Name: Shelton John Sanders
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: June 19, 2001
Location Last Seen: Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina
Date of Birth: August 31, 1975
Age: 25 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 225 lbs
Hair Color: Black, short
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Birthmark on neck
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Short sleeve button-up shirt; khaki pants
Jewelry: Movado watch, black face with diamonds, stainless steel band
Additional Personal Items: Cell phone; pager; wallet; car keys to a 1988 white Oldsmobile
Sanders has not been heard from since June 19, 2001, when he called his family at 8:54 pm that evening from his cell phone and said he was on his way home from Columbia, South Carolina. The phone call Shelton placed to his family in Rembert, SC was from his mobile phone. He was seen was around 9:51 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Columbia, SC with college friend, Mark Anthony Richardson, where he was planning a bachelor party for a friend. Shelton and Mark visited three hotels checking availability for the upcoming party between 8:00-10:00 pm: Residence Inn, Wesley Inn, and Embassy Suites. Shelton was seen around 9:51 pm at the Columbia Embassy Suites. That was the last time his credit card was used. Police are saying that neither his cell phone nor his credit cards have been used since his disappearance.
The next morning Shelton's mother received a call from Shelton's employer when he failed to show up for work. Shelton was weeks away from his college graduation at the University of South Carolina.
On April 26, 2003 the white 1988 Oldsmobile Regency car, which Sanders had been driving the night he was last seen, was located at the Greenbrier Apartments in Columbia. Police believe it had been abandoned since Shelton's disappearance.
Police arrested 30-year-old Mark Anthony Richardson on October 5, 2005. He was charged with Shelton's murder. Mark was the last person seen with Shelton while he was alive. In 2008 the trial ended with a hung jury.
Agency Name: Richland County Sheriff's Department
Agency Contact Person: Investigator Dottie Cronise
Agency Phone Number: 803-576-3000
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 0305251221
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 10231
NamUs
Finding Shelton Sanders FB Page
FOX57
Family Member
ABC Columbia - Oct. 20, 2020
WIS NEWS - June 19, 2022
Added: 4/18/21; Last Updated: 09-30-2022 - By: hwa
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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