Facebook posts about missing man, possibly from Springfield, go viral

Editor's note: The family of Sean White, listed as missing in 2004, contacted the News-Leader to say that he is neither missing nor homeless. The updated story, with their statements, can be found here.

A Facebook post about a mentally challenged homeless man found in Arizona — who believes he is from Springfield — has gone viral online.

Trisha Hipps El-Sharkaway posted about her "homeless friend Sean" late Thursday and the post was shared about 12,000 times, including by the Homeless Angels, a street outreach program in Lansing, Michigan, by midday Friday.

Through those posts — and a lot of amateur sleuthing from concerned Facebook users — numerous people believe the missing man is Sean White, who is from Farmington and has been missing, officially, since 2004. A "missing" poster is online.

According to MissouriMissing.org, White was released from state custody 11 years ago, where he was being treated for mental health issues, and last seen Jan. 12, 2004. He has scars on his throat and on the left side of his stomach.

The St. Francois County Sheriff's Department was inundated with calls Friday from people who have seen the posts and wanted to alert the authorities or to offer to help with any possible reunion.

Deputy Kristen Tate said she looked at the photos posted by an Arizona woman side-by-side with the missing poster.

"If you have both pictures together ... they are very similar," said Tate, who was looking into the missing person case Friday. "I would not be surprised if it's the same individual."

She said the man in the poster has a healthy weight, but the photos posted of Sean this week show a man who is lean and looks like he may have been on the streets for the past decade.

Tate has spent the day trying to track down people from the Facebook posts, the woman who knows Sean as well as those who have posted and say they may know the identity of the man.

"It looks pretty sure but we've got to confirm it's the same individual," she said.

Tate said little is known about White except that he was born in 1972 — now age 42 — and is missing. He had an address in Farmington, at some point, but Tate has been unable to track down any immediate family. She said he may have been on his own. She knows of no ties between him and Springfield.

"He was released from the state in 2004 and hasn't been seen since, basically," she said.

Trisha Hipps El-Sharkaway, from Phoenix, started the online whirlwind when she posted three photos of a man named Sean on Thursday night. No last name was noted in the post.

On Facebook, El-Sharkaway wrote: "My children and I have known him for several years and taken him food, clothes, and blankets. Sean is special needs. He can't read or write and sounds like an 8 year old child when he talks. He recently told me that he is here because he got lost and can't find his way home. He was on a Greyhound Bus to visit someone and got on the wrong bus at a rest stop. He's been lost ever since. He thinks he's from Springfield, Missouri. Someone has to be looking for him. He's such a harmless, gentle soul. Please pray for him."

The post has been shared nearly 12,000 times and a woman — a school principal in the Phoenix area — posted she had likely tracked down the family. News-Leader calls to her workplace have not yet been returned.

Tate said she appreciates the calls from concerned citizens but hopes anyone who knows White, or who may have a suggestion about the location of any family, will contact the sheriff's office.

To her knowledge, no tips about his possible whereabouts have come into the sheriff's department until this week. She pointed to other cases, where a missing person was found years or even a decade later, as hope that this will be resolved.

"It is a good thing, no matter how many years it has been," she said of the possibility of finding White. "Nothing ceases to amaze me."

Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Springfield Police Department, said she is aware of the Facebook posts and the search for Sean but couldn't immediately find any connection between Sean White and Springfield.

Mike Karl, founder of Homeless Angels, saw the post and shared it late Thursday. The street outreach works with the homeless and, when someone is lost or missing, uses social media to try and connect the individual with his or her family.

Karl marveled at posts, at midday Friday, from Facebook users who are trying to locate White's family. He said his page averages 60,000 views a day but has "just exploded" following the post about Sean.

"They made a connection and things just started rolling," he said.

For Karl, there is only one way this search should play out.

"I hope to see a picture of him hugging his family very soon, a happy ending," Karl said. "I hope this helps people look past the situation and truly see the homeless."