The Disappearance of Mary Jimmie “Bobo” Shinn
Episode 246
Mary Jimmie “Bobo” Shinn
Mary "Bobo" Shinn was a well liked, friendly and talented artist and teacher living in her native Magnolia, Arkansas. Teaching classes out of a small art studio she purchased north of the town square, she made strong connections with many people, both children and adults, as she guided them to find their artistic abilities.
On Thursday, July 20th, 1978, the twenty-five year old was supposed to get together with friends when she received a call from a man interested in purchasing a house she'd recently remodeled. Bobo agreed to pick the man up, since his car was in the shop, and left her art studio. She was spotted around town several times and then she mysteriously vanished.
Her car was found abandoned in a grocery store parking lot hours later. The keys dangled from the ignition and scratches and scrapes suggested the vehicle had been driven off road. Despite an assortment of eye witnesses, no one has ever been able to identify the man Bobo was seen with that afternoon and nearly 50 years later her case remains open.
LISTEN NOW
Sources:
Jul 26, 1978, page 8 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jul 26, 1978, page 4 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jul 26, 1978, page 13 - The Times at Newspapers.com
May 19, 1979, page 14 - The Times at Newspapers.com
May 19, 1979, page 8 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jun 05, 1979, page 10 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Nov 22, 1979, page 16 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Nov 23, 1979, page 13 - The Springfield News-Leader at Newspapers.com
Nov 25, 1979, page 7 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Nov 26, 1979, page 9 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Nov 26, 1979, page 3 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Dec 11, 1979, page 2 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Dec 11, 1979, page 1 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jul 20, 1992, page 9 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jul 26, 1978, page 2 - The Monitor at Newspapers.com
Oct 27, 1978, page 1 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Oct 27, 1978, page 4 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Nov 04, 1979, page 17 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Nov 21, 1979, page 12 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Nov 22, 1979, page 14 - The Shreveport Journal at Newspapers.com
Jan 01, 1980, page 5 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jan 01, 1980, page 1 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jan 13, 1980, page 24 - Springfield Leader and Press at Newspapers.com
Jan 14, 1980, page 4 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jan 14, 1980, page 4 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Jan 14, 1980, page 1 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jan 15, 1980, page 3 - Paragould Daily Press at Newspapers.com
Jan 18, 1980, page 8 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Jan 18, 1980, page 5 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Jan 18, 1980, page 10 - Springfield Leader and Press at Newspapers.com
Jun 13, 1981, page 14 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jun 29, 1983, page 11 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jun 30, 1983, page 20 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Dec 10, 1983, page 20 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Dec 10, 1983, page 5 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Dec 11, 1983, page 3 - The Daily World at Newspapers.com
Oct 30, 1984, page 1 - The Shreveport Journal at Newspapers.com
Oct 30, 1984, page 5 - The Shreveport Journal at Newspapers.com
Sep 02, 1986, page 1 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Sep 02, 1986, page 3 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Sep 03, 1986, page 9 - Baxter Bulletin at Newspapers.com
Sep 03, 1986, page 16 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jul 20, 1992, page 3 - Daily American Republic at Newspapers.com
Jul 06, 2011, page 9 - The Times at Newspapers.com
Jul 19, 2011, page 4 - Batesville Guard at Newspapers.com
Blytheville Courier News, Jul 22, 1978, p. 16
Benton Courier, Jul 24, 1978, p. 1 | NewspaperArchive
Blytheville Courier News, Jul 25, 1978, p. 1
Benton Courier, Jul 25, 1978, p. 1 | NewspaperArchive
Blytheville Courier News, Jul 31, 1978, p. 20
Blytheville Courier News, Oct 27, 1978, p. 4
Benton Courier, Oct 27, 1978, p. 3 | NewspaperArchive
Blytheville Courier News, Nov 3, 1979, p. 4
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, Nov 21, 1979, p. 3
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, Nov 25, 1979, p. 6
Benton Courier, Dec 12, 1979, p. 10 | NewspaperArchive
Blytheville Courier News, Jan 14, 1980, p. 4
Blytheville Courier News, Dec 10, 1983, p. 1
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, Feb 2, 1984, p. 20
Blytheville Courier News, Sep 2, 1986, p. 10
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, Sep 3, 1986, p. 17
Blytheville Courier News, Jul 20, 1992, p. 1
Brownsville Herald, Jun 17, 1984, p. 22 | NewspaperArchive
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 9/5/1993 P1
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 9/5/93 P2
Arkansad Democrat Gazette 9/5/93 P3
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 9/15/24
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 5/7/2023
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 10/5/14
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 10/8/12
Batesville Daily Guard 7/19/11
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 6/28/11
Magnolia Gothic | Arkansas Life
44-year-old mystery of “Bobo Shinn” still haunts small Arkansas city | KTVE - myarklamiss.com
Mary Jimmie “Bobo” Shinn: Murder Mystery - AY Magazine
Memorial service remembers the late Mary Jimmie
This AR teacher has been missing for 46 years
Sheriff Still Haunted by 1978 Disappearance of Magnolia Woman Mary Bobo Shinn
Mary Jimmie "Bobo" Shinn - Arkansas Department of Public Safety
Arkansas’s cold cases: Mary Jimmie ‘Bobo’ Shinn
Missing Person / NamUs #MP10738 | NamUs
Missing Persons - Columbia County Sheriff AR
Memorial service remembers the late Mary Jimmie "Bobo" Shinn | Local News | magnoliareporter.com
Obituary information for Mary Shinn
Mary Shinn | International Missing Persons Wiki | Fandom
Web Extra: What Happened to Bobo Shinn?
Journalist on case, 33 years later | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Arkansas' Best News Source
Renewed Investigation in 1978 Disappearance of Magnolia Woman
Cold Case: Missing Woman Case Reopened After 30 Years
Mary Jimmie Shinn - Arkansas Missing Person Directory
Missing Arkansas Woman Vanished in 1978
About Us - Arkansas Department of Public Safety