Shirley Ann McBride

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Concord Police Department (NH)

Missing From:

Concord, New Hampshire

Summary:

Shirley Ann McBride, known as "Tippy," was last seen in Concord, NH on July 13, 1984 leaving her sister's apartment on Union Street when she was fifteen years old. While her case has not been formally ruled a homicide, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance strongly suggest that foul play was involved. She has not been seen nor heard from since.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Shirley was last seen leaving her half-sister's apartment on Union Street in Concord, New Hampshire at 9:30 p.m. on July 13, 1984. She was planning to pick up some money a woman owed her for babysitting, then visit her 21-year-old boyfriend at his place of work, Concord Litho, which is on Old Turnpike Road near the Merrimack River. It's unclear whether she ever arrived at Concord Litho. She was wearing light summer clothing at the time. When she vanished, she left behind her money, clothing, and all other personal effects. She had a history of leaving home overnight without telling anyone, so she wasn't reported missing for a couple of days.

Additional Details:

Shirley was living with her half-sister, Donna Whitcomb Reil, and Reil's children at the time she disappeared; she had moved out of her parents' home, with their permission, a few months before. She had begun to have problems in 1983 after her family moved from Manchester, New Hampshire to Pittsfield, New Hampshire. Investigators believe Shirley met with foul play, possibly on the day she disappeared, and that she probably never left the city of Concord. Another possible suspect is Walter Davis II, a Merrimack, New Hampshire man who worked in Concord at the time of Shirley's disappearance. His teenage half-sister and mother caught him trying to burn some damp clothes, including denim bib overalls and a stained cotton shirt, in the fireplace in July 1984, the same month Shirley disappeared. Davis reportedly told the women he had raped a girl, thrown her in the Merrimack River and kept her clothes. His half-sister hid the clothes in a closet and told a friend about what had happened. The friend told the Merrimack police, who retrieved the clothes and questioned Davis and his family. Shirley's parents and Reil went to the Merrimack Police Department to look at the overalls and shirt Davis had tried to burn, and they identified the items as Shirley's clothing. Merrimack investigators asked Davis to take a lie detector test in Shirley's case, but he refused. He died in 2003. The Concord Police Department, which was investigating Shirley's disappearance, didn't learn about the existence of the clothing until 2014. The Concord police took custody of the clothing at that time and said they were going to test it for DNA, but it's unclear whether this was ever done. Shirley's parents had her declared legally dead in 1996, twelve years after her disappearance. Her mother died in 2003, her father died in 2015, and her older sister Robin has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The boyfriend has not been ruled out as a person of interest in her case. The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and the Concord Police Department continue to actively pursue leads in this investigation.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 27, 2026