Chanty Shiverdecker

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Alexander City Police Department Coosa County Sheriffs Office Alabama Bureau Of Investigation (AL)

Offense Location:

Alexander City, Alabama

Summary:

15-year-old Chanty Shiverdecker was reported missing on December 9, 1994, from Alexander City, after basketball practice at Radney School. On February 24, 1995, an anonymous tip led investigators to an abandoned lumberyard off Highway 9, where they discovered Chanty's nude body in a wooded area behind an abandoned mobile home. The death was ruled a homicide, though forensics examiners could not determine a specific cause of death, and the case remains open under joint investigative efforts from the Coosa County Sheriff's Office, Alexander City Police Department, and Alabama Bureau of Investigation.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Originally from Eureka, IL, the Shiverdecker family moved to Alexander City, AL, just six weeks prior to Chanty's disappearance. Chanty was 15 years old, active in sports, and sang in the church choir. Upon moving to Alexander City, she joined the basketball team at her new high school. She did not typically have practice on Fridays, but an upcoming tournament had the team practicing an extra day. Her parents were scheduled to be out of town the evening of December 9th and made plans for Chanty's older brother Chris to pick her up from practice. On December 9th, 1994, Chanty attended girls varsity basketball practice at Radney Elementary School in Alexander City, Alabama. Around 6:30pm, as practice ended and other girls were picked up by parents or took the bus back to their high school, Chanty stayed behind waiting for a ride. Chris expected Chanty to call once practice was over, but when she had not called by 10:00 p.m., he began to worry and went looking for her. Approximately an hour later, and still no sign of Chanty, he called their parents who instructed him to call the police while they made the drive back home. On February 24, 1995, 11 weeks after Chanty's disappearance, an anonymous tip led investigators to an abandoned lumber yard off Hwy 9, where they discovered Chanty's nude body in a nearby wooded area behind an abandoned mobile home. Chanty's clothing and backpack have never been found, but her books and purse were found later in the spring off of the same highway as the lumber yard and appeared to have been thrown out of a car window.

Additional Details:

The following morning, search parties were organized and focused on a 10-mile area around the school. Though Chanty was initially considered a possible runaway, officials later changed direction and began to suspect foul play was involved. Investigators do not believe the tipster was the perpetrator. There was one potential suspect in Seattle, WA, who confessed to murdering Chanty, along with others in Wyoming and Florida, but officials later determined there wasn't enough evidence and further investigation discredited his claims. In a 2019 report by the Alexander City Outlook, Shiverdecker's mother Gloria Idiaan said she had a copy of the autopsy report and it said investigators never found other DNA at the crime scene. Chanty's father, Howard Shiverdecker, passed away on April 4, 2022. Chanty's only remaining immediate family members are her brother, Christopher Shiverdecker; stepmother, Gloria Idiaan, who still lives in Alexander City; and her birth mother who lives in Illinois. There have been two podcasts about Chanty's disappearance and murder. The first was on a site called "Bitter Endings," and the other was done by a duo called "Two Blonde Sleuths." The governor issued a proclamation in 2017 for a reward if anybody comes out with information.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 01, 2026