KY KY - Claude Shelton, 37, & Martha “Sue” Shelton, 27, Corbin, 1971

Kat

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http://www.courier-journal.com/arti...531003/DNA+match+could+bring+closure+to+woman

May 31, 2009

DNA match could bring closure to woman

The Sheltons spent much of Friday, May 21, 1971, visiting grandparents in Williamsburg before heading back to their home in Gerry's Trailer Park on 18th Street...

...As Sheila (one of the daughters aged 11 at the time) started to get ready for bed, she heard her father, Claude, say to her mother, Sue, "Are you going with me or are you going to stay here?"


The couple walked out the door...

...On May 21, Sheila and Debbie had DNA samples taken by a Kentucky State Police detective, Colan Harrell, to be analyzed and placed in a nationwide identification network.

The article is 2 pages long. The interview with Sheila brought tears to my eyes. I am hoping that she and her sister find the answers they are seeking.
 
There is a pic of them but I can't post attachments. Not sure why.

I called Kentucky State Police after coming across this case online, two years ago.

I sure hope they can find closure.
 
Hi, the link doesnt work for me, is there another one? sounds like a sad case :(
 
wow and they never found the car either! this is an unusual one bc couples seldom disappear together. what could have happened to them? i wonder where they were actually headed and if it was the truck stop, why were they going there? were they going to meet someone or pick up some grocery item they were out of and needed? did they just need to fill up on gas so just ran out to do that? seems strange that one of them didnt stay with the kids, but if the youngest of the three was 11 at the time, then obviously the other two were older. the truck stop was only five miles away so i would guess they only planned to go there and back. but what could have happened on the way? so sad for those children and thank God for their grandmother who apparently took very good care of them.
 
When ever the car is missing along with the person missing I always first assume it must be in a body of water nearby. JMHO.

There is a large body of water at Corbin.

It's called the Laurel River lake. I wonder if the vehicle is located in the river lake and I wonder if they are with it as well.
 
good thought, kat. i was thinking somebody must have seen the car, but if the car never left the area and it was underwater, nobody would see it. that makes sense. i wonder if divers ever go down in that lake for anything? that would be something i think they should check out. those people deserve to be found and returned to their children.
 
When ever the car is missing along with the person missing I always first assume it must be in a body of water nearby. JMHO.

There is a large body of water at Corbin.

It's called the Laurel River lake. I wonder if the vehicle is located in the river lake and I wonder if they are with it as well.

I wonder if they checked for the car there???
 
I wonder if they checked for the car there???

I have heard about this case for years too and have always had the thought that they were in Laural Lake. Hiding a car would not be easy unless it was covered up with lots of water. The poor family have posted on Topix for years wanting to know of anyone that has information and it breaks my heart for them.
 
Hey All,

I stumbled on this case today! Just devastating! Not too much is known from what I read. The married Shelton's, Claude and Sue, got the kids ready for bed and later that night, took off in the car. neither them, nor their car was ever seen again according to Charlie Project, who says that the children were raised by their grandmother.

Charlie Project suspects foul play, as they claim that $600 may have been missing from the home when the couple left with the kids at home: Here are direct links for Claude and Sue from Charlie Project:

Claude: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/shelton_claude.html

Sue: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/shelton_sue.html

Here is what Doe Network has:

Claude: http://doenetwork.org/cases/4079dmky.html

Sue: http://doenetwork.org/cases/2795dfky.html

A recent LE state bulletin about the case here:

http://www.kentuckystatepolice.org/cold_case/post11coldcase1.php *Interesting that this report gives the date of their disappearance as May 28, 1971, NOT May 21, 1971.

I did NOT know about the lake as talked about above. LE, according to Charlie Project, suspects foul play:

Main Questions:

1.) Where were they going?

2.) There were no know indications of marital problems or abuse. I believe I read one of the kids was 11. What were the ages of the other children?

3.) Why would they leave the kids alone at night to have them wake up to an empty house like that? Just terrifying for the kids!

4.) Was there any communication with the grandparents earlier that evening, indicating where the parents were going that night?

5.) Could alcohol or drug use have influenced their poor judgment that night to leave the kids? Was this a one-time tragic error in bad parenting that seemingly lead to tragedy?

7.) I am torn between foul play and the couple having a terrible accident and drowning in the lake. I think the lake should be searched for evidence. Seems LE suspects foul play.

Satch
 
http://www.thenewsjournal.net/detai...man-remains-near-Williamsburg-Sunday#comments

Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell said two fishermen discovered the remains about 1:15 p.m. Sunday in a wooded area a few feet from a pond at the end of Happy Hollow Road...

Harrell said that investigators recovered about 15 – 20 percent of the skeletal remains or major bones. The skeletal remains will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort early this week for further analysis.

Currently, investigators aren’t speculating on whether the remains belong to a man or woman, how the person died or how long the remains had been there.
 
When ever the car is missing along with the person missing I always first assume it must be in a body of water nearby. JMHO.

There is a large body of water at Corbin.

It's called the Laurel River lake. I wonder if the vehicle is located in the river lake and I wonder if they are with it as well.

Ha, this was the case that brought me to Websleuths and when my registration was completed, I forgot to sub to the darned thread! :gaah:

Before I was able to post here, I went on Google maps to try to figure out what routes they may have taken to get to the truck stop. Three of the potential routes would have taken them to points beside bodies of water that would not be difficult to end up in said bodies of water. On a Topix discussion, some of the oldsters pointed out that the damming of the river to form the lake was not quite completed yet when they disappeared. I also pulled up some newspapers from that weekend and one article mentioned that there had been a drunk driver who had caused a bit of mayhem over the weekend before the police caught up to him to stop him. It makes me wonder if they may have encountered that guy and swerved to avoid a head-on collision, ending up at the bottom of one of those bodies of water. The text of the article was too small for me to determine on what evening or evenings of the weekend the drunk driver was making mischief. I checked the weather for that weekend there and they had not had rain in quite few days, so there was no inclement weather issues that may have played a role. The temp in the evenings were on the cool side, in the low to mid 40s, so unless one of them smoked and had a window cracked, they most likely would have had their windows up. If they went into the water and were like most people of that era, not wearing seat belts, they may not have been able to think clearly enough, if they were conscious on impact at all, to crack a window to get the door open.
 
They are in NAMUS. Susan is listed as Martha Shelton (she went by her middle name Sue)
2980
2979
3016

On May 28, 1971, Sue Shelton (with her husband)reportedly left their residence at Gerry's trailer park on 18th street in Corbin, and never returned.

They were apparently en route to King's truck stop, five miles away. The Shelton's presumably left in their vehicle, a white 1967 Ford Galaxie 500.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2057/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2058/
 
Mods,

We need confirmation of the date for Claude and Sue Shelton. Either May 21, 1971 or May 28th, 1971. Than the title thread should be updated. IMO, I think their car and remains are in the lake.

Satch
 

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