A Week Later, and No Trace of Missing Philadelphia College Student

Someone, somewhere knows what happened to Shane Montgomery.

At least that’s what the family of the 21-year-old college student, who has been missing for nearly a week, is hoping.

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Montgomery, a Roxborough native, has now garnered national attention.

Montgomery, a West Chester University student, was out with friends at an Irish pub in the Philadelphia suburb of Manayunk the night before Thanksgiving. At some point, he was separated from his friends. He left the bar around 1:45 a.m., onto busy Main Street in Manayunk, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Now, his family is doing all they can to spread their story with the hopes that someone, somewhere, has information that will help investigators find him.

The story of Montgomery’s disappearance has been aired on NBC’s Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America. People Magazine has covered the story and NBC News recently included Montgomery on its “Missing in America” list.

“We are confounded because we don’t know what happened,” First Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross said in an interview with People.

What makes the situation so puzzling, investigators say, is the lack of surveillance footage or eyewitness accounts that could help lead them to Montgomery. Police have searched the nearby canal, which had no trace of Montgomery, and officials say no one has used his credit cards since he closed out his $17 tab at Kildare’s early Thursday morning.

The search for Montgomery, who friends and family describe as “fun” and “loving,” began Thursday. When he didn’t return after a night out, his family knew something was amiss.

Since then, police and the FBI have joined the effort. Billboards and posters with Montgomery’s photos as well as a Facebook page have been created.

But so far, investigators say they have no leads.

According to authorities, the last ping to Montgomery’s cellphone was around 2:30 a.m. less than a mile from the bar.

Friends, family and volunteers have scoured the area and helped put up posters. Kidare’s, the bar where Montgomery was last seen and where one of his relatives works, has chipped in $10,000 towards the reward money.

The community has rallied around the Montgomery family. Businesses have donated supplies, like flyers, to help the search effort and restaurants have fed volunteers. Last weekend, Manayunk cancelled its tree lighting event and a candlelight vigil was held instead at Canal View Park.

Meanwhile, Montgomery’s family is desperate for information. In addition to spreading their message on national television, the family has created a website with photos and details.

Montgomery is described as 5’11” tall, about 130 pounds with short brown hair and green eyes. He has a tattoo of a Celtic cross on his shoulder blade. He was last seen wearing a gray button-down shirt, blue jeans, a gray hooded sweatshirt and black sneakers.

Anyone with information about Montgomery should immediately contact Philadelphia Police at (215) 686-3353.