Cold Case: Darren Jason Shannon

 

On Saturday 9 June 1973, 11-month-old Darren Jason Shannon was 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 hours later, John Shannon died in a head-on car crash near Roseworthy. Jason was not found 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 the house twice that day, which was unusual, but other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary, not suspicious about his behaviour.
 The couple had split up, and Michelle had moved back to her parents’ home. She had received custody of Jason, but Barry had received visitation rights.[1]

On the evening of the abduction, Barry came to the house. He snatched Jason from the loungeroom, and Michelle's dad, Alfred chased after him. Barry was too quick, escaping into his car and speeding off. The family eventually left Adelaide and returned to England.[2]

Jason Shannon Cold Case - Car Crash Scene (Wolseley 1300 Mk II)

Police investigations concluded that Barry could not have driven far in the two hours between the abduction and car crash. They estimated the farthest he could have travelled was Clare or Port Wakefield from Elizabeth, then back through Roseworthy. They also concluded from examining soil samples in his car and shoes that Barry had not walked in dirt or mud, or been involved in digging. The soil samples confirmed the dirt from his parents’ and former in-law’s homes but nowhere else.

 A grave was interfered with in 2005 at Church of Christ cemetery Kapunda – but no conclusive connection between the two cases has been established.[3] Police believe that Barry either disposed of his son’s body somewhere before the crash or gave him to someone else to raise in secret.[4]

Anyone with information that could assist police investigating the disappearance of baby Jason is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/  - callers can remain anonymous.

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[1] Debbie Schipp, ‘Cold case: Four decades on, what happened to baby Jason?’, The Advertiser, (August 2016), https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/cold-case-four-decades-on-what-happened-to-baby-jason/news-story/433177cc2ab7e9c3efafc48c3b005f3d.

[2] Nigel Hunt, ‘Police reveal second theory in unsolved 1973 baby abduction case,’ Sunday Mail, (31 July 2016).

[3] Nigel Hunt, ‘Police reveal second theory in unsolved 1973 baby abduction case,’ Sunday Mail, (31 July 2016).

[4] Case Profile – Darren ‘Jason’ Shannon, Crime Stoppers, (10 June 2022), https://crimestopperssa.com.au/media-releases/case-profile-darren-jason-shannon/