Police arrested a man on murder charges this month, 14 years after he allegedly killed a man in Virginia, but the victim’s body has never been found.
Shane Ryan Donahue, a Virginia man, is presumed dead, the Prince William County Police Department said Tuesday. He was last seen leaving his parents’ home in Nokesville, Virginia, on March 22, 2010. Donahue, 23, was heading toward his Nokesville home but never arrived.
Donahue was added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System after his disappearance. According to records, Donahue did not have a car and regularly got rides from friends. He frequently visited Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Fauquier County, Virginia and northern Virginia.
The case has baffled investigators, who have followed a number of leads over the years. This spring, investigators relaunched the investigation and began examining every detail of the case from scratch, authorities said. They revisited people who had been interviewed in the initial investigation and examined “digital evidence in greater detail due to advances in analytical technology and modern police investigative practices,” according to a news release.
Police said Donahue was last seen leaving his parents’ home with Timothy Sean Hickerson, now 43, of Florida. Investigators linked Hickerson to a burglary at Donahue’s home that occurred days before the Virginia man disappeared.
Investigators obtained an arrest warrant this month and, with the help of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, Hickerson was taken into custody in Palm Coast, Florida. Hickerson has been charged with murder and burglary and is now facing extradition to Virginia.
