MISSING: Brittany Wallace Shank

Episode of Crime Junkie · June 22, 2026 · 1 h 15 min

Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the 2018 disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank near Sturgis, Michigan, and the conflicting stories surrounding it.

Summary

Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat covered the case of 23-year-old Brittany Wallace Shank, who on November 30, 2018, appeared barefoot and bleeding at a farmhouse off Fawn River Road near Sturgis, Michigan, saying her boyfriend had wrecked their car and run off, then left before deputies arrived and was never seen again. Flowers laid out the timeline using a case file: Shank borrowed boyfriend Sheldon Ashbrook's car, bought gas, visited her grandmother Vicky with an unidentified "mystery man," and the car was later found barely in a shallow ditch. Flowers argued there was effectively no crash and that the mystery man was likely in the car.

The hosts criticized the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office for never processing the car, failing to trace her phone, and not formally interviewing her estranged husband Eric Shank for nearly five years. Flowers detailed the role of Ashley Hooley, who presented herself as Brittany's sister, accessed her Facebook account after the disappearance, provided Eric's alibi, and possessed photos of Brittany's gas receipt, which she said she found in her recovered stolen car. Body camera footage from a December 2018 traffic stop showed Eric calling Hooley his girlfriend.

Flowers also played leaked voice memos of a bitter argument between Brittany and her mother Jessica Rolfe, whom Hooley accused, and newly obtained prison calls between Brittany and Zachary Bowman suggesting tension within her circle. The episode addressed conflicting accounts of polygraphs, two composite sketches, and community rumors about a white Cadillac and a burned house on Fawn River Road. Flowers concluded that someone knows what happened, suggested the noise of rumors may have obscured the truth, and urged listeners with information to contact the sheriff's office.

Chapters

0:33
The 911 call
The episode opens with the 911 call from a farmhouse where a barefoot, injured Brittany Wallace Shank sought help before disappearing.
4:04
A crash that wasn't
Flowers argues the car barely left the road and questions the source of Brittany's injuries and her reluctance to meet police.
7:16
Missing report and grandma's house
Brittany's background is introduced, she is reported missing, and her grandmother describes an unknown man who came with her that night.
16:03
Sheldon Ashbrook's account
Sheldon explains lending his car, the gas stop call, and searching for Brittany that night.
20:26
Running from the mystery man
Evidence suggests Brittany fled someone, including a trashed car, a disturbed garage, and a teen's sighting at a second house.
26:22
Missing phone and unprocessed car
The hosts criticize failures to trace Brittany's phone and to process the car forensically.
28:54
Ashley Hooley and the Facebook account
Hooley's claims of closeness to Brittany and her access to Brittany's Facebook account after the disappearance are examined.
35:26
Eric Shank and the traffic stop
Brittany's estranged husband, his alibi with Hooley, and body camera footage from a December 2018 stop are discussed.
42:12
The gas receipt and phone backplate
Hooley's photos of Brittany's gas receipt and Eric's reported discovery of a phone backplate raise suspicion.
51:53
Jessica Rolfe and the voice memos
Leaked voice memos of an argument between Brittany and her mother are played and contextualized.
58:54
Composite sketches
Two sketches of the mystery man and speculation that he could be Sheldon or Eric are reviewed.
1:02:53
Prison calls with Zachary Bowman
Newly obtained recorded prison calls hint that Brittany had information she wanted kept quiet.
1:08:38
Polygraph contradictions
Conflicting accounts over whether Hooley and Eric took and passed polygraphs are discussed.
1:10:49
Theories, rumors, and a call for tips
Flowers reviews theories and local rumors, recommends the Hide and Seek podcast, and asks listeners for tips.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues Brittany's injuries were not from a crash because the car barely left the road.
“Listen, I don't know where the cuts come from, but I don't think it was from the crash because there is really no crash”
Listen from 6:47 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that, based on the timeline, any man in the car must have been the one who left the grandmother's house with Brittany.
“If someone was in the car with her, it has to be this guy that she left grandma's with”
Listen from 13:38 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers notes that Brittany's final selfie suggested she was going out rather than simply doing laundry.
“But to me, it doesn't exactly scream like I'm just going to grandma's to do laundry”
Listen from 14:33 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Brit Prawat
Prawat suggests Brittany may have gone to the door alone because strangers are more likely to help a lone woman.
“I'd venture to guess people are more willing to open their door to a young woman in trouble than a woman and a man”
Listen from 23:22 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers considers it unlikely Brittany died of exposure nearby because searches of the flat farmland found nothing.
“yes, they have searched and they haven't found anything. So like that makes me think that that's super unlikely”
Listen from 25:34 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers criticizes investigators for never forensically processing the abandoned car because they initially assumed Brittany didn't want to be found.
“It was just never processed. I guess because they just assumed initially that this was like a girl who didn't want to be found”
Listen from 28:15 · St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office (Michigan)
Ashley Flowers
Flowers faults investigators for not questioning Eric Shank until more than six months after the disappearance.
“St. Joseph County investigators don't seem to question Eric at all until more than six months after Brittany went missing”
Listen from 46:58 · St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office (Michigan)
Brit Prawat
Prawat doubts that a random stranger picked Brittany up.
“I really struggled to believe that this is a random person who could have picked her up”
Listen from 58:45 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers believes Brittany picked up the mystery man on her way to her grandmother's house.
“Because I definitely believe that she picked up Mystery Man on the way to Grandma's”
Listen from 1:04:01 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers interprets the prison call as indicating Brittany had damaging information about someone in her circle.
“it sounds like Britt has something, like maybe some dirt on at least one of them”
Listen from 1:07:22 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers doubts Ashley Hooley could have mistaken pre-screening for an actual polygraph.
“I think you would know if you were taking a polygraph”
Listen from 1:10:08 · Polygraph
Ashley Flowers
Flowers believes nearly every plausible scenario involves another person, noting the mystery man never came forward.
“Almost every scenario in my mind, though, involves someone else. Mystery Man hasn't come forward, so there has got to be a reason for that, right?”
Listen from 1:11:46 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank
Ashley Flowers
Flowers recommends James Basinger's Hide and Seek podcast for deeper coverage of the case.
“there is this podcast called Hide and Seek hosted by James Basinger. He is like deep, deep, deep, deep in this case”
Listen from 1:13:15 · Hide and Seek (podcast)
Ashley Flowers
Flowers concludes that someone knows what happened to Brittany and that the answers can still be found.
“I think somebody out there really does know exactly what happened to Britney Wallace Shank that day, November 30th, 2018”
Listen from 1:14:26 · Disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank

People

In the conversation

Ashley FlowersCreator and host of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie and founder of Audiochuck
Brit PrawatCo-host of Crime Junkie, introduced in the episode as 'Britt'

Discussed

Brittany Wallace Shank23-year-old Michigan mother missing since November 30, 2018
Sheldon AshbrookBrittany Wallace Shank's boyfriend, whose car she was driving
Eric ShankBrittany Wallace Shank's estranged husband
Ashley HooleyAcquaintance of Brittany who inserted herself into the investigation and provided Eric Shank's alibi
Jessica RolfeBrittany Wallace Shank's mother
Greg WallaceBrittany Wallace Shank's father, who reported her missing
John Fox Jr.Associate known as JJ, passenger in the December 2018 traffic stop
Zachary BowmanIncarcerated man Brittany spoke with by phone the day she vanished
Curtis PollyAshley Hooley's then-boyfriend, known as Pocket
James BasingerHost of the Hide and Seek podcast, which covered the case extensively
Shannon GilbertLong Island woman whose case Flowers compared to this one

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From the publisher

On November 30, 2018, 23-year-old Brittany Wallace Shank showed up barefoot and bleeding at a stranger's door asking for help. She said the man she was with had crashed their car and ran away. Deputies were on the way. But before they arrived, Brittany disappeared into the darkness. She has never been seen again.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime