On January 5, 1999, 26-year-old Male Innocente Yanez, known as Shawn, disappeared from the Tahlequah, Oklahoma home he shared with his mother on May Avenue. His mother returned from work to find the lights and television on and beer cans in the sink, but Shawn was gone. He left behind his coat, cigarettes, and other personal effects, and family members said it was out of character for him to leave without telling anyone and to abandon his six-year-old son.
A member of the Cherokee Nation, Shawn was 6 feet 2 inches and about 180 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and scars on both wrists. Relatives reported he had said a friend was supposed to give him a ride that day; no destination or identifying details about that friend are known. Investigators considered the circumstances suspicious, listed the case as endangered missing, and have not developed significant leads.
If anyone knew Shawn, the friend he was supposed to meet that day, or has information about his movements on January 5, 1999, please come forward with what you know.