20 years later: Family of missing Beech Island woman still seeks answers

Sep. 9—Twenty years ago, Lisa Marie Shuttleworth disappeared from her Beech Island home without a trace.

Her disappearance has left her friends and children to wonder if her case will ever be solved.

"Twenty years doesn't make it any easier," said Lisa's daughter, Krystina Shuttleworth.

In 2003, Lisa Marie Shuttleworth, a mother of two children, disappeared without a trace. Since then, her family and friends have wanted some form of closure. The family hasn't gotten any answers, and police don't have any new information on the case.

"I am aggravated that nothing has been done," Krystina said.

Lisa was first reported missing by her mother Lorraine Mabrey on Sept. 5, 2003. She had not been seen or heard from since Sept. 4, 2003, according to an incident report from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

Mabrey stated the last person Lisa spoke with was her daughter Krystina, who was 14 years old at the time, on the phone, the report said.

The report said Lisa was at her residence on Miller Street in Beech Island and she was supposed to pick up her son Ryan Shuttleworth from his bus stop around 3:30 p.m. but she never showed up.

Ryan began to walk to his house when a neighbor drove by and took Ryan home, the report said.

The neighbor waited for Lisa to come home, but she never showed up; Mabrey advised police that up until the time of the initial report, Lisa had not contacted her regarding her children, the report said.

Mabrey told police her daughter had never left the children before, has no history of drug use or not coming home on schedule and wasn't in a relationship; she had also contacted all the medical hospitals, the report said.

Lisa was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with unknown writing on the front, pink or gray sweatpants and was carrying her pager, according to NamUs, a website that lists missing persons across the country.

Lisa's information was given to the National Crime Information Center for Missing Endangered Persons, NamUs and other cities, the report said.

Additionally, some of her mitochondrial DNA was submitted to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

The family said the police told them there was no physical evidence related to Lisa's disappearance and the door was locked.

Police said it looked like she just left, but the family disagrees.

According to the incident report, Lisa's case is still active but the family says they haven't heard from police about the case in 10 years.

"No one has even tried to reach out to say they have thought about our case," Krystina said.

Lisa's friend, Joy Groomes Arangilan, said she remembers the day like it was yesterday and how Krystina called her to tell her that her mother wasn't at home. Krystina said she told her mom she was going to ride home with a friend and her mom had asked her to call.

When her mother didn't answer her pager, Krystina said she knew something was wrong.

"It just does not seem real and it took a few days to sink in," she said.

Krystina said not knowing what happened to her mother is one thing she and her brother still struggle with.

Ryan spoke with an investigator on the case, and said he still wasn't getting the information he was seeking in his mother's case.

Groomes Arangilan and Lisa's children have relied on outside resources like NamUs, and Groomes Arangilan wants to get Lisa's DNA listed with national missing persons databases.

Ryan has even tried to hire outside investigators to look at his mom's case with no luck.

"This family is suffering ... people need to come forward if they think it was hear-say or not," Groomes Arangilan said.

Groomes Arangilan who was dealing with the loss of her sons at the same time Lisa went missing, said she understands what the Shuttleworth family has been through.

Groomes Arangilan said the children went down a bad path for a while, while Lisa's mother and father couldn't handle not knowing what happened to their daughter.

"My grandparents stepped up to the plate when they didn't have to, and they were amazing people," Krystina said. "Papi passed away not knowing what happened to his baby."

Groomes Arangilan said she remembers the nights when she kept on paging Lisa and wouldn't get a response. She said her heart breaks for the children.

"The family deserves better," Groomes Arangilan said.

"We quit putting hope in law and we put our hope and faith in Jesus," Ryan Shuttleworth said.

Groomes Arangilan said in the beginning, she and Lisa's children had hope, but once the contact with law enforcement stopped, it faded.

Groomes Arangilan hopes that someone will speak up will spark an interest in getting the police to look at the case.

The family just wants to bring Lisa home so she can have a property burial and they can say goodbye.

Remembering Lisa

"We know one day we will see her again," Groomes Arangilan said.

The family and Groomes Arangilan have started a Facebook page called Remembering Lisa Marie Shuttleworth. The family has posts on the page so Lisa will not be forgotten.

When days are bad the family thinks about all the good times they shared with Lisa.

Groomes Arangilan said her friend was a good mother and remembered how Lisa got a piñata for her son.

Krystina remembers how she and her mom and Groomes Arangilan had a tomato fight. She said everyone had a hard time getting the tomatoes off once they got home.

Krystina also remembers how her mother would play loud music while she cleaned the house and even when the two would have an argument, her mom would still find ways to make her smile.

"She always had a way to make me smile when I got home," she said.

Groomes Arangilan said she has had many friends in her life, but no ne can replace the friendship she had with Lisa.

"The world really lost a beautiful person," Groomes Arangilan said. "Lisa and I will never have another one like her."

Groomes Arangilan and Lisa's children want the Aiken community to remember Lisa's case so it won't be forgotten and finding out what happened is important.

The Aiken Standard reached out to local police with questions on updates on the case and didn't get a response.