Unsolved Mysteries documents the kidnapping of Shane Walker and implores viewers with information to contact the show — so what updates have there been in the case since filming? Directed by Jessica Dimmock, "Stolen Kids" chronicles the subject's 1989 disappearance from the Martin Luther King Towers in Harlem, New York, just three months after another young child was kidnapped from the same location. In both cases, authorities theorized that the victims might've been part of a baby-selling ring, allowing for desperate people to raise children of their own. "Stolen Kids" released as part of Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2 in October 2020 on Netflix.
Shane disappeared on August 10, 1989. In Unsolved Mysteries, his mother Rosa Glover recalls that two local kids wanted to play with her 19-month-old, and so she agreed and watched them from a park bench. Meanwhile, a man sat next to Rosa and briefly distracted her. Rosa then discovered that Shane had disappeared and later told authorities about the suspicious people she had encountered (who were later cleared as suspects). In the Unsolved Mysteries episode, various interviewees link Shane's disappearance with that of Christopher Dansby from three months prior, as both were taken on a Thursday around 5 to 7 p.m. when the park was extremely busy.
While a retired NYC police inspector named Ken Lindahl discusses the baby-selling theory in Unsolved Mysteries by dismissing the notion as "not likely," according to Robert Lowery — the Vice President of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children — there's a strong chance both Walker and the other missing toddler were kidnapped for such purposes. Lowery suggests Walker's case could potentially be similar to that of Carlina White, a Harlem infant who disappeared in 1987 during a hospital visit for a fever. Twenty-three years later, an Atlanta woman named Nejdra "Netty" Nance discovered that she was indeed the missing Carlina White, and that her alleged birth mother Annugetta "Ann" Pettway had kidnapped her in 1987. In Unsolved Mysteries, forensic artist Colin McNally develops a composite sketch of what Shane Walker may look like in the present, with the hopes that someone watching would recognize him and come forward.
There haven't been any major developments in Shane's case since Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2 released in October 2020. However, A Reddit user recently pointed out some chilling information that's part of the case file at The Charley Project. In the "Details of Disappearance" section, there's a thorough account of the mystery park bench man that Glover references in the Netflix docuseries:
He spoke about crime and mentioned kidnapping, saying "things happen to children," and pointed to scars on himself which he said were from fighting.
Another Reddit user points out that Shane's mother, Rosa (who was ruled out as a suspect), obtained a life insurance policy on her son just days before he disappeared, presumably because she was worried about the dangers of an upcoming flight to Florida with Shane. When "Stolen Kids" premiered as part of Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2 in October 2020, Shane would've been 32 years old. He can be identified through a chin scar and a birthmark on the back of his shoulder.