VA VA - Michael, 50, Mary, 36, & Jennifer Short, 9, Bassett, 15 Aug 2002

[JohnTate90210]

Does anybody know if they ever ruled the fire was the result of arson? If so, that would surely give them a new direction to explore. Possibly new footprints or vehicle sightings. One story mentioned police taking a gas can found in the backyard but, at that time, they didn't know if it was related. How fast was the house demolished afterwards?

 

[LR1]

We know it involved crossing state lines, so that really gave the FBI more of an excuse to shove their way in.

With A home invasion a murdered couple and a missing child who's life was obviously at stake you'd think they would have a small army of agents on scene shaking bushes and running down leads. It's obvious the local authorities were overwhelmed trying to both find Jennifer and also make sense of the type of crime they were dealing with.

Unless something has changed in the last 48 hours, of the 250 odd cases where they're "seeking information" on both the fbi's main site and also Richmond's field office site, this case is not one of them. I think they've given up on this case ever being solved.

 

[JohnTate90210]

I ran into a similar issue last week. I knew the Richmond office once had a page about the Short murders. They made a big deal of it when it went online. I looked and looked and it seems to be gone now.

 

[DoubleN1993]

I ran into a similar issue last week. I knew the Richmond office once had a page about the Short murders. They made a big deal of it when it went online. I looked and looked and it seems to be gone now.

Hmmm maybe it they may lost interest or perhaps it be deleted .

 

[LR1]

I ran into a similar issue last week. I knew the Richmond office once had a page about the Short murders. They made a big deal of it when it went online. I looked and looked and it seems to be gone now.

Hmmm maybe it they may lost interest or perhaps it be deleted .

They had that page up from 2008 to 2015. It started out with a poster with the basic details and was updated with the information about the truck and sketch of the person supposedly seen across the road that night and the info that came with that.

Here's the three versions of the page as far as I can tell. 2008-2010-2015
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Seeking Information - Jennifer Short
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Seeking Information - Jennifer Short
SHORT CASE INFORMATION

It looks like they updated the site in 2016 and nothing on the case since.

 

[LR1]

I did find this last week which was new to me. Nothing further reported that I've found.

Roanoke Times 8-22-2002,

Investigators on a double homicide and kidnapping in Henry County have seized an answering-machine tape from the home of victims Michael and Mary Short and sent it to the FBI for analysis because it appears to contain an obscene message, according to law enforcement sources close to the investigation.

It was difficult for deputies to distinguish the words on the tape, the sources said. Police hope the FBI can enhance it and make the message more intelligible.

 

[Bromberg1973]

This link should take you to the bridge where they found about a quarter of Jennifer's remains:

Google Maps

The coordinates: 36.4103,-79.89605

Or here's the StreetView:

View attachment 308294

I know where that is
not really that remote.

 

[Bromberg1973]

It appears to be a very remote area, particularly the road and bridge where LE believes her body was thrown from the bridge. Remote enough that whoever did this was not concerned about being seen as he parked his vehicle and got rid of the body. My opinion is that it is someone who lived in the area and possibly still lives there, but has kept a low profile ever since. Probably someone who has been through that area more than once in the past for whatever reason.

It's not remote. I know this area.
There's a town and a super Walmart about 5 minutes away.

 

[Bromberg1973]

Jennifer's remains were found in Stoneville, NC. I see Route 220 runs right past the short house and through Stoneville. 30 miles straight down the highway.

One possibility is the one of the adults was the target and the killer was surprised to find a child present. Perhaps he was hesitant about killing her so took her until he decided what to do. 30 miles down the road he made his decision.

I see the suspect that was in the news so much did live in Rockingham County, NC which is where Stoneville is located.

Just read another old news story that said he owned a trailer located about a mile from where the body was found.

It's not stoneville . It's Madison

 

[Bromberg1973]

The suspect's trailer was moved to the property at 36.4024,-79.898. You can still see trailers nearby and I assume on the same property. This is about a half-mile (straight line) from the bridge where Jennifer's remains were found.

Here's the body location circled in red and the location the suspect's trailer was moved to in green. The suspects van was moved to this property the day after the murders. I don't know what day the trailer was moved. Note the owner of this property defended the suspect and said he spent time with him on the day of the murders. He believes him to be totally innocent.

View attachment 308297

The green circle is only about a hundred yards away from the Dan River. Which is a large body of water.
There's a tubing shack right near by.
They would have had plenty of customers in Aug 2002

 

[Bromberg1973]

Wow! I believe I've been in that area before when my uncle lived about 5-10 miles from where she was found. We had to drive thru it to get to Summerfield or Hanging Rock SP. I haven't been there in 25 years, but from what I remember of that particular area this killer was likely familiar with the area as most traveling through would drive east-west on Hwy 58 or I-40 or north-south on Hwy 220.

We still nearby. We used to drive right by there. Every Sunday on our way to Eden for skate practice.
I never knew until tonight exactly where she was found.

 

[Bromberg1973]

It looks like a small bridge. There's probably a drainage pipe under the bridge. I wonder what side of the bridge Jennifer was found on . The north side ? Or the South side ?
This would give an indication of which direction the criminal was driving towards.
I wouldn't think someone would want to carry a body across a road.
Yeah it's a country road. But it's not that remote. There's a busy highway right near bye. Also An airport right down the street and a super wal mart about 5 minutes away. In Madison
I'm surprised that she wasn't found sooner. There's alot of turkey vultures in this area. They had to be there. In large numbers. I can't believe no one seen it. I've been in this area many times.
We still live near bye.

 

[Bromberg1973]

Jennifer's remains were found in Stoneville, NC. I see Route 220 runs right past the short house and through Stoneville. 30 miles straight down the highway.

One possibility is the one of the adults was the target and the killer was surprised to find a child present. Perhaps he was hesitant about killing her so took her until he decided what to do. 30 miles down the road he made his decision.

I see the suspect that was in the news so much did live in Rockingham County, NC which is where Stoneville is located.

Just read another old news story that said he owned a trailer located about a mile from where the body was found.

It's not Stoneville. It's Madison.
Stoneville is up the road. A few miles away

 

[Bromberg1973]

Does anybody know if they ever ruled the fire was the result of arson? If so, that would surely give them a new direction to explore. Possibly new footprints or vehicle sightings. One story mentioned police taking a gas can found in the backyard but, at that time, they didn't know if it was related. How fast was the house demolished afterwards?

Jennifer's memorial sign in on the north side of the bridge on Grogan road. So her body was probably found on the north side of the bridge. There's a small creek. And probably a drainage pipe under the road. Just like I thought.
The killer crossed the bridge . Thought it was a good spot. Then turned around and dumped the body.on the north side of the bridge . Then headed back to 220 on River road. Probably on the same night . As her parents slayings

 

[Bromberg1973]

Obviously the killer was headed south on 220 to get away. And stopped at the route 311/135 Madison exit . Probably to get gas. (There's also a Lowes home store. Super Walmart . Gas stations , restaurants, banks ,etc at this exit. It's a busy area . River road is on both sides of the 311/135 exit. Obviously after getting gas the killer made their way to River road. Headed east about two miles ,then turned left onto Grogan road. And thats where the bridge is. ( there's a small creek and probably a drainage pipe under the bridge. )Jennifer's memorial sign is on the north side of the bridge . Which leads me to believe that her body was found on the north side of the bridge .which heads west. The killer probably crossed the bridge. Thought it was a good spot. So turned around and dumped the body. Then continued back west to US 220. Then South again. Probably to I-40 . Or to the Greensboro international airport.
Probably on the same night that her parents died. Ive never been on River road . But I know exactly where it is.
It does not have its own exit ramp.
You have to use the 311/135 exit in Madison to get to the Grogan road.
bridge. More then likely the guy that fled to Canada did not do this.
There's also a campground. And a regional airport on River road. It's probably a busy country road during the daytime. Which is why her body was probably dumped on the same night that she was taken. The killer had to be in a hurry. Before it got light.
We live near bye.
But I've never been on River road .or Grogan road.
When this first happened . In 2002. I remember hearing that Jennifer's mom may have been in a relationship with one of Jennifer's school teachers .
But nothing ever came of it. ??
Anyways this obviously was the escape route. And it all likely happened on the same night.

 

[Bromberg1973]

It would be nice to see a list of everyone that flew out of the Greensboro airport. On the 16th and 17th of August 2002. I wonder if any school teachers from Bassett VA flew out on those days. ?

 

[Bromberg1973]

I live in Bassett, and worked in Madison NC at the time of the murders. I have always thought it was not a stranger....at least to the area.....Some said it could have been out of town drug related, however.....based on the route from the home to the body site..........someone from Rockingham County or knew the area......had to be involved because you don't drop a body.......where it was found....if you are an NY or Alanta drug hitman. At the time, 220 was being four laned. ....there were plenty of remote spots along the highway for an out of towner...to roll a body down a hill off the side of the road in the early morning....and no one....would have seen a thing. Gary Bowman, now deceased and never charged did not do it, based on what an employee and friend of mine told me at the time.....she came to me crying, I took her into the conference room and asked her what was wrong.....she said "they're saying Gary did it, that Gary did it and ran to Canada.....there is no way.........he came and told Doug (ex husband now) that he was moving to Canada weeks before the murder....they are making it like he was running to get away.....he also showed us his van and told us that he was giving his wood working tools to man over on the Grogan road...for helping him out over the years.......he said he was going to YellowKnife to hunt and trap and would be living near relatives..........." She also said she knew he drank, but that he was a fall down silly drunk, but that she had let him work in their house on cabinets and he was around their 11 or so year old and they never hab but good things to say about Gary Bowman.

on

Grogan road is where she was found

 

[Bromberg1973]

The emphasis on the phone lines being cut is indeed intriguing. Especially considering that I think I remember reading that among things LE found in the house was a cell phone. Does anyone else remember reading that? If that is true, it makes me think the killer didn't know the family, or he probably would have known that they had a cell phone. This was in 2002 and not a lot of people had them back then. Just thinking.

Cells phones were out in 2002.
He being a business man . Probably did have one. I know I did.
Just because the phone line was cut. Doesn't mean that it was cut that night. The phone company would know.

 

[Bromberg1973]

Hello all, I am new to web sleuths, and really only signed up to get more informed on this case. I'm from Bassett, VA, and still live in the area. This case really hits home, and its devastating that they haven't been able to make much progress. With my job, I work face-to-face with a lot of people in our community here. I've actually had several of my clients tell me they have information that the Michael Short was somehow involved in the local drug cartel. This seemed pretty far fetched to me, but in the past few weeks A LOT of indictments have been handed down for several cartel members that have been living in the area. I am not sure that the people who shared this have any credibility whatsoever, but for such a small area, we have a huge drug problem. So, it's definitely worth looking into.

He doesn't look like a drug dealer to me . Almost all drug dealers have a criminal record .

 

[Bromberg1973]

This case has haunted me since it happened. I was in the area where her remains were found a few weeks prior... went down to the campground to spend a day on the river. Not knowing at the time the "prime suspect" lived on that road and the eerie feeling I got she was there, hair raising experience. Then the news came a few weeks later she was found by the dog playing with her skull.

I called home freaking out and didn't go back there... haven't been back. I pray that someone w/any info comes forward, but honestly feel it's too late.

Yep there is a campground. Right there where she was found. And a tube shack at the river