Overview

Last confirmed contact: December 19, 1996
Last known location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Age at the time: 61
Home/associated location: Two Rivers, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
Status: Missing
NamUs: MP14199

Main circumstances: Shirley left Two Rivers, Wisconsin, in a taxi following an argument with her mother on June 16, 1990. Her family reportedly never saw or heard from her again. More than six years later, law enforcement had contact with Shirley in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December 19, 1996. That encounter is the last confirmed sign of her located in publicly available case information.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Shirley Leona Sprang: Missing Since 1996 After Last Confirmed Contact in Lincoln, Nebraska

Shirley Leona Sprang has been missing for nearly three decades, with her disappearance connecting Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and Lincoln, Nebraska. She was 61 years old when she was last known to have been in contact with law enforcement on December 19, 1996. Today, her case remains listed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults.

Brief Summary

Last confirmed contact: December 19, 1996
Last known location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Age at the time: 61
Home/associated location: Two Rivers, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
Status: Missing
NamUs: MP14199

Main circumstances: Shirley left Two Rivers, Wisconsin, in a taxi following an argument with her mother on June 16, 1990. Her family reportedly never saw or heard from her again. More than six years later, law enforcement had contact with Shirley in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December 19, 1996. That encounter is the last confirmed sign of her located in publicly available case information.

Shirley Sprang Left Wisconsin in 1990

The circumstances surrounding Shirley’s disappearance began years before the date officially associated with her missing-person case.

According to available case information, Shirley got into an argument with her mother in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, on June 16, 1990. She then left in a taxi. Her family reportedly did not see or hear from her after she left.

For more than six years, Shirley’s whereabouts were apparently unknown to her family. Then, in December 1996, authorities received what remains a crucial piece of information in the case.

Police Encountered Shirley in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1996

On December 19, 1996, law enforcement in Lincoln, Nebraska, had contact with Shirley. Publicly available sources do not provide substantial details about why police encountered her, what occurred during that contact, where specifically in Lincoln the encounter took place, or where she went afterward.

The encounter is significant because it establishes that Shirley was apparently alive more than six years after leaving Wisconsin.

No confirmed contact with Shirley after December 19, 1996, has been disclosed in the publicly available case information reviewed for this article. Her whereabouts after the Lincoln encounter remain unknown.

Why Records List Both Wisconsin and Nebraska

There is a potentially confusing difference between how various sources describe Shirley’s disappearance.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice currently lists her as missing from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, with a missing date of December 19, 1996, while also specifically identifying Lincoln, Nebraska, as her last known location. The agency’s missing-person poster similarly lists Two Rivers as the location she was missing from while explaining that law enforcement contacted her in Lincoln in 1996.

The Charley Project describes her as missing from Lincoln, Nebraska, because that was the location of her final known law-enforcement contact.

These descriptions do not necessarily conflict. Two Rivers is the Wisconsin community associated with Shirley and the original departure from her family, while Lincoln is the location of the last confirmed contact currently identified in public records.

Description of Shirley Leona Sprang

Wisconsin’s current missing-person poster describes Shirley as a white woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She was 61 when she disappeared. The Wisconsin poster gives her height as 5 feet 3 inches and weight as approximately 155 pounds.

Other case databases provide a broader possible range of approximately 5 feet to 5 feet 7 inches tall and 120 to 160 pounds. Shirley may also have had scarring on both arms associated with psoriasis.

Because descriptions differ somewhat among databases, investigators should be contacted regarding possible matches rather than excluding someone solely because of a discrepancy in estimated height or weight.

Latest Information on the Investigation

As of September 2026, Shirley remains publicly listed as a missing adult by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults. The state lists her current age as 90 and continues to direct anyone with information to the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office.

No publicly documented resolution, confirmed sighting after December 19, 1996, arrest, or determination that Shirley was the victim of homicide was located during a review of currently available sources.

There has, however, been recent renewed public attention. A September 2026 episode of Midday Missing, distributed through the True Crime and Wine Time podcast, revisited Shirley’s disappearance and again highlighted the December 19, 1996 Lincoln police contact as her last confirmed sign.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s current listing remains particularly important because it confirms that Shirley has not been removed from the state’s missing-person clearinghouse. Her NamUs identifier is MP14199.

A separate missing-person flyer distributed by 411GINA lists Case # S01-09015 and continues to identify the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department as the investigating law-enforcement agency.

What Happened After December 19, 1996?

The central unanswered question is what happened after Shirley’s encounter with police in Lincoln.

Publicly available accounts do not explain where she was living in Nebraska, how long she had been there, what brought her to Lincoln, whether she was traveling under her own name, or where she intended to go afterward.

There is also no publicly documented evidence in the sources reviewed establishing that Shirley died or was the victim of a crime. Her case should therefore be described as an unresolved missing-person case unless law enforcement releases information indicating otherwise.

Nearly three decades after the last confirmed contact, even information that may initially appear insignificant could help investigators reconstruct Shirley’s movements in Nebraska or determine what happened after she left Wisconsin.

Anyone who knew Shirley, encountered her in Lincoln around 1996, remembers the circumstances of her contact with law enforcement, or has information concerning her whereabouts after December 19, 1996, is encouraged to contact investigators.