The Disappearance of Shawn Dickerson

Source: Help Find Shawn Dickerson on Facebook

Shawn Dickerson has been missing since December 2nd, 2011. The then-23-year-old left his residence in San Francisco, California that day, presumably to go to work, but he never arrived. Shawn also never returned home and has never been seen or heard from again.

Shawn is originally from Ceres, California. He moved to San Francisco about 6 months prior to his disappearance. Shawn lived with roommates and had a job at Rolo's, a men's clothing store on Market Street. Various reports state that Shawn was trying to save money so he could move to New York. 

The day before his disappearance, Shawn went to work a shift at Rolo's, during which he was given payment. He then left to take a lunch break around 1:00 PM and never returned to finish his shift. Shawn's boss tried to contact him several times to no avail. Shawn finally responded at 11:30 PM and apologized for not returning to work. His boss replied, warning him that he could be fired if he was not a reliable employee. 

According to one of his roommates, Shawn awoke around 11:00 AM the next morning and remarked that he was late for work. He reportedly rushed to get ready and left his residence dressed in his work clothes. However, Shawn never went to Rolo's that day, nor did he ever contact his family or friends again. 

The last known sign of him occurred around 4:00 PM, when several pictures taken around San Francisco were posted to his Facebook page. After that, Shawn seemingly vanished into thin air. His loved ones reported him missing on December 6th, 2011. 

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What happened to Shawn?

Source: Help Find Shawn Dickerson on Facebook

It does not seem as if Shawn planned to leave on his own accord. His roommate noted that Shawn was dressed for work when he left his residence. He also left behind many of his personal belongings. 

Assuming that Shawn himself is the one who uploaded the pictures to his Facebook page that afternoon, it appears that he was still in the San Francisco area at 4:00 PM that day. However, his family and friends noted that it was very out of character for him to post anything - let alone several pictures - to his Facebook page. 

It's unknown why Shawn never showed up for his shift at Rolo's. Considering that he had already been reprimanded by his boss the previous day, it's possible that he assumed he would be fired if he showed up late, so he decided not to go at all. If so - it's possible that Shawn instead went to various spots in San Francisco and took pictures. Still, the question remains: what happened after that?

Potential theories.

There has been speculation that the drama surrounding Shawn's job may play a role in his disappearance. Those closest to Shawn reportedly did not know that his boss had threatened to fire him the day before he vanished until after he was reported missing. In fact, his roommates told police that Shawn stayed up until 4:00 AM chatting with them the night before his disappearance but did not mention the incident with his boss. He did, however, tell a neighbor about the incident.

Some speculate that Shawn was upset over possibly losing his job at the time of his disappearance. According to his page on Charley Project, his loved ones "do not believe him losing his job would have unduly upset him." Still, Shawn's ex-girlfriend believes he might have died by suicide. 

Another theory is that foul play is responsible in his disappearance. If so, it is unknown who, or why, anyone would harm Shawn. Was he a victim of a robbery? A random attacker? Or did he get into an altercation with someone he knew?

It's worth noting that there are no known sightings of Shawn after he left his residence on the morning of his disappearance - so there is no evidence to corroborate that Shawn encountered anyone or anything nefarious after that. Still, it appears that there is not any known evidence to rule out foul play either. 

Missing California Five.

The foul play theory segues into another theory in this case: that Shawn's disappearance is connected to the disappearances of four other young men from the San Francisco area. The men's ages range from 19 to 29, and they all disappeared between the years of 2010 and 2013. 

Source: nbcnews.com

The first of these young men to go missing is Jackson Miller, who vanished at the age of 19 on May 15th, 2010. Jackson left his family’s Cupertino, California home that day and drove his car to the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. The car was later found abandoned with all of Jackson's personal belongings inside. Due to this, there were fears that Jackson might have died by suicide - however, there is no evidence that he jumped off the bridge.

In fact, there have been various sightings of Jackson over the years. In 2014, a Tahoe resident reported seeing him several times in the South Lake Tahoe area. The most recent sighting of Jackson occurred in 2021 at a Target in Woodland. 

The second of these young men to vanish is Cameron Remmer, who disappeared nearly a year and a half later on October 6th, 2011. The then-29-year-old vanished while staying at Fairmont Hotel on Mason Street in San Francisco. None of his accounts have been accessed since the day of his disappearance, but there have been several unconfirmed sightings of him around the San Francisco area. 

Shawn was the third of these young men to vanish. In contrast to Jackson and Cameron, there does not appear to be any reported sightings of Shawn since his disappearance. Still, this did not stop the speculation about all 3 cases potentially being connected. 

That speculation grew even further when a fourth young man, Crishtian Hughes, vanished on February 7th, 2013. Crishtian, then 20, was in San Francisco at the time of his disappearance. He was due to catch a plane home on the day he vanished, but he never made his flight. A few months later, 19-year-old Sean Sidi vanished in San Francisco on May 21st, 2013.

All five men are still classified as missing today. While there is no evidence that their disappearances are related, it appears a connection has not been ruled out, either. The families of all 5 young men have connected with each other, and they continue to spread awareness about the young men's disappearances. 

Where Shawn's case stands.

As noted, Shawn remains missing today. His family continues to search for answers. 

The San Francisco Police Department is in charge of Shawn's case. If you have any information that could lead to his whereabouts, please contact authorities at 415-558-5508.

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Sources:
California Department of Justice
Charley Project
Help Find Shawn Dickerson on Facebook
NBC News
Uncovered