Left and Center: Sharon circa, 1984
Right: Age Progressed to age 36
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: September 18, 1984
Missing From: Eagle Butte, Dewey County, South Dakota
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: June 26, 1972
Age: 12 years old
Height and Weight: 5’3″ and 110 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Indigenous Female, Black hair, Brown eyes, Sharons ears are pierced
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A black and yellow tiger striped top, black parachute pants, and white or black tennis shoes, Sharon was carrying a red bag at the time of her 1984 abduction
NCMEC Number: 600185
Details of Disappearance
Sharon was last seen in Eagle Butte, South Dakota on September 18th 1984. She was accompanied by her fifteen year old friend, Sandi Brokenleg. Sharon ran away from her home located on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation and Sandi ran away from her mother’s home in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Both of them left with the intention of traveling to Idaho to see friends.
The two were hitchhiking in Casper, Wyoming when they were picked up by a truck driver, Royal Russel Long.
Long took the girls to his home in Evansville, Wyoming where he fed them and allowed them to bathe as well as wash their clothes. According to Sandi, Long asked for oral sex services in exchange for $100. The girls refused and in response he tied them up at gun point. He raped Sandi and beat Sharon. When Long fell asleep, Brokenleg escaped the residence and ran to a neighbor’s home for help.
The neighbor called the police but by the time they arrived, Sharon and Long were gone. Sharon has never been seen or heard from again. After the ordeal, Sandi was visited by Sharon’s father, Taylor Bald Eagle at Natrona County Memorial Hospital where she told him of their abduction and captivity. She told him that Long never molested or raped Sharon so she was hopeful he wouldn’t harm her in any way after fleeing the area with her.
Sharon may have been spotted in Platte County, Wyoming two days after her abduction. An elderly man wrote a letter to the Casper Star-Tribune on October 19th and stated he saw an indigenous child sitting in a truck outside of a Glendo area truck stop at approximately 8:00 am on September 20th 1984. The witness stated a man matching Long’s description got out of the truck and walked into the truck stop.
In the days after Sharon’s abduction, Taylor went on national television and pleaded with Long for his daughter’s safe return. The broadcast led to a telephone call, allegedly from Long. In the call, Long stated that he put Sharon in a truck bound for Fort Worth, Texas. He said he would surrender once Texas authorities confirmed Sharon’s safety. Taylor’s brother lived in the Fort Worth area for he was hopeful that maybe Sharon traveled to his home but no one in Texas had seen Bald Eagle.
On September 21st, Laramie County officials searched areas in southeastern Wyoming after receiving a tip that Long’s vehicle, a 1980 or 1981 brown Chevrolet shortbed pickup truck with Natrona County license plates was spotted near Pine Bluffs. The search failed to turn up any trace of either Long or Bald Eagle.
On September 26th, Long was arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico at 9:40 pm. He was located alone and told authorities he didn’t know here Sharon was. He was charged with the abductions and Sandi’s rape. When Long was asked for his side of the story, he claimed that the girls told him they were 18 and 19 years old. He also claimed they accepted his offer. After sexual intercourse occurred, the girls revealed their actual ages and demanded $200 or they would accuse him of rape.
According to Long, there was allegedly a struggle so Long tied them up. He reportedly took a nap and when awoke he saw that Sandi escaped so he took Sharon in his truck and drove her to Cheyenne and put her in a light colored truck bound for Dallas, Texas. When he arrived back to Casper, Long realized that he was wanted for abduction and assault. He claims he then traveled to Amarillo, Texas to see if anyone had seen Sharon there or if he could find her himself.
Investigators have found no proof that his story about Texas is true and have called it a dead end. They also did not find any evidence that Sharon was put on a truck with anyone or the identity of the supposed trucker. Long claimed he then traveled to New Mexico where he would later be apprehended.
Long originally pleaded innocent to over six felonies such as kidnapping for the purpose of rape, kidnapping for the purpose of taking a hostage, rape and attempted rape. He pleaded guilty to two counts of child abduction with the purpose of committing indecent liberties with a minor and one count of aggravated assault on January 23rd 1985. Long was sentenced to two concurrent life terms in prison.
Prosecutors also contemplated charging Long with Sharon’s murder despite her body not being found. Ultimately, he was never charged with Sharon’s murder since no evidence exists to prove she’s dead. Taylor Bald Eagle also did not believe his daughter was deceased at the time and didn’t feel murder charges were necessary.
Long is a suspect in the disappearances of Carlene Brown and Deborah Meyer who are both missing from Rawlins, Wyoming since 1974. He’s also suspected in the 1974 murders of Christy Gross and Jayleen Banker also in the Rawlins area. In 1985, Long was charged with the murders of Cinda Pallett and Charlotte Kinsey. Both girls vanished from the Oklahoma State Fair in 1981 after being offered jobs by a man matching Long’s description.
Long was in Oklahoma on the day both girls vanished and the vehicle that he rented showed possible signs of both girls being brutally murdered. Taylor Bald Eagle went to visit Long in prison in 1993 but Long refused to speak with him. He died of a heart attack while out in the prison yard soon afterward.
At the time of her abduction, Sharon had just begun her first year at Brainerd Indian School which was located in Hot Springs, South Dakota. She was unhappy with her life at school at the time. She was the eldest of four siblings.
Taylor spent the remainder of his life searching for Sharon ever since her disappearance and held onto hope that she was alive. He traveled all over the United States in search of her, traveling as far as Arizona. He passed away on March 25th 2025 at age 89, his obituary listed Sharon as predeceasing him.
Sharon remains missing and foul play is suspected. There were possible sightings of her in the years after she went missing in states such as Wisconsin and Colorado.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Fall River County Sheriffs Office 605-745-4444
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Rawlins Four, Cinda Palette, Charlotte Kinsey, Sharon Baldeagle | DARK MATTERS #49
The Billings Gazette 02/04/1985