismembered and burned his body. Months later, Oldrock killed and decapitated Beach also; he said he thought Beach had killed his grandmother and was afraid he was going to kill him, Oldrock, as well.

Oldrock pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Beach's death and voluntary manslaughter in Shorty's death, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Shorty's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.