The Missing Toni Sharpless

The Missing
Toni Lee Sharpless
Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Toni Lee Sharpless was a 29 year old nurse and single mother when she was last seen in the Gladwyne, Pennsylvania area at around 5 a.m. on August 23rd, 2009. She left her home in West Brandywine on the night of August 22nd at 9:30 p.m to hang out with her newly reconnected friend Crystal Johns. The two had previously been estranged for over a decade. Toni’s family believes it was Crystal’s idea to go out that night.
After picking Crystal up, they drove in Toni’s black 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT to a place called the “Ice Nightclub,” in King of Prussia, PA. They drank alcohol, which Toni was not supposed to do because of the medication she was taking for her bipolar disorder. The two later left the nightclub and traveled to a second nightclub called the “G Lounge,” and while spending time there, they met a man named Willie Green, a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers. He invited the two women, amongst a few others to come to his house to continue to party. The home was in Lower Merion Township on the 1300 block of Bobarn Drive.
After leaving the G Lounge, Toni received a text from her 12 year old daughter saying she couldn’t sleep. At 2:57 a.m., Toni replied that she would be home soon. This is the last time Toni’s phone was used; it had been turned off at around 4 a.m.
At 5:00 a.m., Toni got into an argument with Mr. Green at his house. She became erratic and was angrily kicking things, then she poured a bottle of champagne out onto the kitchen floor. The women were asked to leave. Toni was crying when they left.
Toni only drove a few blocks before Crystal felt uneasy and began to convince her she was not sober enough to continue driving. Toni was previously arrested and sent to rehab for a DUI in 2008. It was said that Toni had also been awake for 36 hours straight at this point for unknown reasons. Toni and Crystal started arguing, Toni said “Get the fuck out of my car.” Crystal exited the vehicle; Toni pulled off and drove away, never to be seen again.
Crystal waited there expecting Toni to return. She eventually ended up calling a family member to pick her up instead. Crystal claimed that Toni’s vehicle was low on gas and she suggested that Toni may have run out and broken down somewhere. There was a second theory that Toni, being intoxicated and sleep deprived, may have accidentally driven her car into the Schuylkill River, but the river was searched several times with no evidence located.
Toni is a white female with brown hair and blue eyes, standing at 5’5” and weighing 135 lbs. Her hair was dyed red at the time. She has a rose tattoo on her left calf muscle. She was wearing a turquoise shirt, black tights, black sandals and turquoise earrings.
On September 8, 2009, a license plate reader in Camden, New Jersey got a hit on Toni’s vehicles license plate number, #DND-7772. By the time authorities were notified of this, several days had already passed and the vehicle was not located. It was reportedly parked amongst other vehicles, but there was no other information made public.
There were multiple unconfirmed sightings of Toni in Lancaster PA, Philly PA, and Camden NJ. All sightings were in areas known for prostitution and drug activity.
Toni’s family insisted that it was uncharacteristic of her to leave without telling anyone where she was going, and she was described as a devoted mother who would not abandon her daughter. They hired a private investigator to follow yet another theory that Toni was still alive and may have gotten involved in the sex/drug trade due to her addiction issues in the past.
Towards the end of 2012 an anonymous hand-written letter was sent to the private investigator stating that, near the end of September of 2009, they were hired by a friend to take the Pontiac from Brooklawn, NJ to a chop shop in the Boston, Massachusetts area in exchange for $5,000 cash. The writer explained they needed the money so they took the job, and delivered the Grand Prix to Boston the next day. Before handing the car over, they searched the car’s glove box and found Toni’s cell phone. They also claim to have taken the license plates back home. This friend later gave more information about the car, saying a friend of his was a Camden Police Officer and he “got into a fight with a girl; she died and he needed to get the car out of Jersey.”
The letter was postmarked November 29 2012 in Trenton, NJ. There were accurate details like Toni’s cell phone number and the last 5 digits of her car’s VIN included in this letter, two things that were not made public. The writer says they forgot about the license plates until their child found them in a box while playing in their garage.
Police dismissed the letter as a hoax but the family’s private eye believes it was genuine.
Since Toni vanished, there has been no activity on her credit cards or any of her bank accounts.

What happened to Toni Lee Sharpless?

If you have any further information, please contact the West Brandywine Police Department at 610-380-8201.

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