Left and Center: Tracy circa, 1983
Right: Age Progressed to age 48
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 7, 1983
Missing From: Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: July 7, 1968
Age: 14 years old
Height and Weight: 5’0″ and 95 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Blonde hair, Blue eyes, Tracy’s ears are pierced, Tracy may have been pregnant at the time of her 1983 disappearance but this has not been confirmed
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A shirt and a pair of jeans
NCMEC Number: 600609
Details of Disappearance
Tracy was last seen in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania on March 7th 1983. Her mother’s boyfriend, Paul W. Greenwald, dropped her off at Bensalem High School where she was a ninth grade student during the morning. She told Paul “Have a good day” before she got out of his car. Tracy was suspended from school at the time and she would only be able to return if her mother met with the school’s principal. She kept this a secret from her family, however.
After being dropped off, Tracy attempted to get her friends to skip school with her but they refused to do so. Tracy disappeared soon afterwards and was never seen or heard from again. Tracy was initially considered a runaway and there were possible sightings of her in the local area days later. None of them were ever substantiated, however.
Tracy had run away only once before her disappearance. She stormed out of her residence after having an argument with her mother and stayed away for one night. Prior to her disappearance, Tracy told a friend she was possibly pregnant. It’s unknown if this is true and who the father might be. Tracy had dated two boys previously according to her friend.
Seven months after Tracy vanished, her mother Jean Louise Byrd also vanished. She was last seen at 4:00 am on October 7th 1983 in the parking lot of Brookside Square apartments near Park Avenue. She had been visiting her son that day and was planning on spending the weekend with her friends. When she didn’t show up like planned, her friends reported her missing.
When police went to the apartment complex to investigate, they found Jean’s car still parked there. At the time of her disappearance, she was unemployed and had broken up with Paul Greenwald a few weeks before. Police believe Jean was abducted before she could get into her car.
On October 18th 1983, Jean’s partially nude body was discovered in the Blackbird State Forest at 10:30 am by two airmen from the Dover Air Force Base. She had been bound, gagged and strangled to death before being hidden under some foliage. The area was also searched for any possible trace of her daughter but nothing else was found.
In November of 1984, Paul was charged with Jean’s abduction and murder. The two had a very tumultuous relationship marked by violence and trouble. In 1980, Greenwald once kidnapped Jean at knifepoint. He admitted to killing Jean and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter. In March of 1986, Greenwald committed suicide in his jail cell by hanging himself before his sentencing hearing.
Authorities long suspected that Greenwald was involved in Tracy’s disappearance as he was one of the last known people to see her alive. He was never positively linked to her case however and his death has made it impossible to say whether or not he could’ve harmed the girl. It’s never been established whether Tracy’s disappearance and her mother’s murder are connected.
Authorities do not believe that Tracy left on her own accord. She was close to her mother and would’ve returned home for her mother’s funeral if she was able to. Tracy’s case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Bensalem Township Police Department 215-639-3700
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Philadelphia Daily News 10/21/1983
Philadelphia Daily News 10/22/1983
The Philadelphia Inquirer 10/22/1983
Philadelphia Daily News 11/26/1984
Philadelphia Daily News 03/24/1986