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New information on missing gay man leads to D.C. hotel

Family offers $5,000 reward for tip leading to Shaun Spaulding’s whereabouts

Published

4 years ago

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Shaun M. Spaulding was last seen on March 17 at a D.C. hotel. (Images courtesy of Arlington Police Department)

An investigation by Arlington County, Va., police into a gay man who initially was reported missing and last seen on March 15 by his roommate at his residence in Arlington was seen again on March 17 at a Northeast D.C. hotel but remains missing, according to an Arlington police spokesperson.

News that Shaun M. Spaulding, 39, was seen at the Homewood Suites Hotel at 501 New York Ave., N.E. on March 17 was first reported by his family in a flier posted on Facebook. The family’s posted message also announces the family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Spaulding’s whereabouts.

In addition, the new flier released by the family includes more recent photos of Spaulding than the photo released in the earlier announcement by the family and police.

The hotel’s website lists its full name as the Homewood Suites by Hilton Washington, D.C. NoMa hotel, referring to its location in D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood near Union Station and the recently opened Union Market gourmet food and retail center.

Arlington police spokesperson Ashley Savage told the Washington Blade the Arlington Police Department has shared information about Spaulding’s disappearance with D.C. police.

“During the course of the missing person investigation, detectives confirmed he was last seen on New York Avenue in Northeast D.C. on March 17,” Savage said.

Neither Arlington police nor the family has disclosed who it was who saw Spaulding at the hotel. Savage has said police do not release specific details of an ongoing investigation.

Family members have posted on Facebook that Spaulding was a regular user of Grindr, and they were concerned his disappearance could be related to someone he met on that site.

The Arlington police missing person announcement describes Spaulding as a white male, five feet, seven inches tall and weighing 145 pounds. The announcement says his last known address is 1400 South Joyce Street in Arlington, which is one of three large apartment buildings known as the River House Apartments in the Pentagon City neighborhood.

“Mr. Spaulding suffers from medical health conditions requiring him to take medications, which he is not taking,” the police announcement says.

The flier released by Spaulding’s family this past weekend says Spaulding also goes by the name Mike or Conrad.

Arlington police are asking anyone with information about Spaulding’s whereabouts to contact Detective Rosa Ortiz at 703-228-7402 or at [email protected]. Information may also be provided through the Arlington Police Department tip Line at 703-228-4180.

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Virginia

McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates

Gay Alexandria City Council member becomes 8th LGBTQ member of legislature

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4 days ago

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February 12, 2026

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Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike. (Photo courtesy Alexandria City Council)

Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike emerged as the decisive winner in a Feb. 10 special election for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria.  

McPike, a Democrat, received 81.5 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Mason Butler, according to the local publication ALX Now.

He first won election to the Alexandria Council in 2021. He will be filling the House of Delegates seat being vacated by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), who won in another Feb. 10 special election for the Virginia State Senate seat being vacated by gay Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria). 

Ebbin is resigning from his Senate next week to take a position with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.

Upon taking his 5th District seat in the House of Delegate, McPike will become the eighth out LGBTQ member of the Virginia General Assembly. Among those he will be joining is Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who became the Virginia Legislature’s first transgender member when she won election to the House of Delegates in 2017 before being elected to the Senate in 2023.

“I look forward to continuing to work to address our housing crisis, the challenge of climate change, and the damaging impacts of the Trump administration on the immigrant families, LGBTQ+ Virginians, and federal employees who call Alexandria home,” McPike said in a statement after winning the Democratic nomination for the seat in a special primary held on Jan. 20. 

McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights advocate, has served for the past 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and has remained in that position during his tenure on the Alexandria Council. He said he will resign from that position before taking office in the House of Delegates.

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Virginia

Spanberger signs bill that paves way for marriage amendment repeal referendum

Proposal passed in two successive General Assembly sessions

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1 week ago

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February 6, 2026

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(Bigstock photo)

Virginians this year will vote on whether to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Friday signed state Del. Laura Jane Cohen (D-Fairfax County)’s House Bill 612, which finalized the referendum’s language.

The ballot question that voters will consider on Election Day is below:

Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to: (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?

Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.

A resolution to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2025. Lawmakers once again approved it last month.

“20 years after Virginia added a ban on same-sex marriage to our Constitution, we finally have the chance to right that wrong,” wrote Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman on Friday in a message to her group’s supporters.

Virginians this year will also consider proposed constitutional amendments that would guarantee reproductive rights and restore voting rights to convicted felons who have completed their sentences.

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Virginia

Hashmi speaks at Equality Virginia Lobby Day

Lt. gov. is a vocal LGBTQ ally

Published

2 weeks ago

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February 3, 2026

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi (YouTube screenshot)

Lieutenant Gov. Ghazala Hashmi on Monday opened Equality Virginia’s annual Lobby Day in Richmond.

The Lobby Day was held at Virginia’s Capitol and was open to the public by RSVP. The annual event is one of the ways that Equality Virginia urges its supporters to get involved. It also offers informational sessions and calls to action through social media.

Hashmi, a former state senator, has been open about her support for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups. Her current advisor is Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, and the group endorsed her for lieutenant governor. 

Hashmi historically opposes anti-transgender legislation.

She opposed a 2022 bill that sought to take away opportunities from trans athletes.

One of the focuses of this year’s Lobby Day was protecting LGBTQ students. Another was protecting trans youth’s access to gender-affirming care.

Advocates spent their day in meetings and dialogues with state legislators and lawmakers about legislative priorities and concerns. 

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