‘Not giving up hope’: Family of missing Des Moines teen asks for help; FBI increases reward to $10K

DES MOINES, Wash. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has upped the reward to $10,000 for information leading to the recovery of a missing Des Moines teen.

Shelbie Lynn Dwyer was last seen leaving home on March 25, 2023, to go on a road trip to Mexico with a man described as a “trusted friend.”

“Like we didn’t go a day without telling each other we love each other,” said Stacy Macheta, Shelbie’s mother.

“She’s really a caring person. She was like my mini-me,” she added.

The last time Macheta heard her daughter’s voice on the phone was March 29, 2023.

The FBI says Shelbie likely drove to Tijuana then flew to Culiacan, Sinaloa. She hasn’t been seen since.

“She was planning on coming home, and then she ended up going on airplane and went out to Sinaloa, and that’s when her phone didn’t ping after she got out of the airport,” Macheta explained.

Macheta told KIRO 7 she was last heard from Shelbie while she was in Sinaloa, but that call was cut short.

“She was yelling at somebody and then the phone died,” she said.

Macheta describes her youngest daughter as her best friend. She never would’ve expected something like this to happen.

“It’s really hard, and I’m not giving up hope, and I’m having faith that Shelbie’s gonna come home,” she said.

Macheta, along with friends and family, have been searching ever since.

“I hope we bring her home safely because we all miss her very much,” said family friend Linda Smith.

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