Sheriff's detectives locate missing mother of four at King County grocery store



UPDATE Oct. 25, 2018 -- 

Pierce County Sheriff's deputies say Shantel Holznagel was found last night by the King County Sheriff’s Office at grocery store.  Initially, she gave a fake name to the deputy and then said she did not want to go home. She is no longer considered a missing person.

Oct. 19, 2018 -- 

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. -- Pierce County Sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help to locate a missing mother of four young kids.

29-year-old Shantel Holznagel was reported missing by her mom after her family failed to see or hear from her for several weeks.

“Our biggest fear is that she’s no longer with us,” said Shantel’s aunt, Kellee Evans.

Detectives say Shantel last texted a friend on August 9 at 7 am to come get her and nobody has seen or heard from her since.

“We’re looking for friends who can help us build a timeline because this is going to take a lot of work to figure out exactly when she disappeared,” said Pierce County Sheriff’s Det. Ed Troyer.

Detectives say there are rumors that Shantel was assaulted but the information is sketchy.  Investigators don’t know where the attack happened or who was involved. To complicate matters, Shantel has been known to live a transient lifestyle and has taken off in the past for long periods of time.

“Hopefully, we find her and everything’s ok but we are treating it as suspicious and probable foul play at this point until we learn something different,” said Det. Troyer.

Investigators say they have recently talked to two people who claimed they saw Shantel in King County but those witnesses declined to provide specifics.

Her family says she has been dealing with some personal issues and hanging out with a rough crowd.

“I just want my niece found. People know what has happened to her. Please call. Think of it as your own daughter,” said Evans.

The missing woman’s dad wants her to know that nobody is judging her lifestyle.

“Shantel, I’m here for you. If you don’t want to contact them, you can contact me. I will come and get you wherever you’re at and get you the help you need. I just want you to know I love you and we want you home where your kids want you,” he said.

Shantel is 5’7” tall, 150 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. She has several tattoos including the words “Angel face” on her back and an image of a diamond on her left ankle.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, you can remain anonymous.

Submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of TacomaPierce County by calling 1-800-222-TIPS or use the P3 Tips App you can download for free to your phone.

This is one of the cases being featured on Washington’s Most Wanted airing Friday at 11:30 pm on Q13 FOX and Saturday at 10 pm on JOEtv.