Robert Shaw went missing from his home in rural Deer Creek on June 22, 2024

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Just shy of one year since his disappearance, the Shaw family continues to hold on to hope that they will be able to find out what happened to Robert Shaw on June 22, 2024—if for no other reason than to provide closure and answer the growing number of questions that have been raised over the past year.  ¶  “I just don’t like to go without an ending, but I tell myself it might need to be like that,” said his wife Judy.   ¶  Though he had dementia, Robert had a routine set of places he would go to do chores each day. When his son Matt could not find his dad at any of his common stopping points last year he called the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office for help—something that would begin a massive manhunt that covered miles of wooded areas south of the Highway 210 and Highway 29 area last June.  ¶  “I never expected him to disappear,” said Judy.  ¶  Robert had been diagnosed with dementia for approximately one year. While he had episodes where he would be more confused than others, Judy said her longtime husband found peace at home where he was familiar with his surroundings and had a daily routine that provided a continued purpose, even as his dementia seemed to worsen from time-to-time.

“This was his place. He had it for 50 years and he said I’m not leaving, this is my place,” she said. 

Hindsight being 20/20, of course, Judy said there were indications Robert may have had health issues in the days leading up to his disappearance. Judy said Robert seemed a bit off and she asked him several times if he wasn’t feeling good and suggested going to see a doctor. Robert was adamant that he would not see a doctor again and was feeling fine. 

Even when he was feeling off, Judy said Robert was a loving husband who made sure to care for his family. 

For example, when she had broken an ankle he offered to serve her lunch. She recommended a salad and he delivered. She recalled there were boiled eggs in the fridge and requested two of them to eat with her salad. He returned with a pair of raw eggs and cracked them over her salad. 

“I didn’t say anything because he was being helpful. And, so I mixed it all in and ate it,” she recalled. 

As Robert’s dementia progressed, Judy suggested they move to a care facility, together. But, he had no interest of such a move and wanted to remain at their rural Henning farm. After all, the farm was home.

The lives of the Shaw family was turned upside down in the early morning of June 22, 2024 after Robert failed to return from his daily chore routine of checking the animals, crops and property as a whole. 

“I kind of made sure I watched him,” said his wife Judy of the morning he went missing. “I said ‘where are you going now’ and he said ‘I suppose I need to go do chores.’”

It would be the last time she would speak with her husband. 

The daily chores that he wanted to complete provided him a sense of normalcy and gave him a purpose, even as he continued to suffer from dementia. When he didn’t return after about half an hour, which was fairly uncommon for Robert, Judy called her son Matt who quickly went out to look for him on the property. After checking all of his normal spots without any luck, Matt searched an area near an ATV that had run out of gas the night before about 200 yards from the house to see if his father had went to fill the vehicle with gas—all to no avail.

Not finding Robert in the barn or on the trails and having their vehicles accounted for, the family called the Otter Tail Sheriff’s Office to report him missing.

During the first day of the search the family counted about 300 people who came out to search for Robert. There were 14 fire departments during the second day of the search for Robert, all of whom quickly converged on the property. The yard was filled with vehicles, people and emergency personnel, many of whom got to know Robert over the years  from his days of delivering fuel to the greater Otter Tail County area.

“They knew him. He hauled fuel and was like a friend to them,” said Judy of all of the people who quickly came out to their home to assist in the search. “It bothered them that they couldn’t find him.”

A call was sent out to the general public on the third day of the search to assist in finding Robert and an estimated 400 people showed up to join the search effort. 

While the early expansive ground searches didn’t turn up any clues, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Department continued the search effort and enlisted the help of different agencies to search the area around the house with drones and airplanes from the sky. 

“For not finding him it wasn’t a shortage of trying. It was a very large turnout and they worked hard on it,” said Matt.

Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons and Henning Police/Fire Chief Mike Helle were staples at the Shaw household for a number of months following Robert’s disappearance as Matt said the law enforcement agencies almost took it personally that her husband vanished without a trace and they were unable to find him. 

  “I said it is not your fault, what are you supposed to do,” she said. 

In the early days after his disappearance there were several tips that came in to law enforcement, including a few gas stations that may have had an encounter with him. Those tips were investigated and determined not to be Robert, but that didn’t stop the family from hoping he would be located some day.

Judy said she even asked if it was possible her husband was attacked by a wild animal like a bear, coyote or wolf. However, she was told such an event wasn’t likely as there was no sign of blood or clothes anywhere on the property. 

The searches continue, albeit on a much smaller and less frequent scale as summer turned into fall last year.

“Without some sort of clue or hint or tip, where do you go,” said Matt of continued searches. “Everything here had 300 people looking.”

Judy agreed that the volunteers and emergency personnel covered just about every square inch of their property, along with a route to his childhood farming and hunting land. All of the searches failed to turn up a clue about what happened to Robert on June 22, 2024. 

“They looked every place and there is not anywhere they could have looked that they didn’t,” said Judy.

What still sticks with the Shaw family was the overwhelming support they received from friends, family and even complete strangers who came from several hundred miles away to participate in an expansive ground search in the days after Robert went missing. 

“We didn’t even know most of them, they were from all over Minnesota,” said Judy. “That was unreal.”

As the family reflects on the past year they are grateful for the overwhelming amount of support they received in the search effort from the community and organizations like the Red Cross. 

“I would give kudos to the Red Cross all day,” said Judy. “Every place around here brought pizzas and they didn’t just bring one. There is no way you could ever thank all of the people who helped.”

“We appreciated all of the stuff they did to help out,” said Matt. “That’s the biggest thing. We are very appreciative for all of the people.”

As the family approaches the one year mark since he disappeared, the Shaws have discussed holding a celebration of life for Robert, but have not decided when or if they should hold such an event. 

According to the state of Minnesota, Robert cannot be officially declared dead until he has been gone for at least four years, and there has yet to be a sign of the rural Henning man. 

The investigation into the disappearance of Robert Shaw continues and anyone who may have information about his whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office at (218) 998-8555.