Missing
Tracy Jo Shine
Shine, approximately 1987; Michael Neal
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/08/1987
Missing location (approx) :
Harris County, Texas
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 12/07/1962 (58)
Age at the time of disappearance: 24 years old
Height / Weight : 5'2, unknown weight
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, brown eyes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Shine was last seen in Harris County, Texas on April 8, 1987. Authorities believe she was murdered by her live-in boyfriend, Michael Durwood Neal, in their house in the 7900 block of Machala in northwest Harris County. He mistakenly believed she'd told the police about his criminal activities.
A photo of Neal is posted with this case summary. He was a drug dealer and a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang.
Investigators believe Neal stored Shine's body in a refrigerator for several months and then dissolved it in muriatic acid. By the time they recovered the refrigerator, it was empty and had been cleaned with bleach. Investigators were able to match a single hair and a small amount of human tissue found inside it to Shine's mitochondrial DNA.
Neal was charged with Shine's murder in March 2000. In January 2001, he pleaded guilty and led police to the strip mall near Jones Road and FM 1960 where'd he put Shine's body in a garbAge at the time of disappearance: bin.
Neal was already serving a life term for aggravated assault when he pleaded guilty; he was sentenced to life for Shine's murder, to be served concurrently to the other life sentence. He is now deceased.
Shine's mother stated her daughter had a normal childhood and was a talented dancer who was accepted to a prestigious performing arts high school in Houston, Texas. However, in high school she got involved with drugs and eventually dropped out. She moved in with Neal at Age at the time of disappearance: eighteen.
Shine's body has never been found and was probably taken to the city landfill. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Harris County Sheriff's Department
September 2021 updates and sources
The Houston Chronicle
MurderVictims.com
The Los Angeles Daily News
Forensic Files
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
