In 2002, a 71-year-old Missouri woman vanished on her way to her daughter’s house. Ten days later, her car was found hidden under a tarp with large amounts of her blood in the backseat. Who killed Shirley McKeown?
On the morning of August 24, 2002, Shirley McKeown left her home in Kansas City, Missouri to drive to her daughter's house and supervise what was supposed to be an ordinary job by a team of painters. She would never arrive.
Ten days later, her white 1990 Cadillac DeVille would be found in an abandoned lot (or behind a vacant house, sources differ) in Kansas City. It had been covered with a tarp and brush in a rough attempt to conceal the car; the personalized license plates (MCQ-N) had been removed and the backseat of the car was found covered in a large amount of blood later proven by DNA to be Shirley's. A medical examiner stated the amount of blood lost meant it was extremely unlikely she survived.
Decades later, her body and killer have yet to be found.
Shirley A. McKeown
Born January, 1931, she was a Missouri native and 71 years old when she disappeared. She wore glasses and had a pacemaker but was otherwise reportedly in excellent health. She was not known to have Alzheimer's disease or another condition that would explain becoming disoriented and wandering away.
At the time of her disappearance, Shirley was a retired nurse that had worked at North Kansas City hospital throughout the 60s and 70s. According to family, she enjoyed antiques, refinishing old woodwork, flea markets and yard sales. She was a widow and the mother of two children.
Timeline
Friday, August 23, 2002: Shirley's daughter, Bridget, was away for the weekend and asked her mom to supervise a team of painters who were helping renovate her house at the 3400 Block of Charlotte Street in Kansas City, Missouri. Shirley was apparently with the painters on Friday and told them she would return the next morning.
Saturday, August 24, 2002: At approximately 9:30 AM, Shirley left her home near East 44th Street/Laurel Avenue in Kansas City to head to her daughter's house (8 miles away, approximately 15-20 minute drive in traffic). She never arrived and no documented sightings of her exist after leaving her home that morning.
Sunday, August 25, 2002: Around 2PM, her daughter attempted to call her multiple times before finally contacting Shirley's neighbors. They reported that her dog had apparently been left out all night, her Sunday newspaper was still laying in the yard, and that her back door was unlocked. All of this was unusual according to her daughter, who reported her missing immediately after.
September 3, 2002: Ten days after her disappearance, Shirley's white 1990 Cadillac DeVille would be discovered in an abandoned area around 33rd Street and Highland Avenue in Kansas City. It was reportedly hidden behind trees and covered in a tarp (some sources also report brush or branches on top as well) and her personalized license plates (MCQ-N) were missing.
One of the most notable things about this is that the car discovery location is roughly a mile away from the daughter's house (a 5 minute drive) while Shirley's house is around 8-9 miles away from both.
2014: Kansas City police Sgt. Everett Babcock was working Shirley's case while also investigating the disappearance of another Kansas City woman, Tabitha Brewer. According to local news, Babcock indicated that he had spoken with people whom he believed possessed enough knowledge to lead investigators to the missing women's bodies.
2023: During an interview with KCTV, Shirley's daughter told them that she felt dismissed when originally reporting her mom's case back in 2002.
Other Developments
After this point, the case begins to get extremely bizarre. An 18 year old has been identified in multiple reports as being questioned after having been seen driving Shirley's Cadillac and having some of her things on him. Despite this, I've been unable to find any further information regarding his name, the date of this, or why he wasn't considered a suspect despite being in possession of her car and belongings.
A few days after the car was discovered, another unidentified man that lived in the neighborhood came forward voluntarily and told police he had information about the vehicle. He was interviewed and his house and yard were searched. Investigators did not publicly label the man a suspect, however they reportedly believed he may have been in contact with the people involved in Shirley's disappearance.
What Happened?
Shirley's daughter has stated her death was probably a carjacking, however to this day her body or license plates have never been recovered. The blood in the backseat indicates she was either forced in the back and killed there OR attacked and then forced into the back afterwards, however it is unknown where she was intercepted along the way.
According to the painters, she never arrived to the house at all the day of her disappearance. The odd thing about this is that the location of the car is a little more than a mile from the daughter's house which could possibly mean she was attacked there or nearby. It's very possible that she was the victim of a carjacking that turned into a murder of opportunity or an accidental killing during the robbery itself; the car concealment itself seemed to be a rushed job as they attempted to use a tarp and branches to cover it and reports didn't indicate any attempts to clean up the blood.
From a personal standpoint, I find it extremely odd that the 18 year old found with her car and belongings was questioned but never named or interrogated further as well the fact that nothing further came out of the man who came forward with voluntary information. Her daughter has expressed to the news that police did not take her case seriously as well.
Unfortunately, many of the abandoned buildings around the area have been demolished and rebuilt now which may make finding concrete evidence difficult, but I do hope someone will come forward especially since the 18 year old driving her car would only be 42 now if he's alive.
Edit
An interesting update while digging through newspapers from the time: the 18 year old and the neighborhood man may in fact be the same person. He apparently lived in the neighborhood with his mom and somehow obtained Shirley’s car with belongings inside from somebody else and voluntarily contacted the police with a lawyer.
Another detail is the police were looking for a specific chair Shirley bought and even out out a piece in the newspaper with a photo asking for more leads on where she bought it as apparently she frequented flea markets and garage sales. She may have possibly stopped somewhere on the way to her daughter’s house to acquire it. Police apparently recovered the antique chair and other belongings from the 18 year old’s house.
Detectives apparently said they suspected the 18 year old was not telling the truth but they were lacking enough evidence to pursue him further; he claimed he bought the Cadillac for 50$ and knew nothing about the missing woman. Witnesses reported seeing 4 young men riding around her car after she vanished and credit card records show her car was filled with gas in Olathe.
Google Map of the 3 Locations in the Case
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1jpGBYFUPOXxoVJJjLrsQiMNIsIQwL8g&usp=sharing
Sources
https://kcpolice.org/crime/missing-persons/unsolved-missing-persons-cases/shirley-mckeown/ https://kccrimestoppers.com/sitemenu.aspx?ID=452&P=unsolved&PageNum=7 https://charleyproject.org/case/shirley-a-mckeownhttps://ncmissingpersons.org/shirley-mckeown/ https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3747dfmo.html https://web.archive.org/web/20140313081033/http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/police-new-leads-in-cases-of-missing-kc-women https://web.archive.org/web/20080901201724/http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2008/08/the-elusive-pur.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150909185144/http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2007/08/five-years-late.htmlhttps://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/mpphotos/A1001001A12J10A95324B962871.pdf https://www.kctv5.com/2023/04/12/community-advocates-react-kcpd-bringing-back-missing-persons-unit/https://www.kmbc.com/article/families-ask-for-help-finding-bodies-of-mckeown-brewer/3681255https://websleuths.com/threads/mo-shirley-mckeown-71-kansas-city-24-aug-2002.27708/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article341584.html