Homicide ruled out in death of Wichita woman found in field, police say

Savannah Schneider wanted to see the world before she lost vision in her one eye, according to a close friend who said she considered Schneider a little sister.

Homicide has been ruled out in Schneider’s death, Capt. Jason Stephens said Wednesday. Schneider’s body was found by volunteer searchers June 13 near railroad tracks. Stephens said phone records show she walked around on the property near where her body was found for roughly two hours in the dark.

“... She has no traumatic injury to her body whatsoever which rules out homicide in this particular case,” Stephens said, adding they are still waiting on toxicology reports. He said that there was “no indication that there was any other type of assault or theft. Her ... personal belongings were still there with her.”

The 23-year-old Wichita woman had been missing since May 31 after last being seen getting into a Lyft, according to Simone Shields, who reported Schneider missing on June 4. Schneider was dropped off in the area where her body was found and walked roughly three miles, Stephens said.

On June 9, police searched an area in Haysville where Schneider’s cellphone last pinged.

She was found in that area June 13 during a search put on by Schneider’s sorority sisters at Wichita State University’s Delta Gamma. Schneider paused her schooling intermittently over the past 15 months as her father, stepfather and mother all died.

Shields said the death of Savannah’s mother, Teresa Schneider, in January hit her especially hard. Shields met them more than 12 years ago at her husband’s barbershop, Anthony’s Neighborhood Barber Shop.

Schneider and her mother would come at 1 p.m. most Saturdays for a shampoo and style.

“I think her mom was the one that hit her the hardest because her and her mom were inseparable,” Shields said, adding Savannah also had the added responsibility of taking care of a house and paying bills once her mother died. “They were together all the time.”

Shields said the three of them hit it off. The three would spend time together outside of the Saturday visits. Shields said she saw Schneider like a little sister. They would go to the lake and spent holidays together.

Schneider, she said, always laughed and a heart for helping others.

She encouraged her sorority’s involvement in volunteering with Heather’s Camp, an organization that provides a camp for youth who are blind or visually impaired, Shields said. Schneider had attended the camp as a child.

Schneider was born with vision problems, Shields said. She had limited vision in one eye and was told she could lose all sight one day.

The self-described “dog mom” had plans to see the ocean and Disneyworld. She also raved about a trip seeing the mountain in Colorado with her mother after high school graduation, Shields said.

She started attending WSU in Fall 2015 and sought a degree in business administration with a minor in management. The family deaths put the degree on hold and led to depression, Shields said.

Schneider was in therapy, Shields said, but wouldn’t always go. She started sleeping a lot more.

After Wednesday’s announcement, Shields said Schneider was Catholic and would not kill herself. She suspects foul play or that Schneider lost her way “and was dehydrated and confused.”

“Either way it just doesn’t all add up,” she said in a message.

Delta Gamma released a statement June 22 about Schneider.

“We will continue to share the impact that her spirit has and will continue to make in our lives,” Delta Gamma wrote in the social media post that accompanied a photo of Schneider. “She was a friend. She was a sister. She exhibited the values of a true Delta Gamma ... But most importantly, she was deeply loved and we will miss her so much.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 10:22 AM.