HELENA — Shannon LaBau has been missing for 27 years. He was last seen in Helena on February 23, 1999, and police and his family have searched for answers ever since.
Today, police say answers to what happened to LaBau could be closer than ever.
“It’s very much solvable, absolutely,” Helena Police Department Lt. Joshua Ray said.
Marian Davidson reports - watch the video here:
LaBau was 23 years old when he disappeared and a devoted father to a 1-year-old daughter. Now, his daughter has children of her own.
“As time goes on, people think things get better and easier and stuff,” Pat Andersen, LaBau’s sister, said. “But Shannon had a 1-year-old daughter, and now he’s got two grandchildren, and as these things come up, you realize what he’s missing.”
LaBau’s nephew, Adam Weber, never met his uncle, but he has seen the impact of his disappearance on his aunts—LaBau’s sisters.
“It breaks both of their hearts to see a little bit of him in me, and to know they don’t know where he went,” Weber said.
While the passage of time often makes cases harder to solve, investigators say that in LaBau’s case, it has actually helped.
“With time comes newer technology, advancements in technology and new investigative tools,” Ray said.
Also, relationships change over time.
“We’re getting more tips,” Ray said. “We’re getting more leads from people that are close to this case, people that are involved in this case, and people that are, frankly, close to that person of interest.”
Recently, new leads have come in, and detectives say they have zeroed in on one specific person of interest.
“We’re very close,” Ray said. “Very, very close.”
While police won’t name that person right now, LaBau’s family has always had one person in mind.
“Yes, the same person from the very beginning,” Andersen said.
“It’s the person he was last seen with,” Kari Weber, LaBau’s sister, said.
According to the investigation, LaBau was last seen with Steve Rummel. Investigators say that Rummel told LaBau about a muscle car a rancher was selling in Townsend, and the two were headed there on Feb. 23, 1999, to pick it up.
LaBau was never seen again, and investigators were never able to verify Rummel’s story.
MTN called Rummel for comment; he declined and hung up.
It's been 27 years, but investigators and LaBau’s family have not given up on finding out what happened to him.
“We’ve never put this in a file somewhere and not looked at it,” Ray said. “It has been actively investigated for that long.”
LaBau’s mother searched for answers until she died, and his family continues that search today.
“I feel comfort in knowing that she and Josh and Shannon are together, along with other people who have passed before us,” Andersen said. “But it would be nice to know down here.”
