‘Multiple suspects’ in case of missing Hobart woman whose body was recently found in Portage

The Portage Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance as it continues to piece together the case surrounding a missing Hobart woman whose remains were recently found in Portage.

The investigation into Shannon Orton’s disappearance and death are ongoing, according to a release from Portage Police, and there are “multiple suspects.”

Orton disappeared from Cressmoor Mobile Home Park in Hobart in the summer of 2020, according to a release from police. Portage detectives began investigating the cold case in the summer of 2023 after being contacted by the Hobart Police Department with new information.

According to media reports at the time of her disappearance, Orton, then 37 and a mother of two young children, was last seen at a Portage CVS in July 2020 one week after she had last had contact with her family.

Orton was reported missing to the Hobart Police Department on Sept. 30, 2020, according to an email from Nicholas Wardrip, the department’s assistant chief of support services. He referred further questions to the Portage Police Department, which is the lead agency in the investigation.

Portage Police did not immediately respond to a request for more information, including when and where Orton’s remains were found. A representative from the Porter County Coroner’s Office was not able to provide additional details.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Ms. Orton,” police said in the release.

Anyone with information about Orton’s disappearance and death is asked to contact Portage Detective Nicole Heuberger at (219) 764-5707 or nheuberger@portage-in.com.

alavalley@chicagotribune.com