A Family Erased

Introduction: A Family Erased

Oak Level, Virginia is little more than a stop on a map for many. With a population of less than a thousand—a number that has only decreased with time—the small community sits quietly just outside of Bassett, about an hour south of Roanoke and an hour north of Greensboro, North Carolina. Here, along U.S. Route 220, a busy thoroughfare in the region, the Short family made their home at 10820 Virginia Avenue.

The Short Family

Despite their age difference, Michael and Mary eventually met, began a romantic relationship, and married. Together they had one child, a daughter named Jennifer Renee Short, born on July 12, 1993. By the summer of 2002, Jennifer was a bright, cheerful nine-year-old, set to begin the fourth grade at Figsboro Elementary School in Martinsville. According to family members, Michael and Mary were extremely protective of Jennifer. Frank Arrington, Michael’s uncle, would later recall: “They were very protective of Jennifer, extremely protective. They worshipped the ground she walked on.”

Those who knew the Shorts described them as a private but loving family. Michael owned and operated M.S. Mobile Home Movers, a business that transported mobile homes throughout the region. Mary had previously worked factory jobs, including as a seamstress at the Pluma Inc. plant until it closed in 1999. Jennifer was known to be close with her parents, a sweet girl who rarely strayed far from home except for occasional visits to the nearby Circle C convenience store, just a few hundred feet from their house.

One of the Short’s closest neighbors, Ruby Emberson, would later recall: “They were always outdoors together in the yard mowing the grass or whatever. They seemed as happy as could be.”

The Murders

By 2002, however, the family was facing financial difficulties. Michael’s mobile home moving business had begun to falter in the new millennium. The family had put their home on the market, planning to temporarily move into a mobile home of their own. As recounted by their real estate agent, Marlene Dalton: “Mr. Short said business was just slow. He said, ‘I’ve got a trailer of my own and we’re going to move and live in that for a while.'”

Throughout 2002, Michael reportedly considered moving the family to South Carolina, a state where he had conducted a lot of business in the past. He viewed the possibility as a fresh start, a place for Mary and him to raise their nine-year-old daughter. That spring and summer, he made several trips to coastal cities in South Carolina—Bennettsville, Conway, Florence, and Myrtle Beach—exploring job opportunities and possibly scouting locations for the family’s new home.

But they would never get that chance to start anew.

The Investigation

The morning of Thursday, August 15, 2002, began as planned for Chris Thompson. He arrived at the Short family home just before 9:00 AM. He and Michael were supposed to drive to Christiansburg to pick up a truck for Michael’s mobile home moving business.

When he got to the house, Thompson noticed the garage door was open and assumed Michael would be inside, either sleeping or working on a truck. Michael often slept on a couch in the garage so his snoring wouldn’t disturb Mary. This was a habit known to family and friends—and potentially to whoever committed the crime.

Inside the garage, Thompson found Michael lying on the couch. As he approached, he realized Michael wasn’t sleeping. The 50-year-old business owner had been shot once in the head with what appeared to be a small-caliber weapon. Some reports, though unconfirmed by official sources, suggest that Michael’s body was found nude.

Horrified, Thompson called the police. When officers from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office arrived, they conducted a search of the home and discovered the body of 36-year-old Mary Short in the couple’s bedroom. Like her husband, she had been shot once in the head while sleeping. There was no sign of a struggle from either victim. Investigators would later note that Mary’s mattress had been moved about two inches and her pillow was found on the bedroom floor, possibly indicating some disturbance after she was killed.

But the most chilling discovery wasn’t a body at all—it was the absence of one. Missing from the scene was the couple’s nine-year-old daughter, Jennifer.

Jennifer’s bedroom was empty. Her bed was unmade, her pillow was found on the floor, and the bed appeared to have been moved about two inches from its normal position. Investigators also discovered that the phone lines to the house had been cut, indicating that whoever had committed this crime had planned it in advance. This level of premeditation immediately suggested to investigators that this was not a random act of violence or a burglary gone wrong.

Approximately $600 in cash sat untouched on the kitchen counter, ruling out robbery as a motive. A troubling message was found written on the garage window: “I’m glad to see.” Investigators weren’t sure if this was related to the crime or simply an innocuous message left by a family member.

By early afternoon, an Amber Alert was issued for Jennifer Short—the first use of the area’s Amber Alert system in the Washington D.C. metro area. News broadcasts nationwide carried Jennifer’s picture and the story of her parents’ brutal murder.

Speaking to the press, Henry County Sheriff’s Captain Kimmy Nester stated: “Nobody knows where this child is. That’s not normal. The family is all in shock.”

Jennifer’s Remains

As the investigation into the double homicide began, a massive search operation was launched to find Jennifer. The initial theory was that the young girl might have escaped from the home when her parents were killed and could be lost in the surrounding wilderness.

Search and rescue teams utilized ATVs and horses to navigate the rolling hills behind the family’s home. Police brought in canine units, and when rainfall began to hamper search efforts, a helicopter was deployed to search from above. Volunteers, many of them local residents, joined in combing the area alongside law enforcement.

Bloodhounds were brought in to try and track Jennifer’s scent, but they were only able to pick up her trail in places where police already knew she had been—such as the family’s home and the Circle C convenience store next door. Investigators also searched a small pond near the Short home, the only sizeable body of water in the area, as well as the Circle C motel, which had been known to attract transients in the past. Neither search produced any leads.

For six agonizing weeks, the whereabouts of Jennifer Short remained unknown. Then, on September 25, 2002, Eddie Albert, a resident of Stoneville, North Carolina, made a disturbing discovery on his property. His dogs had brought home what he initially thought was a piece of a wig. Believing it to be just that, he threw the hair into his trash. Two days later, the dogs returned with another grisly find—what first appeared to be a turtle shell but which Albert quickly realized was a piece of a human skull.

The remains were sent for DNA testing, and on October 4, 2002, officials confirmed what many had feared: the remains belonged to nine-year-old Jennifer Short. Like her parents, she had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head from a small-caliber weapon.

Suspects and Leads

Even as the community mourned the loss of the entire Short family, investigators began pursuing leads. One of the first potential suspects to emerge was a 66-year-old carpenter named Garrison Bowman.

On October 15, 2002, police announced they were seeking Bowman, describing him as a “material witness” in the case. According to reports, Bowman had fled to Canada the day after the murders, weeks before Jennifer’s remains were discovered.

The investigation would take a shocking turn in 2005 when U.S. Attorney John Brownlee revealed that three men—Timothy Fennon Sampson, Jerry Riley Mills, and Tony Lee Epperson—had been charged with perjury and providing false information to law enforcement.

These men had claimed to have seen Garrison Bowman leaving the Short home with Jennifer on the night of the murders. Their false statements had led investigators to focus extensively on Bowman, wasting countless hours pursuing leads that went nowhere. The men reportedly had hoped to collect reward money by linking Bowman to the crime, regardless of the impact on his life or the investigation.

Aftermath and Legacy

In 2007, police officially announced that Garrison Bowman was no longer a suspect in the unsolved triple murder. Bowman, who continued to deny any involvement in the crimes until his death in December 2014, told the News & Record of Greensboro in 2004: “This will hang over me for the rest of my life, unless they find the person who did it.”

Another significant blow to the investigation came in 2006 when several members of the Henry County Sheriff’s Office—including Sheriff H.F. Cassell himself—were indicted for corruption. Approximately a dozen officers had conspired to sell drugs and guns seized from criminals, falsely reporting them as destroyed in official paperwork. Their actions had helped support a drug distribution and money laundering operation in the region.

This scandal not only permanently damaged the integrity of the department but cast a shadow over its handling of the Short family investigation. If the investigators in charge had been corrupt, questions arose about their motivations and thoroughness in pursuing the case.

A bridge in Rockingham County, North Carolina, where Jennifer’s remains were found, was renamed the Jennifer Renee Short Memorial Bridge. It became the site of annual memorial motorcycle rides organized by the community to raise awareness about the case. Ray Reynolds, a former neighbor of the Shorts, has been one of the most vocal advocates, organizing these events to honor the family and keep the case in the public eye.

Current Status

In October 2021, nearly 19 years after the murders, the case was officially reopened with a new multi-agency task force dedicated to solving the Short family murders. The team included representatives from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Despite the passing of more than two decades, the murders of Michael, Mary, and Jennifer Short remain unsolved. The case continues to be the Henry County Sheriff’s Office’s longest-running active investigation. A reward of $62,500 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

The FBI has provided a list of 19 clues to help solve the mystery, requesting information about anyone who had contact with Jennifer between June 1, 2002, and August 14, 2002—including coaches, teachers, friends, neighbors, or other acquaintances who might have interacted with her at activities such as softball, dance, church, or birthday parties.

If you have any information about the murders of Michael, Mary, and Jennifer Short, please contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-225-5324 or the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at (276) 638-8751.

The investigation continues.