THORNTOWN, Ind. - A woman who called the parents of a missing girl and claimed she might be their long-lost daughter was charged Wednesday with committing a cruel hoax.
Donna L. Walker, 35, of Topeka, Kan., faces a felony charge of identity deception and a misdemeanor charge of false reporting. Her whereabouts were not known on Wednesday, authorities said.
Walker called the parents of Shannon Marie Sherrill and also is believed to have contacted news organizations to spread word about the possible break in the case, said state police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten.
He described her actions as a "cruel hoax."
Six-year-old Shannon vanished Oct. 5, 1986, as she played hide-and-seek outside her mother's mobile home in Thorntown, about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Her father, William Michael Sherrill, broke down in tears during a news conference Wednesday announcing that the call was a hoax.
"I wasn't expecting this at all," he said. "I thought they were going to bring Shannon in here."
The identity deception charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer said.
