This is one of the saddest cases ever profiled on Unsolved Mysteries, but I keep hoping "Sharon's" true identity will one day be discovered. I don't think anyone expects Franklin Delano Floyd to ever tell the truth about Sharon's real parents and, more than 20 years after her death, we still have no answers. There have been several possible matches of missing girls that resembled Sharon but none of the dna matched. Do you think Sharon was kidnapped at a young age and that's why they stayed on the run through out her life, or was she just a throw away child (born to a young drug addict or prostitute) that no one ever reported missing? Sadly, if she was never reported missing in the first place, I don't know how this mystery can ever be solved.

This is one of the saddest cases ever profiled on Unsolved Mysteries, but I keep hoping "Sharon's" true identity will one day be discovered. I don't think anyone expects Franklin Delano Floyd to ever tell the truth about Sharon's real parents and, more than 20 years after her death, we still have no answers. There have been several possible matches of missing girls that resembled Sharon but none of the dna matched. Do you think Sharon was kidnapped at a young age and that's why they stayed on the run through out her life, or was she just a throw away child (born to a young drug addict or prostitute) that no one ever reported missing? Sadly, if she was never reported missing in the first place, I don't know how this mystery can ever be solved.

One thing is for certain, whatever Franklin Floyd may have saved her from, he certainly wasn't the answer to a good life for her. So his garbage about proclaiming himself a hero is just that, garbage.

He reminds me a lot of Charles Manson in that sense. Charles Manson always preached about all his family, how he saved them because society rejected them. Yeah he really did them good, many of them wound up in prison for life.

You wonder how some of these guys get such a twisted perception of reality. And when you hear them interviewed they sound so sure of themselves, like they are doing right.

Like when Franklin Floyd said in that interview it was no one's business where Mike was, because they didn't have the right to love and care for him. What a complete crock. What does that dirtbag know about love?

Sometimes I wonder if he took her from another country outside the United States as to why she hasn't been identified yet. Our DNA databases don't extend to other countries except maybe Canada and Mexico but not places like Europe and Asia. I also wonder what happened to her son Michael Hughes, the boy Franklin said was his but DNA told otherwise. Who is Michael's real father? Is Michael dead? If so, where is his body? Did he get passed on to another sociopathic pedophile like Floyd or did Michael get sold into child sex trafficking? So many questions.

About a month ago, I read the book, A Beautiful Child. I am pretty convinced that short of a miracle, Sharon's true identity will never be known. Nor will Michael's whereabouts. Pretty sure that Floyd killed him.

It's pretty much accepted by the author that a boyfriend of Sharon's from the time they were living in AZ is the biological father of Michael.

About a month ago, I read the book, A Beautiful Child. I am pretty convinced that short of a miracle, Sharon's true identity will never be known. Nor will Michael's whereabouts. Pretty sure that Floyd killed him.

It's pretty much accepted by the author that a boyfriend of Sharon's from the time they were living in AZ is the biological father of Michael.

I recently read that book too. It and The Murder of Lil Miss both made me physically ill. It will be quite a while before I feel brave enough to read them again.

A Beautiful Child reveals the full amount of horror regarding how she was forced to live her life. The way Floyd took her success and superior intelligence then used it, wasted it, threw it away, (depending on what was in his own best interests) and made every day of her life miserable... It's beyond disgusting. I don't know how she managed to cope with it all.

IMO, he murdered both Sharon and Michael and any punishment he could ever receive wouldn't be harsh enough.

I also wonder how Floyd got Sharon. In the past few years, we've seen cases of mothers selling their children in exchange for everything from a small amount of cash to drugs. Floyd could have even killed Sharon's mother in order to abduct her. There are many cases of that happening, too.

Do you remember if they have Sharon's DNA on file (IIRC she died in 1991) to compare with anyone who may be suspected to be a relative? I hope that she'll be identified someday. I'm sure Sharon was not her real name and she's buried under the name of Tonya. At the very least, she deserves a headstone with her real name and to be remembered for who she really was and not who that monster forced her to be.

TracyLynnS, another thing I took from the book was what an amazing person Sharon was. Many people in that situation would have really been withdrawn and detached from the world but it seemed as though Sharon was outgoing and very smart and really touched the people she met. Such great potential if she could have gotten away from that monster.

I do believe they have Sharon's dna on file. Not sure whether it was from her or one of her children she gave up for adoption. I do believe law enforcement knows who they are. It seems that I have read on websleuths over the years that they have made dna comparisons with various families of girls who went missing but unfortunately not a match yet. I can't help but think that whoever Sharon's mother is, she's no longer alive. Not out of the realm of possibility that Floyd killed her when he took Sharon.

Sharon's mother could've been an addict or prostitute, estranged from her family. A perfect target for Floyd. No one would have ever reported them missing, and they might not've known Sharon even existed.

I read A Beautiful Child again and was reminded that they have tested Sharon's DNA against at least one family who thought she might be related to them, but she wasn't.

Looking at the most well known photo of Sharon and Floyd together, the Father/Daughter photo from when she was just about 6 years old, I wonder if she's related to him in some way and if they checked for that.

Obviously, she's not his daughter but they do have a strong resemblance to each other. They also both have cleft chins which is a genetic thing, even tho it's not 100%. Michael had a cleft chin, too, likely inherited from his mom.

When they checked Sharon's paternity, did they rule out all possible blood relationship between her and Floyd? His family was so weird, with his mom ending up as a drunken prostitute, it makes me wonder if Sharon could have been a niece or cousin that really was "abandoned to him" by a useless relative.

A Beautiful Child reveals the full amount of horror regarding how she was forced to live her life. The way Floyd took her success and superior intelligence then used it, wasted it, threw it away, (depending on what was in his own best interests) and made every day of her life miserable... It's beyond disgusting. I don't know how she managed to cope with it all.

I read the book last year and I had the exact same reactions. This girl was a brilliant, beautiful and intelligent human being with the kind of potential most people could only dream about. Despite having to grow up under the care of a monster, she was a straight 'A' student who was beloved and admired by every teacher she ever had. She received a full scholarship to Georgia Tech, her dream school, where she wanted to fulfill her dream of studying aerospace engineering and eventually working for NASA.

And what did Floyd do this girl? He took her college dreams away and forced her to work as a stripper 7 days a week to pay his own bills while he stayed home and did nothing. At the same time, he also forced her to become a prostitute. He used Sharon's earnings to pay for cheap plastic surgeons to give her breast implants in order to become a porn star. This was all despite the fact that he was molesting her for years and years. She followed his every command knowing that if she ever said, "no," he would kill her, which he everntually ended up doing anyway but never got charged. And then he has the arrogance to appear on Unsolved Mysteries and claim that he saved this girl's life.

It amazes me how a human being could literally be this evil. But it amazes me more that Sharon was able to function as well as she did for as long as she did.

They have finally made a new age progression photo of Michael Hughes after 11 years. Here it is: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/75935_515253111825701_2046045846_n.jpg

On Matt Birkbeck's blog he recently wrote about how he recently interviewed a classmate of Sharon's from high school who would call her when her "father" wasn't around. He would frequently hear a toddler in the background and, when asked about it, Sharon replied that it was her little brother. This is 2 years before Michael was born. Who this little boy was, where he came from, or where he disappeared off to is anybody's guess.

Just adds another layer to the bizarre and macabre nature of this case; I'm sure Floyd killed him, too, eventually, just like Sharon and Michael. Sick, disgusting scum, there's a special place in hell reserved for Floyd, that's for sure.

Like others here, I personally lean towards the theory that Floyd knew/dated Sharon's mother, killed the mother, and then took Sharon. Her mother may have been estranged from her family, and therefore no one ever looked for Sharon when Floyd took her.

In the photo taken of Sharon when she was a little girl, she has such sad eyes. It haunts me.

This is definitely one of the saddest cases on UM and one of the sickest. UM didn't even go into the excruciating details in the book. I would have wanted to see FDF grilled for certain things he did and to have seen his reaction and how he tried to play that off. Of course he would have been smug and lied as usual. I want to punch him whenever I watch the case, which is very difficult to sit through after you've read the book. Poor Michael and his mother :(

This was one of the strange cases. The guy reminded me of Ted nudgent.

I had an update on Facebook yesterday from Matt Birbeck's A Beautiful Child page that LE is very confident they have found Sharon's family and are perfoming tests.

I so hope they are right and that Sharon will be given her true identity back.

I had an update on Facebook yesterday from Matt Birbeck's A Beautiful Child page that LE is very confident they have found Sharon's family and are perfoming tests.

I so hope they are right and that Sharon will be given her true identity back.


Thanks for the update. Finding her real family would finally be a bit of good news in this terrible case.

I recently re-watched the FDF segment and I've also read "A Beautiful Child." It's just insane that this bizarre and horrific tale actually happened. If you read it in a fiction book, you'd think "oh yeah right," etc.

FDF is truly evil incarnate and in my opinion, deserves the cruelest and most unusual punishment imaginable. Pure scum!

It is very promising that they may be able to identify where that poor girl came from.

They should give Franklin Floyd a truth serum or cast some voodoo spell on him to make him talk. :crazy: :lol: :p

Here is the post C&P from Facebook-

There's a new and very promising lead that could finally result in a positive identification of Sharon Marshall. Law enforcement in a Midwestern state received a tip in August. I was notified about the new information, which involves a woman who knew Sharon's real family. The FBI and NCMEC are involved

I recently re-watched the FDF segment and I've also read "A Beautiful Child." It's just insane that this bizarre and horrific tale actually happened. If you read it in a fiction book, you'd think "oh yeah right," etc.

FDF is truly evil incarnate and in my opinion, deserves the cruelest and most unusual punishment imaginable. Pure scum!

It is very promising that they may be able to identify where that poor girl came from.
Exactly my feelings on the book. I kept stopping and going, "That's unbelievable!" because it was so upsetting and hard to fathom. It's a real shame that they can't force FDF to talk and I agree fully with your assessment of him. I hope he fesses up before being executed for the murder he was charged with, but with his behavior and smug, self-centered attitude, I doubt he will.

I truly hope this lead into the girl's identity pulls through. It will solve half of the puzzle, the other half being where Michael is. I think, sadly, the bathtub story is true.

I hope this lead pans out, but being that this woman knew (as opposed to "knows") Sharon's family, it unfortunately might not end in a good place. But realistically, I don't think this was ever going to have a good end.

How long ago did this lead surface?

How long ago did this lead surface?

Back in August according to Matt Birkbeck's FB page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Beautiful-Child/75779387367

QUOTE from his Jan 1st FB entry: There's a new and very promising lead that could finally result in a positive identification of Sharon Marshall. Law enforcement in a Midwestern state received a tip in August. I was notified about the new information, which involves a woman who knew Sharon's real family. The FBI and NCMEC are involved.

Did the lead pan out?

Did the lead pan out?


On his facebook page back in March, he mentioned that the case "is active, but may not be priority."]

On May 16 he posted:

Have an update. Law enforcement is coordinating to look into an account from a witness that, if true, will answer questions not only about Sharon and her identity, but several other missing children. Story, if true, is chilling. But lot to be vetted.

On his facebook page back in March, he mentioned that the case "is active, but may not be priority."]

On May 16 he posted:

Have an update. Law enforcement is coordinating to look into an account from a witness that, if true, will answer questions not only about Sharon and her identity, but several other missing children. Story, if true, is chilling. But lot to be vetted.

Oh well sure hope the lead pans out. I hope they find out what happened to her little boy. Read somewheres that that Floyd drowned the kid in a hotel bathtub. Who knows if it is true.

Last year, fabgourmet posted that Matt Birkbeck said that he recently interviewed a classmate of Sharon's from high school who would call her when her "father" wasn't around. He would frequently hear a toddler in the background and, when asked about it, Sharon replied that it was her little brother. This is 2 years before Michael was born. Who this little boy was, where he came from, or where he disappeared off to is anybody's guess.

Add that to the most recent post on his FB page about other missing children. Good grief! Who could these kids be and what happened to them? Is the "little brother" another child abducted and murdered by FDF?

Last year, fabgourmet posted that Matt Birkbeck said that he recently interviewed a classmate of Sharon's from high school who would call her when her "father" wasn't around. He would frequently hear a toddler in the background and, when asked about it, Sharon replied that it was her little brother. This is 2 years before Michael was born. Who this little boy was, where he came from, or where he disappeared off to is anybody's guess.

Add that to the most recent post on his FB page about other missing children. Good grief! Who could these kids be and what happened to them? Is the "little brother" another child abducted and murdered by FDF?
:eek: Just when I thought this case couldn't get any creepier.

I read somewhere's that it was thought that Sharon was to have other kids outside of Michael. And Floyd made her give them up to black market baby ring or something. And Michael was the only one he let her keep.

Jennifer, I believe that's correct. Sharon has other children besides Michael. I thought at least one or two of them were known and were adopted out.

If this "little brother" was Sharon's child, I think that would make her about 15 years old at the time. I'd have to read the book again to get a reminder about where she and FDF were at this time and if anyone would have noticed her being pregnant.

I think it's weird that Floyd let her keep Michael. I wonder what his motive was for that. Did he think the child was his? Did she talk him into letting her keep him?

Jennifer, I believe that's correct. Sharon has other children besides Michael. I thought at least one or two of them were known and were adopted out.

I think it's weird that Floyd let her keep Michael. I wonder what his motive was for that. Did he think the child was his? Did she talk him into letting her keep him?

And then it seems like Michael was totally neglected. I think I read that he couldn't talk and was very developmentally delayed when his foster family got him. Why was this? Did Floyd refuse to let her take care of Michael properly? (because of jealousy maybe?)

Tracy-Makes me wonder who she was having her kids with? Did she have a lot of boyfriends? I don't thnk Floyd' fathered these kids. He was not Michael's father. The whole thing is creepy. No offense.


Mysterfile- They did say Michael was delayed when thry first got him. Seemed to be ajusted and up with kids his age buy the time Floyd took him from his school , claiming to be his dad. Wonder if they will find out what happened to him?

And then it seems like Michael was totally neglected. I think I read that he couldn't talk and was very developmentally delayed when his foster family got him. Why was this? Did Floyd refuse to let her take care of Michael properly? (because of jealousy maybe?)

I was the one who posted that. It was mentioned in an episode of the Investigators. They didn't specify why, but I would imagine Michael was probably in a state of shock over all the crap that FDF pulled. Who knows what went on in that house.

Tracy-Makes me wonder who she was having her kids with? Did she have a lot of boyfriends? I don't thnk Floyd' fathered these kids. He was not Michael's father.

I read a few old threads on this case over at websleuths. My book is packed away right now and I can't find it.

Posters at WS said a couple different things about Sharon's children and had conflicting accounts on whether they were adopted out legally or illegally. We know who Michael's father is. The first baby was supposed to have been fathered by one of Sharon's high school classmates but I don't know if he's ever been publicly identified. And I stopped reading before I found any information if the 3rd baby's father is known.

For some reason, I was thinking that she had four children but from what WS posters are saying there were three. The first and third were put up for adoption and the second, Michael, was kept for an unknown reason.

Oh I thought there were four too. Floyd probably thought the kids she had were get in his way. As for Michael maybe Sharon threatened to leave him or blow the whistle if he gave Michael up. Or I think he had them pretending to be as a couple at that time. Perhaps he thought it would make them look more like a real couple with a child in toe.

One of the biggest questions in this case for me is, Did "Sharon" know her real identity? Surely she knew that FDF wasn't her father. I wonder what her take on all of this was. Of course, now we may never know.

One of the biggest questions in this case for me is, Did "Sharon" know her real identity? Surely she knew that FDF wasn't her father. I wonder what her take on all of this was. Of course, now we may never know.


I don't know if she knew she was abducted by Floyd or not. There was a physical resemblance between them and she was very young when he got her. It's possible she didn't know he wasn't her father or he could have told her some big lie about adopting her. He told the rest of the world that she was "abandoned to" him and he did her a favor by saving her from her previous life.

IIRC, in the hospital before she died, she was delirious and calling out for "daddy". Either she believed he was her father or she had to call him Daddy for so long that even subconsciously, it was the name she used when asking for him.

Oh I thought there were four too. Floyd probably thought the kids she had were get in his way. As for Michael maybe Sharon threatened to leave him or blow the whistle if he gave Michael up. Or I think he had them pretending to be as a couple at that time. Perhaps he thought it would make them look more like a real couple with a child in toe.

Sharon would have never threatened Floyd with anything. She was scared to death of making him angry until the day she was killed. That's why she put up with his constant abuse and torture for as long as she did. Shortly before her death, a guy she was dating tried to convince her to take Michael and run away, even offering to help her do it. But she told him that if she did that, Floyd would easily track her down and kill her.

If you read the book, "A beautiful child," you'll notice why it was a mistake to ever make Franklin Floyd angry. Anyone that crossed him suffered BIG TIME. And Sharon knew that, otherwise she would have found a way to escape him.

Michael's father, as I recall, was a guy Sharon dated and worked with at a restaurant while she and Floyd briefly lived in Arizona. She worked as a waitress. It was the only "normal" job Floyd ever let Sharon have before he started forcing her to work as a stripper and hopeful porn star. The guy never even knew he had a kid or that Michael was his until years after Sharon's death and Floyd's arrest.

One of the biggest questions in this case for me is, Did "Sharon" know her real identity? Surely she knew that FDF wasn't her father. I wonder what her take on all of this was. Of course, now we may never know.

I was just re-reading "A Beautiful mind" so this is a timely post.

I am pretty sure Sharon had no idea what her "real" identity is. She was stolen young enough that I think it's safe to say she had no conscious memory of his mother. There is an interesting mention in the book by her high school friend that there was a picture of a woman in the Marshall home who Sharon said was her mother. I would doubt that it was, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sharon thought it was.

I think Sharon did think FDF was her father. Why wouldn't she?

Actually, I modify my comments above based upon the book (hadn't read that far when I made them).

Sharon told one of her stripper friends in Tampa that FDF was her stepfather; so she knew he wasn't her biological father; she almost certainly had no real memory of her mother, who she said died young.

Updated last week:

It's been a year since I first mentioned a potential break in the search for Sharon's identity. Local and federal law enforcement have been involved, but to date there's been no significant movement or progress. So, here's what's been happening.
Police near Knoxville, TN received a call from a woman who said she knew Franklin Floyd when she was a child in the early 1970s, and that Floyd and his brother Billy had visited her father, who was a serial rapist and pedophile. Floyd was on the run (you'll recall he violated his parole in early 1973) and sought refuge with this woman's father. Around the same time, the body of Janet Carter was found in the Smokey Mountains and her three-year old daughter Christina was missing. Janet was from Birmingham and was in the midst of a custody battle with her husband when she fled. The woman claims that her father killed Janet and took Christina, whom he repeatedly raped before killing her and burying her body underneath his home.
Around the same time, Floyd and his brother were staying nearby, and the woman said she would be taken there every weekend, where Floyd would rape her. The woman remembers another little girl, a cousin, who was also repeatedly raped by her father. The cousin, said the woman, is Sharon.
The woman said her father was going to kill Sharon, but Floyd apparently fled wth her.
The woman told her story to the local police, who called in the local FBI. Their interest was minimal. After six months, and with little progress, I connected the local police to Joe Fitzpatrick, and over the past few months the woman has been interviewed several times by an outside FBI bureau. There are other details that can't be released yet.
The woman says she never read A Beautiful Child, and her memories are real. I thought enough of her and her story to pass it along. The bit about Floyd "rescuing" the girl from the woman's father is similar to what Floyd told me when I interviewed him, that he saved the girl from certain death. The woman's father is still alive, and last I heard police were going to interview him. Will keep you posted.

Updated last week:

It's been a year since I first mentioned a potential break in the search for Sharon's identity. Local and federal law enforcement have been involved, but to date there's been no significant movement or progress. So, here's what's been happening.
Police near Knoxville, TN received a call from a woman who said she knew Franklin Floyd when she was a child in the early 1970s, and that Floyd and his brother Billy had visited her father, who was a serial rapist and pedophile. Floyd was on the run (you'll recall he violated his parole in early 1973) and sought refuge with this woman's father. Around the same time, the body of Janet Carter was found in the Smokey Mountains and her three-year old daughter Christina was missing. Janet was from Birmingham and was in the midst of a custody battle with her husband when she fled. The woman claims that her father killed Janet and took Christina, whom he repeatedly raped before killing her and burying her body underneath his home.
Around the same time, Floyd and his brother were staying nearby, and the woman said she would be taken there every weekend, where Floyd would rape her. The woman remembers another little girl, a cousin, who was also repeatedly raped by her father. The cousin, said the woman, is Sharon.
The woman said her father was going to kill Sharon, but Floyd apparently fled wth her.
The woman told her story to the local police, who called in the local FBI. Their interest was minimal. After six months, and with little progress, I connected the local police to Joe Fitzpatrick, and over the past few months the woman has been interviewed several times by an outside FBI bureau. There are other details that can't be released yet.
The woman says she never read A Beautiful Child, and her memories are real. I thought enough of her and her story to pass it along. The bit about Floyd "rescuing" the girl from the woman's father is similar to what Floyd told me when I interviewed him, that he saved the girl from certain death. The woman's father is still alive, and last I heard police were going to interview him. Will keep you posted.

I sure hope this helps find out who Sharon is. She has to belogn to someones family.

Has anyone seen this blog? There are some photos I had never seen before:
Help Sharon Marshall - Kidnap Victim (http://helpsharonmarshall.blogspot.com/)