The Missing
Shirley Ann “Tippy” McBride
Concord, New Hampshire
🌙🔎 Still Missing: Shirley “Tippy” McBride – A 15-Year-Old’s Unsolved Disappearance 🔎🌙
On the night of July 13, 1984, 15-year-old Shirley Ann “Tippy” McBride left her half-sister’s apartment on Union Street in Concord, New Hampshire. She planned to collect money she was owed for babysitting at a home on Washington Street before possibly visiting her boyfriend, who worked on Old Turnpike Road.
But somewhere that evening, Tippy disappeared. She was never seen or heard from again.
More than four decades later, her disappearance remains one of Concord’s most extensively investigated missing-person cases. Investigators believe she may have met with foul play, and her family has spent years searching for answers about what happened to the teenager who vanished without a trace.
💔 At the time, Tippy was living with her half-sister, Donna, and Donna’s children. She had moved out of her parents’ home with their permission after struggling to adjust to her family’s move from Manchester to Pittsfield, New Hampshire.
Although Tippy had left home overnight before, her family said she always returned. This time, something was different. She left behind her clothing, money, keepsakes, and other personal belongings. She had no extra cash or additional clothing with her.
When she failed to come home, her family grew increasingly worried and reported her missing on July 15, 1984.
Initially, police believed she might have run away. But as the days passed without contact, investigators began considering the possibility that she had been the victim of a crime.
Tippy was close to her family, and her loved ones never believed she would simply disappear without telling anyone. Her father, Jack McBride, spent years searching for her, offering rewards and following leads in the hope that someone would finally reveal what had happened.
🔎 One of the most significant developments in the investigation involved clothing reportedly discovered in July 1984.
According to accounts later shared with investigators, Walter Davis II was found attempting to burn damp clothing, including denim overalls and a stained cotton shirt. He allegedly told family members that he had raped a girl and thrown her into a river.
The clothing was recovered by police, and Tippy’s parents and half-sister identified the items as belonging to her. The outfit reportedly matched what she had been wearing when she disappeared.
Davis told police that he had found the clothing near White Park Pond in Concord. He was questioned about the case and reportedly refused to take a polygraph examination. He was never charged in connection with Tippy’s disappearance and died in 2003. The allegations against him were never proven in court.
In 2014, Stacie Murray Coburn, who had information about the clothing, helped direct Concord police to evidence that had been stored at the Merrimack Police Department for decades. The discovery raised serious questions about how this potential evidence had remained outside the lead agency’s awareness for so long.
Investigators subsequently took custody of the clothing and planned DNA testing. Family members later submitted DNA samples to assist with comparisons, but information provided in more recent reporting indicated that the family had not received an update on the testing.
Tippy’s 21-year-old boyfriend was also considered a person of interest. Her father suspected that he knew more about her disappearance and followed his movements, eventually resulting in Jack’s arrest on a stalking charge. Investigators also questioned people in Tippy’s social circle, including several men who were considered possible suspects or persons of interest.
No publicly established conclusion has resolved these leads, and no one has been charged in connection with Tippy’s disappearance.
The New Hampshire Department of Justice has stated that, although her case has not officially been ruled a homicide, the circumstances suggest that foul play may have been involved. Investigators believe she may never have left Concord.
📢 The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit is asking the public to come forward with information that could help investigators finally make progress.
Officials are particularly interested in hearing from:
🔹 Former classmates and acquaintances who knew Tippy in Manchester or Pittsfield. She attended elementary and middle school in Manchester before moving to Pittsfield in 1983. Investigators have specifically encouraged people who attended Manchester West High School or Pittsfield High School during the relevant period, including those from the classes of 1986 and 1987, to contact them.
🔹 Anyone who lived in or around the Union Street neighborhood in Concord during July 1984. Residents may remember something unusual from that summer, even if it did not seem significant at the time.
🔹 Anyone with personal photographs taken in Concord during July 1984, particularly around Union Street and the surrounding downtown neighborhoods. A person, vehicle, or other background detail captured in an old photograph could potentially provide investigators with a valuable lead.
There are still questions that need answering, and investigators are asking people who may have information to speak up.
🕊️ In 1996, twelve years after Tippy vanished, her parents had her declared legally dead. Her mother died in 2003, and her father passed away in 2015 without learning what happened to his daughter.
Her sister Robin continued advocating for Tippy for decades, determined that her disappearance would not be forgotten. Robin passed away in July 2025, never knowing what happened to her sister.
Her death marked another heartbreaking loss for a family that had already endured decades of uncertainty. Robin had worried about who would continue searching for Tippy when she was no longer able to do so.
Tippy was only 15 when she disappeared. Whatever struggles she faced as a teenager, she was a daughter and sister whose life mattered. She deserved protection, and her family deserved the truth.
Today, investigators are still seeking information that could help locate her remains and bring some measure of resolution to those who have waited so long.
🧩 Could You Help Solve Shirley “Tippy” McBride’s Disappearance?
If you attended school with Tippy, lived in Concord during the summer of 1984, knew her or her associates, or have old photographs from the Union Street area, please consider contacting investigators. Information that seemed unimportant years ago may matter today.
📞 Concord Police Department: 603-225-8600
📞 New Hampshire Cold Case Unit tip line: 603-271-2663
📧 Email: coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov
You can also submit information through the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s official Cold Case Unit page for Shirley Ann “Tippy” McBride.
Please share. Someone may still remember something from that summer, something that could help investigators uncover the truth.
Shirley “Tippy” McBride deserves to be found, and the questions surrounding her disappearance deserve answers. 🕯️💔
Sources:
Shirley Ann McBride – The Charley Project
Shirley Ann “Tippy” McBride (1969-1996) – Find a Grave Memorial
Have you seen this child? Shirley Ann McBride
McBride, Shirley | Homeland Security and Emergency Management
The Disappearance of Shirley Ann ‘Tippy’ McBride — Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime
Shirley Ann “Tippy” McBride | New Hampshire Department of Justice
Shirley Ann ‘Tippy’ McBride’s 42nd Anniversary of 1984 Disappearance – InDepthNH.orgInDepthNH.org
42 Years After She Vanished From Concord, NH Cold Case Unit Jumpstarts Search For Shirley ‘Tippy’ McBride | Concord, NH Patch
Shirley Ann McBride disappeared in Concord 42 years ago. Now, authorities are asking for more information from the public – Concord Monitor
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