A Florida man who was seen with Shane Ryan Donahue when he disappeared from his Nokesville home on Aden Road 14 years ago – when Donahue was 23 – was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder in connection with Donahue’s suspected death.

The arrest marks a major development in an unsolved case that is familiar to Prince William County residents, as a missing persons banner still hangs outside Donahue’s parents’ home on busy Aden Road. The family uses the banner to keep track of the number of days that have passed since Donahue’s disappearance, a number that surpassed 5,000 earlier this year.

Timothy Sean Hickerson, 43, of Palm Coast, Florida, was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 17, and charged with murder and burglary in connection with Donahue’s disappearance, according to 1^st Sgt. Jonathan Perok, a Prince William County police spokesman.

The development came after Prince William police resumed their investigation into Donahue’s disappearance, Perok said.

Earlier this spring, police “re-examined every detail of the case from scratch, including more closely reviewing the parties interviewed and digital evidence due to advances in analytical technology and modern police investigative practices,” Perok said.

These efforts resulted in new information, which police did not specify, that led to Hickerson’s arrest.

Donahue and Hickerson, who was 28 in 2010, were last seen on March 22, 2010, when they left Donahue’s parents’ home together and reportedly returned to the nearby Donahue family residence in the 12000 block of Aden Road. Donahue has not been seen or heard from again, Perok said.

During the investigation, Hickerson was linked to a break-in at Donahue’s apartment that occurred just days before his disappearance, Perok said.

“Over the course of the investigation, which lasted more than 14 years, several investigative approaches were developed and examined based on the information provided to the police,” said Perok.

Hickerson will remain in prison until he is extradited to Virginia, Perok said.

Anyone with information that can help investigators in this ongoing case is asked to contact Prince William County Police at 703-792-6500 or submit a tip online at pwcva.gov/policetip