New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Still Asking For Tips About Man Reported Missing In Concord 36 Years Ago

CONCORD, NH — The cold case of David Braley Jr. of Belmont turned 36 on Monday.

Braley, 21, at the time he went missing, was last seen near the Take 5 Music Hall nightclub on Garvins Falls Road on Nov. 10, 1989. His body was found about four months later, in the Merrimack River in Manchester. After his body was found, Braley’s death was initially not ruled as a murder but a “suspicious death.”

According to initial reports, a waitress at the May King Restaurant, which was located at the intersection of Loudon Road and East Side Drive, saw Braley leaving with two men around 9 p.m. on the night in question. He called his younger brother at about the same time and said he would be home within the hour or would be spending the night with a friend from work named Steve.

After Braley did not show up for work at Goodyear Tire on Saturday morning, his boss called his house. The family learned he did not spend the night with the friend and became alarmed. The family suspected he was binge drinking, was ashamed to return home, but would return the next day, according to published reports at the time. And when he did not, they became worried.

Family members began searching for Braley and found his car — a Chevrolet Chevette locked and empty in the May King parking lot. Braley’s father returned home and called the police.

The family began piecing together what happened to David that night.

After checking out from work at 6 p.m., he hung out in the office for about half an hour. David and Steve then went to the Hawaiian Isle Restaurant on Hall Street for food and drinks. They left around 7:30 p.m. Steve reportedly dropped Braley off at Goodyear, where he worked as an alignment specialist, to pick up his car. He had been working at the store for about six months. His friend offered to let him stay at his house, but he chose to go home instead. Steve last saw Braley turning onto Airport Road from Manchester Street.

A bartender at May King said Braley was drinking with two other men at the bar. He knew David from prior visits, a report stated. But the bartender did not know the other men. The three men began talking loudly, but did not seem to be fighting; the bartender said he thought they were all friends. The family said it was not unusual for Braley to befriend people.

Later, he was spotted at the Music Hall with the same men. Braley was thrown out of the bar around 10:30 p.m. for disruptive behavior, police said. He was last seen running into the woods behind the racquet club, heading toward the river, witnesses said.

Police said Braley had been accused of abusing substances and was also accused of setting a fire at the Brickyard Motel on Weirs Beach in 1988. The family said he had been treated for substance abuse earlier in the year, was staying sober, and was turning his life around. He loved working at Goodyear, they said.

“The only trouble that he’s ever been in has had to do with alcohol,” his mother was quoted as saying at the time, “and he was doing pretty well.”

The state was considering revoking his driving privileges due to several driving while intoxicated, speeding, and other motor vehicle offenses.

Concord and Belmont police sent out alerts to other law enforcement agencies in an effort to find Braley to no avail. Employees at Goodyear were interviewed and reinterviewed, according to media reports.

Initially, police did not suspect foul play.

A little more than five months later, Braley’s body was found in the Merrimack River, still dressed in his work uniform. His body was seen near Stark Lane on the west side of the city. The body was taken to Concord Hospital for an autopsy. Braley was identified via dental records.

Police believed someone else knew something about the case that evening or afterward. Investigators surmised he was beaten somewhere in the area of Manchester Street and dumped in the river. They believed an altercation may have occurred at the nightclub.

In January 1992, a reward was issued for information about the case.

Braley, according to his obituary, was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and also lived in Norton, MA. He moved to Belmont in 1986 after graduating from Maine Central Institute. He also attended an engineering school in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 2023, the state’s cold case unit began reexamining Braley’s death and asked witnesses to come forward. They hoped to use new technologies to find more clues that would help resolve the case. Investigators also said members of the Concord community provided conflicting and contradictory testimonies and information.

The attorney general’s office said Thursday the cold case unit was still working to resolve the case.

“The investigation into the 1989 suspicious death of David Braley remains active and ongoing,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, Chief, NH Cold Case Unit, said. “The Cold Case Unit continues to appeal to the public for any information related to Mr. Braley's death. Investigators suspect that witnesses to his disappearance or the assault may have been reluctant to come forward at the time. We urge anyone with any information, no matter how small it may seem, to please contact investigators. Your information could be the key to bringing justice to David and his family.”

Braley is one of seven “official” cold cases in Concord. Others include Paul Bonin, Judy Lord, Sonya Moore, Shirley Ann “Tippy” McBride, Paul Siegler, and Janis Taylor. There are other unsolved or resolved killings in the city.

Anyone with information concerning the disappearance and death of Braley was encouraged to contact the Concord Police Department at 603-225-8600, or the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100, or the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit tip line at 800-525-5555 or via email at coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov.

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