Sharon left her hometown of Eagle Butte, South Dakota on September 18, 1984. She and a friend were hitchhiking near Casper, WY when they were picked up by Royal Russell Long and taken to his home in Evansville, WY. Long tied the girls up at gunpoint. The friend was able to escape and went for help, but by the time police arrived, Long and Sharon were gone. Long was later arrested in Albuquerque, NM. Sharon wasn’t with him and denied knowing her whereabouts. Long pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to two life terms in prison. He died in prison in 1993.