Search for missing SC man continues 23 years later, visible on billboards

SPARTANBURG, SC (WSPA) – A South Carolina family is searching for answers more than two decades after their loved one was last seen. The call to find Shelton Sanders, 25, can be found on billboards and street signs across the upstate.

“He was six months away from graduating from the University of South Carolina. His specialty was information technology. He had dreams. He had goals. He wanted his own children. He wanted to start a family,” said Wilveria Sanders, Shelton Sanders’ sister.

She says it's been 23 years since her family last saw Shelton. They have placed signs and billboards across the state in hopes of finally achieving a closure.

“23 years of pain. 23 years of mourning, 23 years of missing and loving Shelton. Our family has been seeking justice for Shelton, trying to bring him home to a resting place to see him or visit him, just to find out what happened,” Wilveria added.

Shelton Sanders reportedly disappeared in Columbia in June 2001. Richland County deputies classified Sanders' disappearance as a homicide a few years later. Investigators charged a man with murder in 2005, but he was released three years later due to a mistrial.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department has not named any new suspects in Sander's disappearance.

“We have not forgotten and we will not give up. We will continue to share his information on social media,” Wilveria also said. “I want everyone to know that my brother Shelton was a human being. He was a loving person. It was a son. He was a brother. He was a friend.

The Sanders family is offering a $50,000 cash reward for information leading to Sanders' remains. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers.