Suffolk County Police are searching for a 16-year-old girl who disappeared from her Deer Park home earlier this month and may now be elsewhere in Suffolk County. Shivani McShane left her residence on September 5 and has not been seen since, according to police, who believe she may be in the Mastic or Shirley area.
A Long Trip Across Suffolk County
According to Newport Dispatch, McShane is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds, with brown eyes.
Police have provided a Seventh Squad contact number for the case.
Not the First Time She's Gone Missing
This isn't the first time McShane has disappeared. Daily Voice reported in May 2024 that McShane, then 14, was reported missing from Dix Hills, prompting an alert from the New York State Missing Persons Clearinghouse. That earlier case, in a different Suffolk County community, means this is at least the second time in roughly two years that the teen has vanished and triggered a formal search.
Suffolk County Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Tips can be reported by calling 911, the department's non-emergency line at 631-852-2677, or the Seventh Squad directly at 631-852-8752.
How New York Law Requires Police to Respond
Cases like this can raise questions about how missing-child reports are handled and coordinated. The available material does not detail the statutory or database-reporting requirements that may apply to missing-child cases.
Missing-youth cases have also been trending upward statewide. The New York State Missing Persons Clearinghouse's 2023 Annual Report found that total reports of missing children across New York increased by 7.1 percent over the prior year, according to the Division of Criminal Justice Services. In February, a coordinated initiative led by the Clearinghouse alongside more than 70 local, state, and federal partner agencies located 44 missing children and teens across Westchester County, the Division of Criminal Justice Services also reported, illustrating the scale of resources that can be mobilized in these searches.
No gender breakdown of missing-youth referrals is provided here. The article also links to a search for a Stony Brook teen who traveled to New York City in January. No further details about why McShane may have traveled toward Mastic or Shirley, or whether foul play is suspected, have been released.
