Krishonda 'Shonda' Townsend vanished at the age of 19 on July 5th, 2010. The young woman vanished after attending a 4th of July celebration in Mineral Wells, Texas. Shonda left the celebration around 11:00 PM after agreeing to drive a friend home. Once Shonda arrived at her friend's house, she decided to go inside for a brief bit of time. While there, Shonda used a computer to log on to Facebook. She then posted a status updated stating "I got this". According to the friend, Shonda left shortly thereafter.
It appears that Shonda had every intention of driving back to her home in Perrin, Texas—where she lived with her two-year-old son and her mother. In fact, Shonda's mother received a text from Shonda phone around 12:10 AM that stated she was on her way home. Unfortunately, she never made it there and was never seen alive again.
Two days later, Shonda's car was found abandoned in Mineral Wells. The stereo had been ripped out. Many of Shonda's personal belongings remained inside of the vehicle. At this point, the worries of Shonda's safety intensified. Her family members did not believe she would ever willingly leave her son behind, nor would she willingly abandon her vehicle. For whatever reason, authorities did not process the vehicle for evidence at that time. Instead, they allowed Shonda's family to take the car.
Throughout the investigation into Shonda's disappearance, authorities learned that Shonda's phone continued to ping until around 2:00 AM on the morning of July 5th. After that, all phone activity ceased. Investigators conducted both ground and aerial searches of the surrounding areas, but nothing of significance was found. Several people were interviewed as well, but no suspects were publicly identified.
Over a year later, in October 2011, Shonda's skeletal remains were found in the southwest part of Mineral Wells. A man was walking along a fence line on a property for sale on Sand Hill Road when he spotted a human skull. Dental records would later confirm that the skull belonged to Shonda Townsend. Due to the decomposition of her remains, authorities were never able to establish a cause of death. However, they are investigating Shonda's death as a homicide.
An article about Shonda's death from 2021 states that police have conducted an extensive investigation that included several polygraphs, but they have not been able to identify a prime suspect. That same year, Shonda's family members said that they received new information that could lead to a break in the case. They did not specify what information they learned, but they provided the information to authorities.
As of today, Shonda's case remains unsolved. The Palo Pinto Sheriff's Department is investigating. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the sheriff's department at 940-659-2085 or Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
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