Shoemaker was visiting his grandfather in Kirby, West Virginia with his family in May 1994. He was last seen playing with his two older cousins in a wooded area behind their grandfather's mobile home, near Short Mountain on May 1, 1994. They played for about thirty minutes until approximately 8:30 a.m., when Shoemaker got hungry and said he was returning to his grandfather's home for food. His cousins lost track of him in the woods. Shoemaker has never been heard from again.

Investigators do not suspect foul play in Shoemaker's case; they believe he became lost and died of exposure. The terrain in the Short Mountain area is very rough and rocky. Shoemaker's disappearance was followed by five days of rainy weather with temperatures dipping down to near freezing at night. If he had been without shelter, he would not have survived.

A dark blue 1990 model pickup truck was seen in the area around the time Shoemaker vanished. It has not been proven that the truck is connected to his disappearance in any way, but police are interested in speaking to the driver and finding out what he or she knows about Shoemaker's disappearance.

Shoemaker's case remains unsolved.