Cold Case: Darren Jason Shannon
On Saturday 9 June 1973, 11-month-old Darren Jason Shannonwas abducted by his father. Darren, known as Jason by his mother, was at his grandparents’house at Blackdown Road Elizabeth West (now Davoren Park) when his father John ‘Barry’Shannon, a man with a long history of mental illness abducted him. 24 hourslater, John Shannon died in a head-on car crash near Roseworthy. Jason was notfound in the car, or nearby, and his whereabouts to this day, remain a mystery.
Jason’s mother, Michelle, recollected in the Sunday Mail, in 2016 the day of her son's abduction. She recalled that Barry had come to thehouse twice that day, which was unusual, but other than that, there was nothingout of the ordinary, not suspicious about his behaviour.
The couple had split up, and Michellehad moved back to her parents’ home. She had received custody of Jason, but Barryhad received visitation rights.
On the evening of the abduction, Barry came to the house. Hesnatched Jason from the loungeroom, and Michelle's dad, Alfred chased after him.Barry was too quick, escaping into his car and speeding off. The familyeventually left Adelaide and returned to England.
Jason Shannon Cold Case - Car Crash Scene (Wolseley 1300 Mk II)
Police investigations concluded that Barry could not havedriven far in the two hours between the abduction and car crash. They estimatedthe farthest he could have travelled was Clare or Port Wakefield fromElizabeth, then back through Roseworthy. They also concluded from examining soil samplesin his car and shoes that Barry had not walked in dirt or mud, or beeninvolved in digging. The soil samples confirmed the dirt from his parents’ and former in-law’s homes but nowhere else.
A grave was interferedwith in 2005 at Church of Christ cemetery Kapunda – but no conclusive connectionbetween the two cases has been established. Police believe that Barry either disposed of his son’s bodysomewhere before the crash or gave him to someone else to raise in secret.
Anyone with information that could assist policeinvestigating the disappearance of baby Jason is asked to call Crime Stopperson 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ - callers can remain anonymous.
Debbie Schipp, ‘Cold case: Four decades on, what happened to baby Jason?’, TheAdvertiser, (August 2016), https://www.news.com.au/national/crim....
Nigel Hunt, ‘Police reveal secondtheory in unsolved 1973 baby abduction case,’ Sunday Mail, (31 July 2016).
Nigel Hunt, ‘Police reveal second theory inunsolved 1973 baby abduction case,’ Sunday Mail, (31 July 2016).
CaseProfile – Darren ‘Jason’ Shannon, Crime Stoppers, (10 June 2022), https://crimestopperssa.com.au/media-...
