Missing
Christopher Nathan Shipley
Shipley, approximately 2001; Timothy Bennett
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/04/2001
Missing location (approx) :
Riley County, Kansas
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
Age at the time of disappearance: 18 years old
Height / Weight : 5'9, 130 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Shipley's nickname is Chris.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Shipley was last seen in Riley County, Kansas on December 4, 2001. He and two fellow Kansas State University (KSU) students, Kyle Chapman and Timothy Michael Bennett, decided to go sailing after the day's classes were over. Chapman owned a yellow fifteen-foot racing sailboat.
The three of them set out from the Blue Valley Yacht Club in the Tuttle Cove area on the west side of Tuttle Creek Lake, leaving their shoes on the dock. They never returned home.
Two days later, their boat was later found empty and adrift on the lake, its keel and rudder detached, and the jib sail in its bag inside the boat. That same day, Bennett's body was found in Carnahan Creek on the east side of the lake, half a mile from the boat, still wearing his life jacket. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. Chapman and Shipley were not located in spite of an extensive search.
Bennett, Chapman and Shipley were all experienced sailors, qualified sailing instructors and Eagle Scouts. The weather was unseasonably mild, with temperatures reaching as high as the seventies, but sailing conditions that day were reportedly "terrible" with strong winds. Authorities believe they ran into trouble in the water.
Shipley was involved in the band at Olathe South High School in Olathe, Kansas. He was majoring in animal sciences at KSU, was a member of the university marching band, and lived on campus in Marlatt Hall. His body, and Chapman's, have never been found.
Other information and links : ncy
Riley County Police Department
Kansas Bureau of Investigation
785-296-4017
September 2021 updates and sources
Kansas Bureau of Investigation
The Manhattan Mercury
The St. Joseph News-Press
Find a Grave
October 12, 2004. October 7, 2019; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
