No Leads: Police Still Baffled by Illinois Woman's Mysterious Disappearance

Police are still looking for any clues that might lead them to find the Illinois woman who walked away from a deadly car crash Saturday.  Tanya Shannon, 40, of Ransom, Ill., was last seen with her husband Dale after at a Christmas party Saturday evening.  But when police later arrived on the scene of a one-car auto accident that killed Dale, the only traces of Tanya were her footprints left in the snow, walking away from the accident. 

Dale and Tanya Shannon had been married 20 years and have four daughters, ages 4 to 15.  On Tuesday, the search for Tanya entered its third day, according to the LaSalle County Sheriff's Office.

According to initial police reports, Tanya's footprints were traced to a nearby road where they ended.

"There's nothing for us to believe there's any issues other than exactly what happened, a traffic accident that claimed her husband's life, that she was at least able for a period of time to walk away from and move up to the roadway," the sheriff said. "And once she was on the roadway, that's where we lost track of her."

Police are unsure of how badly Tanya may have been injured in the crash and have not ruled out the possibility that a third party picked her up at the roadside.  In addition, the cold winter temperatures also would have posed a significant threat as Tanya ventured away from the remote crash site.  Investigators remain baffled as to why she has yet to contact any of her family members.

When she left the Christmas party with her husband Saturday evening, Tanya Shannon was wearing a floor-length red gown and a gray fleece hooded jacket, police say.  She is estimated to be 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 125 pounds, with shoulder-length strawberry-blond hair, green eyes and glasses, according to the Sheriff's department.  Initial search and rescue operations have involved dogs and aircraft from the Illinois State Police and more than 50 volunteer searchers.

Anyone with information regarding Tanya Shannon's whereabouts is asked to contact the LaSalle County Sheriff's Office.