BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
She was only 11 when she was murdered.
A bright, smiling neighborhood kid in Prattville’s Candlestick Park, Shannon Paulk will be remembered tonight at Pratt Park Amphitheatre during a Candlelight Vigil at 6 p.m..
Nineteen years have passed since she was reported missing, with her body found on Oct. 6 the same year by hunters at a Wildlife Management Area in Autauga County.
Her case has received tremendous following, both locally and nationally. Even so, there are no suspects in custody, no answers for a family that waits. Hope remains among family members and the Justice for Shannon Facebook page that is still pushing for information in the unsolved murder.
Those who lived in this area at the time Shannon was reported missing, and her body was later found, can remember vividly the fear that permeated throughout the River Region. So young, so beautiful, so full of life, and then gone. It could have been their own children. Parents held their kids a little closer, watched their every move during those days.
Now, all those years later and with a population growth, there are many that are not aware of the Shannon Paulk unsolved murder. The Justice For Shannon Paulk page hopes to correct that, in the hopes that someone, somewhere will come forward with information.
Tonight a Candlelight Vigil will be held at the Pratt Park Amphitheatre to remember Shannon, and also to try and reinvigorate the case that is still being investigated. Tips still occasionally come in, and investigators have not given up hope.
Miracles do happen. Cold cases can be solved, and the hope is that at some point this family will get answers and justice can be served.
In Pratt Park a tree that was planted in Shannon’s memory 19 years ago now stands tall. It was afforded the opportunity to grow and prosper. Shannon never had that chance.
The Justice for Shannon page seeks to find resolutions before the 20th anniversary in this unsolved case.
Do you know who murdered Shannon Paulk? If you do, there are multiple ways to report information that could lead to an arrest.
Prattville Police Department’s Secret Witness Line is 334-365-2220 or call Criminal Investigations at 334-595-0256 .
Central Alabama CrimeStoppers tip line at 215-STOP. You can remain anonymous.
