It’s been 50 years since Brenda Davidson vanished in Woodbridge, Virginia. On the morning of March 4, 1974, the then 14-year-old left for school but never returned home.
Dateline spoke with Brenda’s sister, Lisa Davidson, in 2017. She said that there have been several theories throughout the decades about what could have happened to her sister. One was that Brenda’s classmates walked her to the bus station. Another was that Brenda possibly ran away to Florida.
50 years later, none of these theories have been proven. “It’s like there is no solid information out there about my sister and what happened,” Lisa told Dateline. “A 14-year-old doesn’t just survive on their own all these years. Even if she did run away, how did she get by alone? What if something horrible happened to her after?”
On March 4, 2024 -- the 50th anniversary of Brenda’s disappearance -- the Prince William County police department posted about her case. They said that Brenda is considered a runaway and was reportedly last seen “at different locations after her initial disappearance.”
When Dateline spoke to Lisa in 2017, she said she was hoping the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children would create an age-progressed picture of Brenda to determine what she may look like now. Years later, they did just that.
Brenda would be 63 years old today.
Anyone with information about Brenda’s disappearance is asked to call the Prince William County Police Department tipline at 703-792-7000 or submit a webtip to www.pwcva.gov/policetip.
