A dream ski vacation in Big Sky turned into a chilling tragedy when 9-year-old William Shaw disappeared in broad daylight — and was later found dead beneath a lonely tree in the woods.
His parents say they still don’t know how he died. And five years later, the questions are only getting louder.
It started like any ordinary run. William and his dad, Nick, 51, pushed off from the top of the mountain. His mom, Susie, 47, waited below with their younger son, Kai.
Nick called her with a simple update. “We’ll be down in five minutes,” he said.
But five minutes passed. Then the phone rang again.
“Is William with you?” Nick asked — a question Susie says “hit like a knife.”
From that moment, panic set in.
William had been skiing only 20 to 50 feet behind his father. Then he simply… vanished.
He drifted off a connector trail so quickly that his dad never saw him leave the path.
Search teams scrambled through the snow. Families were pulled off lifts. Patrol crews swept the mountain in widening circles.
Hours later, it wasn’t authorities who found him — but a family friend. William was curled at the base of a thin tree deep in the woods.
Susie was in the cabin with Kai when the call came.
“I fell to the floor and screamed into the carpet,” she said. “I didn’t know he was dead yet, but I could feel something was horribly wrong.”
When she reached the ski clinic, a patrolman stood at the door.
“I ran from him,” she said. “His body language told me everything. I thought if I didn’t go inside, it wouldn’t be real.”
At first, the family was told William died from blunt-force trauma — that he hit the tree. But years later, new reviews raised doubts.
A medical event? A sudden blackout? Something else?
There was no autopsy. No definitive cause. No real explanation for how an expert child skier suddenly veered off a familiar trail.
“We had so many questions,” Susie said. “And no answers that made sense.”
Five years after the tragedy, Susie returned to the exact spot where her son was found.
“The tree was so skinny,” she said. “Seeing it made everything worse. That’s when I learned there had been no autopsy. I was stunned.”
Her grief turned into determination.
Susie and Nick founded William’s Be Yourself Challenge, a nonprofit helping families who’ve lost a child.
“Grief doesn’t go away,” she said. “It takes over your life unless you give it direction.”
Their newest project, The Green House, will be a Cape Cod refuge for grieving families — free week-long stays, surrounded by calm. The name honors William’s favorite color.
William’s personality was huge.
“He had thick, curly blond hair and called himself an extreme sports guy,” Susie said. “He loved hiking, skateboarding, paddle boarding, skiing. He hated baseball and soccer. Too boring for him.”
His smile was unforgettable.
“We called him ‘Whale Shark’ because his whole face lit up,” she said. “He was my sunshine boy.”
And, she adds, he is still part of their home. “William lives with us every day.”
Susie has one message for the world:
“Don’t avoid our children’s names. Ask us about them. Ask what they loved. Most parents just want the chance to talk about their child — even if they’re gone.”
William died doing the thing he loved most.
“He was skiing with his dad,” Susie said. “He was happy.”
An autopsy should have been done. Who decided against it?