On June 19, 2001, a 25-year-old man named Shelton Sanders was weeks away from his college graduation at the University of South Carolina. He also worked at the university’s medical school.
On the night of June 19th, Shelton was planning on booking a hotel room for a friend’s bachelor party. But Shelton didn’t want to go alone. He wanted a friend to go with him.

Another friend named Mark Richardson agreed to ride with Shelton. The two set out that evening to find a hotel room for their friend’s bachelor party.

The plan was to pick out several rooms and then let the friends decide which room they wanted. However, no one seems to know what happened to Shelton on that evening. The next morning, Shelton’s mother Peggy received a call from his employer. He failed to show up for work and never made it home on June 20, 2001 as expected.

His family immediately knew something was wrong. Mark always let his family know about his whereabouts. He would also never miss work. He had also borrowed his brother’s car, which was also missing. The family filed a missing persons report after the required 48 hour wait.
The family contacted Mark Richardson who seemed aloof. He said Shelton brought him home and then left. Shelton’s family didn’t believe Richardson. They suspected he was somehow involved in Shelton’s disappearance.

If you know anything about Shelton’t death, please contact the tip line at 803-427-4209, or send an email to [email protected] or call the Richland Sheriff’s department at (803) 576-3000. You can also visit the Finding Shelton Sanders FB page for more information about this case. I will also include this information in the podcast story notes.

*** Opening audio provided by News 19 WLTX (https://www.wltx.com)

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