MAGNOLIA, Ark. (KTVE/KARD)— Mary Shinn, affectionately known as “Bobo” of Magnolia, Arkansas was a 25-year-old art teacher who dabbled in real estate. On July 20, 1978, she told friends she was going to show a house she’d renovated to a man who responded to her ad in the paper. Little did they know, that would be the last time they’d hear from their friend again.
“She walked in and she looked worried and I said ‘Mrs. Shinn, are you alright? And she said ‘well I’m worried about Bobo'”, says Former Magnolia Dispatcher Cliff Knowles.
Knowles took the missing person report from Bobo’s mother and also went to school with Bobo. He says he took action immediately.
Bobo’s car had been found behind a local grocery store and clearly, something was wrong. “The windows were open, her shoes were on the floor, her purse, all her belongings, everything was just scattered all through the car”, said Knowles.
Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe says there was gravel, dirt, grass, and latent impressions in the car. Fingerprints were found inside, but have yet to be identified. Loe indicated the person who committed the crime was a local.
“The best timeline that we can put together from the time she disappeared until the time her vehicle showed back up at Smitty’s Grocery Store parking lot is approximately 57 minutes. So, that vehicle didn’t go very far”, Knowles explains.
Forty-four years later the case may be cold, but it’s not closed. “I never give up. You know I mean the answer’s out here”, Sheriff Loe added.
In a cemetery just outside Magnolia is a headstone in remembrance of Bobo. And although she’s been declared legally dead, there’s still no closure for her family. Knowles told KTVE, “both her parents died not knowing what happened to their daughter, that hurts me more than anything thinking about that”.
Over time, Sheriff Loe interviewed witnesses and sent evidence to the FBI for another look in hopes advances in D-N-A technology would produce new leads in the case.
If you have information on this case, submit your tip to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office at 870-234-5655.