Search efforts persist, three years since suspicious disappearance of Shannon White

“We have a little tour that we’re going to do throughout the city so that people can see us, and just basically light a way, in hopes to bring her home,” explains Hulsman, “This is our third year of doing this.”

White’s family feels the efforts to keep Shannon’s name in the public eye reiterate the importance of the friendships the Ontario woman made after moving to Kamloops.

“Starting to get out and do some adventuring, and finding herself really. It took her some time to do that but she finally got there,” Shannon’s father, Gerald White, says of his daughter’s experience living in B.C. “And that (Jeep group) was the community that she enjoyed going out with, and she enjoyed their company.”

The SRD K9’s are out every week, combing through areas where Shannon White’s Jeep was seen – west of Kamloops headed toward the Inks Lake area, and north of Kamloops past Rayleigh – and where it wasn’t.

“People think we’re not making any headway but every time we go out we make the search area smaller, and it’s thousands and thousands of square miles, really,” explains Mike Ritcey of the SRD K9’s of BC. “We just keep plugging away. We have certain areas we want to check and we keep checking them, and hopefully one day someone will come forward with something, or we’ll find something that’ll help.”

To protect the integrity of the investigation, RCMP haven’t publicly shared whether significant advancements have been made. But, Shannon’s father says police are not treating his daughter’s disappearance as a ‘cold case’. Whenever he makes a trip to Kamloops from Ontario, White meets with the SRD K9 teams, and Kamloops RCMP, who he feels are invested in finding Shannon.

“When I meet them (RCMP), I feel okay,” says White, “You know what I mean? When I leave, I feel okay. I feel like they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and they’re trying to get some resolution, if you will.”

SRD K9’s are a non-profit, and time spent searching is not a paid gig. However, Ritcey and others in the group feel it’s the best way they can help.

“I guess what really bothers me is somebody knows what happened, and maybe even two people know what happened. Just hope that one day they do the right thing, they made a mistake, and let’s hope they come forward or tell somebody where she is so the family can have some answers, and that part of the tragedy can be put to rest,” says Ritcey.

Now three years in, Hulsman and the rest of the Jeep community Shannon befriended plan to keep people talking about Shannon, in hopes the continued awareness could one day bring forward key information.

“Shannon was into so many things. She loved to be apart of the community and she was always the first one to get up and help. And I know she’d be right there with us if it was anybody else that we were looking for,” adds Hulsman.

Anyone with information that could be related to Shannon White’s disappearance is urged to contact Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000, and reference file number 2021-38386.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Search efforts persist, three years since suspicious disappearance of Shannon White

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