Shraman Mitra
Residents of the Algonquin First Nation, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, in Quebec, Canada, witnessed a strange incident when teenagers Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander disappeared after stepping out for a night of dancing. Although the police initially believed that the girls had run away, their families refused to believe such a claim and did not give up the search.
Paramount+’s ‘Never Seen Again’ chronicles the disappearance and follows the police investigation that tried to get to the bottom of the matter. If you are intrigued by the case details and want to find out if Maisy and Shannon have been located, we have you covered.
What Happened to Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander?
16-year-old Maisy Odjick and 17-year-old Shannon Alexander were high school students and quite popular in their friend circle. Their close ones described the girls as lively and cheerful and mentioned they were in love with life. While Maisy and Shannon were good friends and were rarely seen apart, they were pretty good in their studies and had big aspirations for their future. Moreover, like regular high school students, they, too, liked to have fun and had gone out dancing the night before their disappearance.
On September 6, 2008, Maisy and Shannon spent the day at the latter’s house in Maniwaki, Quebec. They had plans to go to a school dance in Maniwaki that night, and Shannon’s father mentioned that the girls were looking forward to a fun time. The two attended the school dance that night, and some friends mentioned seeing them there. However, that was the last time anyone saw the girls, as they vanished soon after.
On September 7, 2008, Maisy’s mother tried calling her as she had not contacted her since traveling to Shannon’s house. But once she failed to reach her daughter, she called Shannon’s father and was surprised to learn that the girls hadn’t returned home from the school dance. It was more surprising that Maisy and Shannon had left their identifications, wallets, backpacks, and medicines behind, which indicated that the disappearance wasn’t planned.
Families of Missing Teens Remain Hopeful For Their Return
Maisy and Shannon remain missing to this very day, although their families hope they will return home safely. Once the teenagers’ parents realized they were nowhere to be found, they immediately reported them missing to the local police department. Nevertheless, the show mentioned that the police initially believed the duo had run away on their own, which hindered the investigation. As a result, a search of Shannon’s apartment and the publicization of the disappearance was delayed.
Nevertheless, law enforcement officials soon prioritized the case and arranged for a press conference to spread the word. They also interviewed several acquaintances about the places the teens could have gone to and tried to find out if foul play was involved. Unfortunately, no matter how much the police and volunteers combed through the local areas, there was no news about the missing girls.
In addition, reports mentioned that Maisy and Shannon’s parents were unhappy with how authorities handled the case. In fact, in 2009, the former’s mother claimed that the police still believed the teens had run away and were not helping much in the search. Nevertheless, by 2011, with the community’s help, they managed to raise funds to reward anyone who could come forward with any information about the girls.
Sadly, the trail grew quite cold soon after, and even on the fifth anniversary of the disappearance in 2013, the police did not have any new leads to work on. However, in 2017, the police suddenly announced that they had further information on the case about a location where they might find Maisy and Shannon’s bodies. While the girls haven’t been declared dead yet, authorities followed the tip and combed through a creek near the Kitigan Zibi reserve in Quebec.
Still, the search team came up empty-handed and soon realized that the lead was a dead end. Since then, there has been no new development in the disappearance case, and the police classify it as active information. On the other hand, Maisy and Shannon’s families are hopeful about their safe return and implore anyone with any helpful information to step forward and help in the search.
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