Shelton Sanders’ family offers $150k reward in 25-year-old cold case

RICHLAND CO., S.C. (WOLO) – The family of a homicide victim who’s been missing for 25 years this week, is offering a $150k reward for information leading to recovering his remains.

Richland County deputies say on June 19, 2001, Shelton Sanders, 25, was last seen at 1132 Olympia Avenue in Columbia.

He later visited three local hotels that evening making arrangements for a friend’s bachelor party. He spoke with his family that night and told them he was on his way home, but never arrived.

Investigators say neither his cell phone nor credit cards were used after that date. They added the car Sanders was driving the night he went missing was discovered at an apartment complex in Northeast Columbia 2 years later in April 2003.

According to deputies, Sanders was last seen wearing a short sleeve shirt, khaki pants and a black Movado watch.

Sheriff Leon Lott had this to say about the cold case:

Twenty-five years is a long time for a family to wait for answers. Someone knows what happened to Shelton Sanders. We believe this case is solvable, and we hope the increased reward will encourage anyone with information to come forward. Even the smallest detail could be the key to finally bringing Shelton home.

Deputies say anyone with information about Shelton Sanders is urged to contact the Richland County Sheriff’s Department Cold Case Unit at (803) 576-3462.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.