In May 2014, 48-year-old Jennifer Cahill-Shadle was seen walking through a shopping center on North Atherton Street. That was the last time her whereabouts were confirmed. 

Cahill was running errands near Walmart, Simply Tan, and Dollar Tree. According to the Charley Project, the Simply Tan business owner said she came in soaking wet and claimed she lost her wallet. Her last confirmed sighting was on surveillance footage from the North Atherton Walmart.

Cahill lived with her husband, Sean Shadle, and their children in Ferguson County, Pennsylvania, for several years before they divorced. Sources claim that Cahill didn’t want to split up.

She moved to Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, with her mother while the divorce was finalized. Eventually, her mother said Cahill couldn’t stand being away from her children any longer, and she moved back to State College to be with them. She bounced between cheap motels and friends’ homes while she was in the area. She was last known to be staying in the Rodeway Inn.

She reportedly hoped to find an apartment and move back to the area permanently to be with her three children before she vanished.

Her father, Ed Cahill, told reporters that her husband had recently been ordered to pay her $5,000 a month in spousal support as part of the divorce. He was considered a person of interest, but the lead detective at the time, Jonathan Mayer, said they “investigated that angle thoroughly.”

Police did a lie detector test and searched her ex-husband’s property for human remains as the investigation went on, but nothing came up. No one has been charged in her case to this day.

No activity on her cellphone or any bank accounts was recorded after the day of her disappearance. She also had no luggage on her that evening. Family claims it is unlikely she would leave of her own will because of her children.

Her mother reported her missing to the Ferguson Township police five days after her last sighting, after not receiving any calls from her. At the time, she criticized the police, claiming they didn’t act quickly enough or handle the case correctly.

Cahill supposedly was involved in AA and battled alcoholism, but had it under control at the time of her last sighting.

In 2018, District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said it was a presumed homicide.

In 2023, Judge Jonathon Grine declared her legally dead, due to a Pennsylvania law that says someone must be declared legally dead if not heard from in seven years. Ray Gricar, another notable State College missing persons case, was also declared dead under this same law.

An active Facebook account still posts about her case, and her family hopes they will get the answers they are looking for one day. Anyone with information regarding Jennifer’s case is encouraged to contact the Ferguson Township police at (814) 237-1172.