A billboard urging authorities and the community at-large to help solve the case of Brittany Shank, a young woman who went missing on November 30, 2018 and has yet to be found, was unveiled Tuesday in Sturgis.
The 23-year old woman was last seen after emerging from a car crash in the area of Fawn River Road near Workman Road around 9 p.m. that day. Shank reportedly walked to nearby homes for help, noticeably bleeding from her arms and feet and without a coat or shoes. When a homeowner attempted to find better cell phone reception in order to call police, Shank vanished and her cellphone pinged for the last time near the intersection of Watt Road and Fawn River Road in Sturgis.
A GoFundMe campaign spearheaded by Susan Dineen raised $4,000 to pay for the billboard, which will run for three months from May through the end of July. The billboard, located on M66 in Sturgis, is just two blocks south of the Fawn River Marathon gas station that Shank got gas from the evening she disappeared.
“We want to say thank you so much to everyone who donated towards the billboard and supported us in our efforts to bring awareness and justice for Brittany’s family,” Allie Kyle, who has helped organize several Shank related events, told Watershed Voice. “The fear, amongst her family and friends, is that she will be forgotten. We have hope that the billboard will shine a light on the fact that Brittany is still missing and that the community along with law enforcement, will see this every day as they drive down the same road as Brittany herself did frequently.”
Jackie Milliman, with help from Dineen and Kyle, have organized several events to raise awareness about Shank’s case. A Justice for Brittany Rally was held at the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department in March of 2023, volunteers operated a booth at Sturgis Fest and had an entry in the festival’s parade, and on the fifth anniversary of her appearance a Light Up the Night for Brittany vigil was held in her memory.
Alek Haak-Frost is executive editor and publisher of Watershed Voice.
