Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was reported missing from her home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England, on February 19, 2008. Her disappearance sparked a massive police search, which was described as the largest in the area since the Yorkshire Ripper case.
After 24 days, on March 14, 2008, Shannon was found alive in a flat belonging to Michael Donovan, the uncle of her mother's boyfriend. It was revealed that the kidnapping had been planned by Shannon's mother, Karen Matthews, and Donovan. The plot was intended to generate reward money, which they planned to split.
The court heard that Shannon had been drugged and restrained with a strap tied to a roof beam. Both Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice. They were each sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2009. The ordeal left Shannon "disturbed and traumatised," and she was subsequently taken into care and given a new identity.
In April 2024, it was reported that Michael Donovan, who was released from prison in 2012, had died. He was 54 years old and had been diagnosed with cancer.
