Wilmington Police are seeking the assistance of the public following the positive identification of human remains found in July 2019.
On July 15 at approximately 12:20 p.m., police responded to the 500 block of South Walnut Street in reference to a possible human skull that was located. A subsequent investigation confirmed that the discovery was of human remains, and the skull was turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Sciences for further investigation. The skull was subsequently sent by the Division of Forensic Sciences to the University of North Texas for DNA analysis.
On March 31, investigators received a report positively identifying the remains as belonging to Nancy M. Shipley (Russum). She had been reported missing on April 8, 2013, out of Delaware State Police jurisdiction; she was 34-years-old at the time.
The cause of death has yet to be determined, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Brianna Rodrigues of the WPD Criminal Investigations Division at (302) 576-3971.
Shipley was last seen in Wilmington, Delaware on April 16, 2013. She may have been en route to Sussex County, Delaware at the time. She was never been heard from again. She was occasionally homeless prior to her disappearance and frequented 4th Street and Rodney Square according to a missing person database.
You can also provide information to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or delawarecrimestoppers.org.