Overview

Date last seen: December 18, 2006
Location: Vicinity of the 200 block of East Blackhawk Avenue, Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, Wisconsin
Age: 23
NamUs: MP295
Status: Remains missing; homicide conviction obtained, but Shannon’s remains have never been recovered.

Shannon L. Fischer disappeared from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on December 18, 2006. Nearly four years later, her boyfriend, Michael John Burroughs, went to police and confessed to killing her. Burroughs ultimately pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide and received a sentence totaling 31 years—25 years of initial confinement followed by six years of extended supervision. Despite the conviction, Shannon has never been located.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Shannon L. Fischer: 2006 Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Missing Person and Homicide Case

Brief Case Summary

Date last seen: December 18, 2006
Location: Vicinity of the 200 block of East Blackhawk Avenue, Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, Wisconsin
Age: 23
NamUs: MP295
Status: Remains missing; homicide conviction obtained, but Shannon’s remains have never been recovered.

Shannon L. Fischer disappeared from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on December 18, 2006. Nearly four years later, her boyfriend, Michael John Burroughs, went to police and confessed to killing her. Burroughs ultimately pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide and received a sentence totaling 31 years—25 years of initial confinement followed by six years of extended supervision. Despite the conviction, Shannon has never been located.

The Disappearance of Shannon Fischer

Shannon Lynn Fischer was 23 years old when she disappeared from Prairie du Chien on December 18, 2006. Wisconsin’s official missing-person listing says she was last seen at approximately 4:00 p.m. at a residence near the 200 block of East Blackhawk Avenue. The Charley Project identifies the location as her boyfriend’s residence.

At the time, Shannon was approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed roughly 135 to 140 pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes and may have worn eyeglasses. She may have been wearing a black coat and possibly had a black suitcase with her.

Shannon did not have a vehicle, driver’s license, permanent address or job at the time. She depended on friends and relatives for housing and transportation and moved frequently. These circumstances initially complicated the question of whether she had voluntarily gone somewhere else.

Shannon’s Family Realizes Something Is Wrong

According to The Charley Project, Shannon’s parents reported her missing on December 28, 2006, ten days after she was last seen. Their concern increased when Shannon failed to contact them during the Christmas holiday. Her family considered the silence highly unusual.

Shannon had disappeared temporarily once before, in 2004, when she traveled to Iowa. There was an important difference: during that earlier incident, she told friends about her plans and contacted her mother after arriving. No comparable communication occurred after December 18, 2006.

She also had two young children who were reportedly in foster care when she disappeared. According to The Charley Project, Shannon told her mother in late November 2006 that she was pregnant, although that reported pregnancy was never confirmed.

Michael Burroughs’ Account of December 18, 2006

Shannon’s boyfriend, Michael John Burroughs, initially said that he and Shannon had argued. According to published case summaries, he claimed that he wanted to end their relationship and told her to leave his apartment.

For almost four years, there was no confirmed explanation for what happened after Shannon was last seen.

That changed dramatically in October 2010.

The 2010 Confession

On October 10, 2010, Burroughs went to the Crawford County Law Enforcement Center and confessed to killing Shannon. According to reporting based on the criminal complaint, Burroughs said that he strangled Shannon during an argument involving missing methamphetamine.

Burroughs said he kept Shannon’s body inside a closet in his apartment for several days. He then said he placed her remains in garbage bags and disposed of them in a dumpster outside the apartment building.

The account presented investigators with an enormous problem: by the time of the confession, nearly four years had passed.

Shannon’s remains had not been recovered.

Criminal Charges and Court Proceedings

Burroughs was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and hiding a corpse in connection with Shannon’s death. Following his confession, questions about his competency delayed the criminal proceedings.

He was initially found incompetent to stand trial and received treatment. His competency was subsequently restored.

On January 24, 2012, Burroughs pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide in Crawford County Circuit Court. As part of the plea agreement, the separate felony charge of hiding a corpse was dismissed.

Michael Burroughs Sentenced

On April 3, 2012, Crawford County Circuit Court Judge James Czajkowski sentenced Burroughs to 25 years of initial confinement followed by six years of extended supervision, for a total sentence of 31 years.

The conviction legally resolved the homicide prosecution, but it did not answer one of the most important remaining questions in Shannon’s case:

Where is Shannon Fischer?

Her body was never recovered.

Latest Information on the Search for Shannon Fischer

As of September 2026, publicly accessible records reviewed for this article do not reveal a newer announced recovery of Shannon’s remains or a publicly disclosed investigative breakthrough establishing their location.

More importantly, the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults continues to maintain an active missing-person page for Shannon. The state lists her as missing since December 18, 2006, gives her current age as 43, and continues to ask anyone with information to contact authorities. The state also says callers may remain anonymous and that a cash reward is available if information leads to Shannon’s location.

A Wisconsin missing-person poster also identifies her as NamUs MP295 and continues to direct information to the Prairie du Chien Police Department and Wisconsin Clearinghouse.

Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy updated its Shannon Fischer case article on December 27, 2025, continuing to describe Shannon as missing despite the homicide conviction. Missing People in America likewise maintained her case in its Wisconsin database, with the entry showing an update on March 21, 2025.

The available public record therefore presents an unusual but important distinction: there has been a homicide conviction in Shannon Fischer’s death, but Shannon herself remains missing because her remains have never been recovered.

What Remains Unresolved

Burroughs’ confession and conviction established the basis of the criminal case, but the physical location of Shannon’s remains remains unresolved publicly.

According to his account, Shannon’s body was placed in a dumpster after being kept in his apartment for several days. Whether her remains can still be located after so many years is unknown from publicly available investigative information. Authorities nevertheless continue to seek information that could lead to Shannon.

For Shannon’s family, the homicide conviction provided an answer about what authorities concluded happened to her, but it did not result in the recovery of her remains.

Anyone who has information about the location of Shannon Fischer is encouraged to contact the Prairie du Chien Police Department or Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults.