Search continues for Ill. mom who vanished - msnbc.com

The search for an Illinois woman who vanished after her husband was killed in a car accident stretched into a third day on Tuesday.

Volunteers and officers on foot began searching at 9 a.m. and were expected to continue until dark, Keri Myers of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department told msnbc.com.

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Tanya Shannon, 40, a mother of four, was last seen in a red dress and gray fleece hooded jacket riding home from a holiday party on Sunday with her husband Dale Shannon, 41, behind the wheel, authorities said.

Police found the car near Seneca, about 80 miles from Chicago, at 1:45 a.m. Sunday. They said the car spun out of control and the rear of it hit a utility pole, breaking Dale Shannon's back. He was found dead behind the wheel.

Evidence in the car indicated a second person was in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Tanya Shannon had disappeared. Footprints that investigators believed belonged to her, as well as a shoe, were found nearby, reported WMAQ TV, NBC's Chicago station.

"Tracks coming from the driver's side door of the crashed vehicle up to the road and a shoe, it was like a slip-on shoe, was recovered," LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said Monday.

Steve Smith of LaSalle County Search and Rescue told WSPL Radio that searchers on Tuesday were looking in an expanded area and probing snow banks with poles.

Authorities said Tanya Shannon may be dead and her body may be under the snow.

'Taking nothing for granted'
"We're taking nothing for granted," said Templeton said. "As long as we have the resources available, we will continue searching."

"They were having a great time. They were dancing together, laughing and very much in love with each other," said Dale's sister, Donna Shannon, WMAQ reported.

Since Sunday, thermal imaging devices, dogs, All-Terrain Vehicles and planes have been used by dozens of people looking for her.

Investigators told WMAQ they have only two working theories: that she was injured and disoriented as she went for help on the bitter cold, wind-swept road and collapsed somewhere in the snow, or that someone picked her up under the guise of offering assistance.

With repeated searches, they have all but disproved their first theory and have no leads on the second.

"Anything that's even remotely close has been gone over several times," Templeton told the Chicago Tribune.

Shannon's family and friends said they're holding out hope that the woman will be found alive, but with temperatures below freezing, time is of the essence.

Templeton said Shannon was a "dedicated, loving mother" who would have contacted her family if she could. He said the Shannons have four children, ages 3, 7, 10 and 13.

Shannon is described as 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing about 125 pounds, with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and green eyes.

NBC station WMAQ and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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