Victim’s advocate Lindsay Turner (right) speaks alongside Greg Wallce (left), the father of Brittany Nichole Wallace Shank, during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, advocating that the county encourage the Sheriff’s Department to hand over the case of Shank’s 2018 disappearance to Michigan State Police.
By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
CENTREVILLE — Advocates and family members of Brittany Nichole Wallace Shank are pushing for St. Joseph County officials to take more action on the unsolved case of her disappearance.
During public comment at Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, Lindsay Turner, a victim’s advocate with Can’t Stop Won’t Stop LLC, spoke alongside Shank’s father, Greg Wallace, requesting that the county urge the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department to hand over Shank’s case to Michigan State Police.
“Today, you can look at the face of the man who will continue to fight relentlessly for St. Joseph County to give his daughter’s unsolved case to MSP in its entirety, the same case that you have been in control of for 2,118 days,” Turner said, referencing Wallace’s appearance.
Shank was last seen in the 33000 block of Fawn River Road in Sturgis around 9 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2018, when she reportedly had left her grandmother’s house accompanied by an unknown male. Her car was found in a ditch a few miles away, and Shank showed up at a nearby house to call for help. Witnesses said she was not wearing a coat or shoes at the time, and her feet and arms were scratched and bleeding.
A resident helped Shank call 911, but before the call ended, she had left that residence and went to another home. The identity of the man she was with is still unknown to this day.
In the past couple of years, the family has also asked for the case to be reclassified as a homicide instead of a missing person case. A community rally was also held in March 2023 to encourage law enforcement to keep moving forward with the case.
In her comments to the board, Turner said she had sent multiple emails to commissioners about the case in recent weeks, with the only response coming from Fifth District Commissioner Dennis Allen. She added that on May 2, Wallace had officially requested that the case be transferred to MSP, and according to emails Turner presented, the lead detective on the case in St. Joseph County replied with, “That’s not how things work.”
Turner heavily disputed that response, citing an email conversation she had with MSP Det. Sgt. Todd Peterson, who reportedly told Turner that they don’t take over cases unless the sheriff’s department asks them to do so, or a prosecutor request they take it over. She said she also requested a meeting with the lead detective and Peterson, but they have not had a meeting as of yet.
“We have quietly allowed St. Joe [County] four and a half months to do the right thing and give Brittany’s case to MSP. They have more expertise and resources readily available. But we aren’t going to be quiet anymore in our fight. We’re ready to let the community know the truth. It’s time to let the community know that if and when your loved one goes missing, these are the same detectives that will be on their case,” Turner said. “The community needs to know how St. Joe [County] treats victims and their families.”
Turner said that MSP has “more detectives ready and a whole lot more empathy” to solve Shank’s disappearance.
“You all have the authority, you all have the
