On the morning of August 15, 2002, Mary Short and her husband Michael were found shot to death in their Oak Level, Henry County, Virginia home. An employee of Michael’s discovered Mary in her bedroom and Michael on a couch in the garage; both had a single gunshot wound to the head. Investigators reported the home’s phone line had been cut and the couple’s 9-year-old daughter Jennifer was missing, prompting an Amber Alert.

Six weeks later, on September 25, 2002, Jennifer’s skeletal remains were found near a stream in Stoneville, North Carolina, about 30 miles from the family’s home; an autopsy showed she had also been shot in the head. Numerous leads have been pursued over the years but no arrests have been announced. A carpenter named Gary Bowman was once a person of interest and later cleared; Forrest Hayes Wylie was charged with sending threatening letters to two lead investigators. A multi-agency task force formed in 2021 and evidence has been re-examined with newer forensic methods; a reward is offered and the community holds an annual memorial ride for Jennifer.