After Nearly 40 Years, Concord Missing Girl Case Gains Attention Of True Crime Enthusiasts

CONCORD, NH — Thirty-nine years ago today, Shirley Ann "Tippy" McBride, 15, vanished, never to be seen again.

The case, officially a missing persons case according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s Cold Case Unit, is one of the most extensively investigated incidents in the state’s capital city during the past four decades. The official release of information about the case has also been limited, giving her disappearance a shroud of mystery.

“Although this case has not been ruled a homicide, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance would suggest foul play was involved,” according to the state’s website.

Officially, McBride left her half-sister’s apartment not far from White Park on July 13, 1984. It was a Friday night. She planned to pick up her babysitting money from the family she worked for on Washington Street and then visit her boyfriend at his job on Old Turnpike Road. He worked at Concord Litho. She was never seen or heard from again.

Officials said she wore light summer clothing and left money and belongings behind.

While originally pegged as a runaway, the family never believed that scenario. McBride, nicknamed Tippy for her odd walk because of one foot turning inward a bit, had run away before but always returned. The family frantically searched for the girl but could not find her and was dismayed by the lack of progress with the case.

Concord police, a year into the investigation, had a suspect — Walter Davis II, a man from Merrimack whose father lived and worked in the capital region. Davis was found with what was believed to be Tippy’s clothing. Investigators thought he killed the girl but could not prove it without a body.

The family had Tippy declared legally dead in 1990. Davis died in 2003.

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In 2014, investigators had a break in the case when Stacie Coburn, a professor from Nashua who knew Davis’ family, reached out to Concord police with evidence about the case, specifically investigatory materials, including witness testimony she gave police as a girl which led Davis to become a suspect in the first place. All the materials, including the clothing Davis possessed that were believed to be Tippy’s, were stored at the Merrimack Police Department.

The McBride family offered DNA samples to investigators to see if they matched any evidence on the clothing. But family members have not heard from investigators since 2015.

In 2018, Coburn came forward to Patch to discuss the case, curious about the past evidence and her interview as a girl. But she has not heard from any investigators or received any updates either. She said no one even contacted her to walk through the case with her or see if evidence was left in any of the homes where the Davis’ lived.

It also bothers Coburn that she cannot hear her own interview — believing something might be sparked in her memory about the case if she could.

“I would really like to hear my interview,” she said. “It bothers me that I can’t listen to that.”

Evidence and materials connected to open investigations are nearly always kept from the public, although no specific law requires this.

During the past year, Tippy’s case has garnered national attention from true crime enthusiasts and podcasters.

Kristen Seavey, an actress, model, and writer, hosts the Murder, She Told true crime podcast. She primarily focuses on New England cases.

Seavey and her podcast crew were instrumental in reviving interest in a cold case out of Kittery, Maine, with connections to the New Hampshire Seacoast, involving Reeves Johnson III. Johnson was 31 when he disappeared sometime after returning home from work as a welder in Exeter on Feb. 3, 1983. After he disappeared, money was drained from his accounts, and his belongings were taken. A few weeks later, his mother took a picture of an unknown man taking mail from Johnson’s post office box. The man covered his face as she took the picture. The man was believed to be living in the Portsmouth area.

The case was dormant for decades until a detective in Kittery and Johnson’s family began working with Seavey to bring more attention to the case — which led to police releasing most of the case file to the public. Season of Justice, a nonprofit in Indiana, also sponsored ads to raise awareness about the case.

All involved continue to work on the Johnson case today.

Seavey said the Tippy case “kinda stuck out to me … there is a real mystery element to this case.” Even if it was the same as already-published documentation, “I think it’s still important,” she said. Seavey and her team were familiar with the cold cases in the region, about 200, and tried to gather more information for the public.

“When I created the show, I wanted to share stories like Tippy’s,” she said.

The fact that there is a big gap in coverage in the case was bothersome to her. So, she said, was the clothing part of the investigation, “which piqued my interest … just the fact that that wasn’t disclosed (publicly earlier); that was really weird.”

Murder, She Told produces episodes about every two weeks. The team has put together about 90 episodes since December 2020. “The Disappearance of Shirley Ann ‘Tippy' McBride,” released in late June, has been heard by tens of thousands of people.

“It’s a tremendous amount of work, but it’s super rewarding,” she said. “(and) I hope it makes a difference.”

Jenn Baxter, an attorney from Pennsylvania who has written two true crime books, posted an extensive overview of the case in May entitled, “Lost In the Night: The Strange Disappearance of Shirley McBride,” on Medium.

The Wicked Deeds Podcast was also reportedly working on an episode about Tippy, but it has not been posted yet.

In late 2019, UNH Anthropology Majors Crystina Friese and Hannah Harkins recorded a podcast about the case as part of their studies.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Scott Chase is now the NH DOJ’s Cold Case Unit chief. He said the investigation and circumstances surrounding her disappearance were still open.

“While we cannot share any additional information about the case to preserve the integrity of the investigation, our detectives and prosecutors are always seeking new leads from the public,” he said. “Cold case investigations are some of the most difficult and demanding investigations for law enforcement agencies. Public assistance can make the difference in furthering these investigations. If you have any information, please report it.”

Anyone with any information about the disappearance of Tippy, including her whereabouts and activities on July 13, 1984, was asked to contact the Concord Police Department at 603-225-8600; provide an anonymous tip to the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100; or submit the tip through the Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Unit website at https://www.doj.nh.gov/criminal/cold-case/tip-form.htm.

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