Recovered; Sep 15, 2004

Stormy Shirk was found safe in southeast Wyoming Wednesday night after her father apparently abducted her and her mother was killed. The search for the 5-year-old began Wednesday morning after the girl's mother, Melissa Shirk, a 31-year-old librarian, apparently was found murdered in her Topeka home around 10:40 a.m. A friend discovered her body after Melissa Shirk missed an appointment. Authorities have not yet determined how long she had been dead.

The day ended with Stormy's father, 29-year-old Justin Chadd Shirk, discovered dead in Albany County, Wyoming. Justin Shirk had been sought as a "person of interest" in his ex-wife's murder and was believed to have fled Kansas with his daughter. An AMBER Alert was issued during the day and suspended Wednesday night. Stormy was found at 9:40 p.m. Authorities zeroed in on Justin Shirk after a truck driver spotted him and his daughter in Paxton, Nebraska, around 5 p.m. Justin Shirk was due in court Wednesday morning to face three felony charges. He had been charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of felony criminal damage stemming from a March incident in which Shirk allegedly hit two men with a car and damaged one man's vehicle.