JENNIFER SHORT - 9 yo (2002) - Henry County VA

The FBI is attempting to identify anyone who may have had contact with Jennifer Short during the summer of 2002.

Jennifer Renee Short

Nine-year-old Jennifer's parents, Michael and Mary, were found shot to death in the family's Henry County Home on Aug. 15, 2002.Jennifer
was found to be missing, setting off a national Amber Alert and a
search for the girl. More than a month later, her remains were found
under a bridge in Rockingham County, about 30 miles from the Shorts'
home.Agents are seeking information from anyone who had contact with Jennifer from June 1, 2002 and Aug. 14, 2002."For
instance, there may be a coach, teacher, friend, parent, and or
neighbor, who was in contact with Jennifer through such events and/or
activities as softball, dance, church, birthday parties, etc.," the
FBI's Web site read.Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI Tip Line at 800-225-5324.

Reward Increased to $100k in Short Family Murders

Staff Writer

11:28 AM EDT, August 13, 2010
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WGHP) - Authorities investigating the 2002 slayings of a Southside Virginia family increased the reward for information that cracks the case to $100,000 Friday, but the fattened prize will only be available for a limited time.

Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry said the increased reward, which is good through February, is an attempt to shake loose information about the murders of Michael, Mary and Jennifer Short.

"We firmly believe that there are a couple people out there that have key information that we need to know that they're not letting go of," Perry said. "This is an opportunity for someone to do the right thing to bring a heinous killer to justice and to obtain life-changing money in the process.

"What it offers a community and a family is closure, healing and solution."

Sunday will mark eight years since Michael and Mary Short were found dead inside their ranch home in Bassett, along busy U.S. 220. Michael, 50, was found dead in his garage, while Mary, 36, was inside the home. Both had been shot in the head.

The remains of the couple's 9-year-old daughter, Jennifer, were found six weeks later in Rockingham County, N.C., about 30 miles south of her home. She also died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

The small, wooden bridge that covered her remains was later renamed the "Jennifer Renee Short Memorial Bridge."

Last year, authorities released a sketch of a man seen near the couple's home the morning that Michael and Mary Short's bodies were discovered and asked for help locating former employees of Michael Short's mobile home moving business.

Investigators also recently traveled to South Carolina, where the Shorts planned to move so Michael Short could relocate his business.

Perry said members of the task force have agreed not to release details of their investigation, including whether they have a suspect.

"This case has always kept a special place because of what happened to a child," Perry said. "People just don't want to let it go."

His department still has one person dedicated full-time to the case.

Authorities do not know what happened to Jennifer during her abduction, something Perry said haunts the community "where something happens on one end of county strikes the heart of the other end of the county."

"It's an entire region that is just left with that question -- what happened -- and I think they're fearful of what happened," he said.

The reward has stood at $67,000 for years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation contributed $20,000, and the county chipped in the rest to boost the reward to $100,000.

Of that, more than half has been donated from a county government in an area of the state where the closing of textile and furniture factories have led to the state's highest unemployment rate.

Perry said those with information should be assured that the reward will be decreased if not used so that it can be used elsewhere.

"If they want to take advantage of this, it is time to step up to the plate," he said.
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-short-murder-case-100813,0,5902944.story

Update: FBI Releases Sketch For Person Of Interest In Short Family Murder

Oak Level, Virginia -- The FBI has released a long-awaited sketch of a man thought to be in the vicinity of the family's home six years ago.

The FBI says the sketch pictured is an unidentified man observed sitting in a vehicle along U.S. Highway 220 near the family's home the morning of August 15, 2002.

In mid-January, the FBI released a sketch of the vehicle mentioned in the update.

The vehicle is described as a 1998-2002, white, single-cab, two-ton flatbed stake body truck with wooden rails.

The FBI first asked for any information identifying a vehicle in September 2008. At that time, FBI Special Agent Mark MacKizer said the task force investigating the slayings didn't want to make its search too narrow. He said authorities wanted reports on any suspicious vehicles that could be connected to the crime.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-225-5324.

On August 15, 2002, the bodies of Mike and Mary Short were found inside of their Basset, Va. home. A month later, the partial remains of their missing daughter, Jennifer, were discovered near a creek in Rockingham County. Investigators say all three were shot to death.

After six years, the triple homicide remains unsolved
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=119306&catid=57

NASCAR TEAM DRAWS ATTENTION TO SHORT FAMILY MURDERS


October 24, 2010)

The Extenze race team put a decal on the back of their race car with a picture and reward information on the Short family murders.
A large decal sits prominently across the trunk of the Extenze race car. On it, a picture of Michael, Mary, and Jennifer Short and the Crimestoppers phone numbers are visible for everyone to see."The Short family murders have had a big impact in this area,” said driver Kevin Conway.Conway usually drives the number 7 Toyota, but handed over the keys to team mate Robby Gordon in a last minute driver change. Conway says the team gave up their ad space to help solve a mystery in the community."It's unbelievable that a case like that where somebody can go in and murder a family and their nine year old daughter and the case have no leads and no closure here eight years after,” said Conway.He says also they put the recently upped 100,000 dollar reward right across the back to grab everyone's attention.Conway says putting the ad on the car is about more than just the people here in Martinsville seeing it. It's also for the people watching on TV."Putting this ad on the car gets this notice out internationally, so being able to do that is just a tremendous plus to this federal task," said Major Steven Eanes.Eanes is apart of the task force and says there's a good chance someone who knows something will see the decal."This just puts another big billboard out there all across the country... And we're hoping it will just plug the memory of whoever has this one piece of the puzzle that we're missing, to solve this case,” said Eanes.Driver Robbie Gordon gets ready for the race, hoping to move to the front so the decal on his rear will get as much face time as possible.http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2010/oct/24/nascar-team-draws-attention-short-family-murders-ar-583780/

Short family murders unsolved after 10 years

Posted on: 8:19 am, August 13, 2012
by Scott Wise
by Carter Coyle

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) – This week marks the 10th anniversary of the brutal murder of a Virginia family and the crime still remains unsolved.

Michael and Mary Short were found shot and killed in their Virginia home on August 15, 2002. On September 25 that year, their nine-year-old daughter Jennifer was found dead in a creek 35 miles away.

Flowers, angels, teddy bears still marking the bridge over the creek in Stoneville, North Carolina where Jennifer Short’s remains were found.

Lisa Albert-Vaughn said she still remembers her father calling deputies when his dog found Jennifer’s remains weeks after her parents were murdered.

We’d heard they were murdered and that the little girl was still missing. We were praying they’d find her alive. Never in a million years did we think they’d find her in North Carolina, let alone on our property,” she said.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said any homicide case involving a family and children hits home in a tight-knit community.

“Ten years later, there is not a place I can go in Rockingham County that someone doesn’t ask me about the Short case. I tell them, investigators are still working and the case is still open.”

Every year, motorcyclists gather to ride 35 miles from the Short’s home in Basset, Virginia to the Grogan Road bridge now named for Jennifer Short.

We will continue doing this until the case is solved,” Sheriff Page said.

This year, nearly two hundred people participated in the Short family memorial ride Sunday.

“Somebody knows something, and somebody needs to come forward,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn’s father died earlier this year without ever knowing who killed Jennifer. She said the unsolved case haunted him for a decade after he found her body.

“He would try to remember anything he might have missed,” Vaughn said. “It was so sad. You just think this could have been my child or my grandchild. What would you do?”

“This case has taken us from Henry County to Rockingham County, to Canada and South Carolina. We will keep working to solve it and bring this killer or killers to justice,” Sheriff Page said.

There is still a $100,000 reward for anyone who has information about the Short family’s killer.

http://wtvr.com/2012/08/13/short-family-murders/

Eleven Years Since Short Family Murder in Henry County

Posted: Aug 15, 2013 3:36 PM CDT
By Heather Rosenbaum

Henry Co., VA - Thursday marks 11 years since the Short family murders and killings that still haunt the Henry County community. Investigators are still working that case and promising they will not give up.

It was in 2002 that Michael and Mary Short's bodies were discovered inside their Henry County home. A month later, 9-year-old Jennifer Short's body was found in North Carolina. Ever since, people here have been praying for a break in the case.

"Every time you are on 220 and you go by the house, you think of it. Every time," said Ray Reynolds.

Aside from living across the street from the Short family, he never got very close to them. But he always saw them around.

"The night before I saw them at one of the convenient stores right behind their house. I saw the father and the little girl getting something to eat and I stopped by and was waiting in line and the little girl was just running around, laughing," said Reynolds.

But on August 15, 2002 he remembers seeing nearly a dozen police cars in their yard, where 9-year-old Jennifer used to play.

"At that time I was in shock," said Reynolds.

The Henry County Sheriff's Office says Mary and Michael Short were found dead in their home from gunshot wounds. Jennifer's body was found that September in a North Carolina creek.

"This is one of the more horrific tragic incidents of our community," said Sheriff Lane Perry.

Perry says over the years, they've had persons of interest, but just haven't been able to make an arrest. Since last year, though, Perry says they've had more leads than the past 5 to 6 years combined.

"We're working those leads that are coming in and really the community is digging deep," said Perry.

Perry remains hopeful that one day justice will be served.

"It will be a sad victory, but it will be a victory for everyone," said Perry.

If you have any information you are asked to call Crimestoppers at (276) 63-CRIME.


http://www.wset.com/story/23149671/eleven-years-since-short-family-murder-in-henry-county