HE BROKE HER NECK, LEFT HER FOR DEAD, THEN WENT LINE DANCING. ASHLEY REEVES WAS ONLY 17. In April 2006, Ashley vanished in Illinois. The man responsible was Samson Shelton, a 26-year-old teacher who had known her since middle school. Shelton put Ashley in a chokehold, breaking her neck. He then carried her into a wooded area of Citizens Park in Belleville and tightened a belt around her throat before abandoning her. Investigators said he went line dancing afterward. Ashley lay helpless in the woods for roughly 30 hours. After hours of questioning, Shelton confessed and led police to where he had left her. They expected to recover a body. Instead, they found Ashley still breathing. She had suffered brain trauma and devastating injuries. Surviving was only the beginning. She had to relearn how to swallow, walk and talk. In 2007, Shelton pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and received a 20-year prison sentence. He was released on parole in April 2024 after serving about 17 years. Ashley’s story later became the Lifetime film Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story. But for Ashley, this was no movie. It was her life, her recovery, and a future someone tried to take away. He left her believing her story was over. Ashley lived to write the rest.