KS KS - Shannon Olson, 15, Wichita, 31 October 1987

This one has always bothered me. I grew up in Wichita and I remember this happening. To my knowledge there's never been any progress in the investigation.

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/85164057.html

Strange that someone could become mixed up in a new group of people to the extent that they would start failing in school but, apparently, no one in their family or previous circle of friends knew who they were.

That's strange for sure, but to me it's always been about the phone call.

Detectives say they believe the group was involved in some sort of religious cult.

Click to expand...

I'd forgotten this angle. May never have known it, actually. Don't recall reading it at the time.

I think the cult angle was ruled out pretty early in the investigation. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be considered though.

Anyone ever publish where the call came from?

Do we trust dennis rader when he tells us he's only killed 10? reading Wikipedia's write up about him it seems the detectives are taking him for his word. Without knowing what evidence they have in ms Olsen's case is hard to tell but if I'm looking at the maps right of where it says she was found it was about three miles due south of where he lived. the way the article says she was found reminded me of some of his work, but surely they've crossed those T's and dotted the i's.

I've been able to get a tiny bit of information from a policeman who was on the force at that time, and he said there was no evidence of strangulation, so rader was ruled out, but you never know.

Nov 1 2023 lengthy article. rbbm.

'WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Halloween night 1987, a Wichita teen left a group of friends, with what appeared to be every intention on returning, but she never made it back. Shannon Olson's death has haunted the community for over three decades.

"Wherever she thought she was going, the killer changed those plans," Wichita Police Detective Timothy Relph told KAKE's Hannah King. "People know the Shannon Olson murder case... it sticks out in people's minds."

"On November 1, 1987 two fisherman found a body floating in the sand pit at 29th and Hydraulic. Shannon Olson was only 15 years old and had been stabbed several times in the chest, her throat was slashed and her hands were tied behind her back. Shannon had left to get a drink on Halloween night and never returned," a synopsis from the Wichita Police Department's Cold Case Unit reads.''
''KAKE was there when an unknown woman's body was found at the former Kansas Department of Transportation body of water in 1987. It was a place that was mostly secluded at the time. ''

"Fifteen-year-olds don't usually have people that are hunting them down. They just haven't had the life experiences to make that kind of enemy, but this could certainly be a one-off where someone gets pretty angry. There was a lot of personal. By the scene and stuff like that, there were a lot of indications that this was far more personal than random."