Loved ones still searching for answers months after KC-area reporter shot, killed on I-29
It’s been more than three months since a Kansas City area reporter died in a shooting on Interstate 29 in the Northland, but so far, investigators have made little progress on the case.
Officials at the Platte County Sheriff’s Office say they’ve had a hard time determining what led to the shooting. A handful of leads have turned up no useful information, a sheriff’s office spokesman said.
Dennis Andrew Sharkey Jr. died after he was fatally shot while driving his car on Jan. 10, the day after he turned 50. Family presumed he was on his way home from covering a high school sports event, something he regularly did as a reporter for a local newspaper, the Platte County Citizen.
Since his killing, family and friends have urged anyone with information about what happened to come forward.
“It’s crazy that they haven’t been able to figure anything else out,” said Cody Snapp, a long-time friend of Sharkey.
“We’re all shocked that nothing has come from anything.”
What led to shooting?
Kansas City police responded to I-29 near Northwest 72nd Street around 7 p.m. that evening, after receiving reports that a car had been run off the road, according to Capt. Jake Becchina, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman.
Officers found Sharkey’s car, a white 2019 Chevrolet Spark, at the bottom of an embankment on the side of the highway. Inside the car, they found Sharkey with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Becchina said KCPD passed the investigation into Sharkey’s death to the Platte County Sheriff’s Office, after they determined the shooting happened outside city limits.
Investigators previously said they believe Sharkey was driving south on I-29 before the shooting, coming from northern Platte County.
But as of March 21, no suspect has been publicly identified and no arrest has been made.
Family and friends have spoken with agencies who had been working to unlock Sharkey’s phone, Snapp told the Star this week. Information from one tipster led investigators to believe Sharkey may have attempted to take a picture or video during the incident, Snapp said.
But Snapp said he was unsure if investigators had found anything helpful.
“I talked to his mom, when the FBI was getting involved,” Snapp said. “I was told they couldn’t get his phone open from Apple, so the FBI was involved. Me and another one of our friends tried to remember his password, because he had told us before, but we couldn’t. I’m not sure if they made progress on that.”
Jeffrey Shanks, a spokesman for the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, said he didn’t have much of an update on the case. Investigators have remained in touch with Sharkey’s family, and are working the limited leads they have, Shanks said.
“What is most challenging about this is the limited information and lack of witnesses to provide viable information,” Shanks said in an email to The Star.
Friend mourns fellow sports fan, avid journalist
After working for several years as a reporter for various publications, his friend said, Sharkey started his own media venture with the help of his longtime friend Snapp.
The Northland Buzz was born from Sharkey’s desire for more Kansas City area high school sports coverage, Snapp said. Snapp helped build the website and an online presence. After about a year and a half of the Northland Buzz, Sharkey started working for a newspaper again full-time.
“Whenever we talked it was always about news or sports,” Snapp said. “He was always advocating for journalists, making sure the local newspaper did not die.”
The two met at Northwest Missouri State University, where Snapp led the student publications at the same time Sharkey became the editor of the college newspaper. They kept in touch after college, sharing a strong bond, Snapp said.
Among other things, the two shared a rich love for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs, and their alma mater, the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, Snapp said.
Their families even know each other well, Snapp said. When Snapp had family gatherings, Sharkey was always invited — and the other way around.
Snapp said it’s hard to believe he lost a friend in such a sudden and tragic way.
“He was very caring and would go out of his way to help you if you needed it,” Snapp said. “He’s very missed.”
‘You never think this would happen’
Sharkey was known among friends and family as a cautious driver, always driving at or below the speed limit. At a gathering outside Arrowhead Stadium in January, his family told The Star his death was “senseless,” and suspect it may have been the result of road rage.
“He was a great man, and he always made you smile,” Sharkey’s cousin Samantha Sharkey said at the gathering. “If you saw anything, please don’t be afraid. It would help us a lot.”
Sharkey lived his life mostly as a single man, Snapp said. He didn’t remember any significant others in Sharkey’s life. Sharkey’s friends and family were his relationships, Snapp said.
After having no answers for three months, those who were close to Sharkey are clinging onto hope that his killer will be found.
“You never think this would happen, but you also think people would see something,” Snapp said.
Snapp said he feels like his friend’s killing is a good reason why new cars should come equipped with dash cameras installed. He said since hearing about the shooting, he bought one and encourages others to do the same.
“What kills us is this happened for miles and nobody has said they saw anything,” Snapp said. “You can get a dash cam for pretty cheap. People should start putting them in their cars. I bought one, our friends have all bought one.
“Because if this were to ever happen to us, or to someone else on the road, we want to be able to say we saw something, and show (police) what we saw,” Snapp said.
