Name: Catherine Barbara Davidson
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: September 1, 1973
Location Last Seen: Sawyer, Berrien County, Michigan
Date of Birth: December 13, 1966
Age: 6 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Female
Height: 3'10"
Weight: 70 lbs
Hair Color: Black, braided into tight rows
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Cathy
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: White blouse, blue shorts, white sandals
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Over Labor Day weekend, Cathy's father and stepmother traveled from Chicago to the Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan to take their children on a picnic. As the parents unloaded the car, Cathy and her five older siblings went to explore a creek that empties into Lake Michigan. Fifteen minutes later, Cathy was gone. This sparked a multi-day search for her without turning up anything other than a pair of green panties. It is unclear if these belonged to Cathy or not.
In 2017, a sibling of Cathy's born after her disappearance, told authorities that an older sister admitted to her Cathy was never at Warren Dunes State Park. The picnic was a guise to cover up Cathy's death. Cathy had died in a closet in their home in Chicago.
In late 2017, the stepmother was charged with the unrelated murder of a two-year-old boy and subsequently the manslaughter of a two-year-old girl. She died in prison in 2021.
Cathy has yet to be found.
Agency Name: Michigan State Police
Agency Contact Person: Det. Sgt. Dough Kill
Agency Phone Number: 269-683-4411
Agency E-Mail: MSP-MissingPersons@michigan.gov
Agency Case Number: 54-1696-73
NamUs Case Number: 36806
NCMEC Case Number: 1286862
NamUs
NCMEC
Our Black Girls
Chicago Tribune - Sept. 8, 1973
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Mar. 25, 2018
Added: 10/22/17; Last Updated: 3/25/22 - By: Doe-NamUs-App
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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