Shrout, a widower and a retired mechanic, lived with his son in the 60 block of Forest Avenue in rural Sharpsburg, Kentucky at the time of his disappearance. He was last seen lying in bed at 2:00 p.m. on January 4, 1999. His son left the house to run errands at that time. At 3:41 p.m., a neighbor noticed Shrout's house was on fire and summoned authorities. The fire department took seventeen hours to fully extinguish the blaze, and the house was almost completely destroyed. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, and no trace of Shrout or his body could be found in the ruins of his home.

After an extensive search of the rubble turned up nothing, and authorities are still not sure whether Shrout was at home when the fire broke out. His poor health limited his mobility, he couldn't drive and nobody saw him leave his house. Investigators stated it was possible, although unlikely, that the fire could have completely consumed Shrout's remains. He remains listed as a missing person due to the unclear circumstances.