Overview

Last seen: October 4, 1973, according to NamUs-derived records and The Charley Project; the California Department of Justice currently lists October 8, 1973.
Location: Berkeley, California.
Age: 21.
Status: Missing person.

Main circumstances: Shaw reportedly left his Berkeley apartment during or shortly after dinner with his roommates, drove away in his restored light-blue 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, California license plate 150ECO, and never returned. His roommates reported him missing two days later. Publicly available accounts indicate that his passport, checkbook and spare clothing remained behind. Neither Shaw nor his vehicle has been publicly reported recovered.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Peter Michael Shaw Disappearance: UC Berkeley Student Vanished With His Car in 1973

Peter Michael Shaw was 21 years old and a junior at the University of California, Berkeley when he disappeared in October 1973. More than five decades later, neither Shaw nor the distinctive light-blue 1953 Pontiac Chieftain he was driving has been publicly reported as found, and California authorities continue to list him as a missing person.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: October 4, 1973, according to NamUs-derived records and The Charley Project; the California Department of Justice currently lists October 8, 1973.
Location: Berkeley, California.
Age: 21.
Status: Missing person.

Main circumstances: Shaw reportedly left his Berkeley apartment during or shortly after dinner with his roommates, drove away in his restored light-blue 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, California license plate 150ECO, and never returned. His roommates reported him missing two days later. Publicly available accounts indicate that his passport, checkbook and spare clothing remained behind. Neither Shaw nor his vehicle has been publicly reported recovered.

The Disappearance of Peter Michael Shaw

Peter Michael Shaw was born July 3, 1952. At the time he vanished, he stood approximately 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighed roughly 180 to 190 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. He was studying at UC Berkeley and was 21 years old when he disappeared.

Shaw lived with two roommates in Berkeley. One later secondary account, drawing from contemporary newspaper material, identifies the residence as an apartment at 2 Panoramic Way and reports that Shaw had only recently moved there. The same account says he was majoring in mathematics and working in food service on the UC Berkeley campus.

On the evening commonly cited as October 4, 1973, Shaw was reportedly eating dinner with his roommates when, at approximately 8:00 p.m., he abruptly got up and left without explaining where he was going. He drove away in a light-blue 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, a vehicle described in later accounts as carefully restored.

The Pontiac carried California license plate 150ECO. Shaw was never heard from again, and publicly available case summaries do not report the vehicle as having been recovered.

Personal Belongings Were Left Behind

One of the more significant details appearing in later reconstructions of the case is what Shaw apparently did not take with him.

Accounts based on newspaper clippings state that his checkbook, passport and spare clothing were left at his apartment. If accurate, those details suggest that Shaw had not obviously prepared for an extended trip when he drove away that night.

His roommates reportedly waited approximately two days before notifying authorities, apparently because they initially expected him to return. The Charley Project likewise states that his roommates reported him missing two days after he was last seen.

A Distinctive Car That Also Vanished

The disappearance of Shaw’s Pontiac remains one of the most unusual aspects of the case.

A restored 1953 Pontiac Chieftain would have been relatively distinctive even in 1973. Yet neither the car nor Shaw has surfaced in the publicly available record. This has led people following the case to consider possibilities ranging from an unreported accident to the vehicle entering a body of water, abandonment in a remote location, or circumstances involving foul play.

Those theories remain speculation. No publicly available law-enforcement source reviewed for this article identifies a confirmed explanation for Shaw’s disappearance.

Conflicting Last-Seen Dates

There is an important discrepancy in the public records.

The Charley Project and older NamUs-derived material list Shaw as missing from Berkeley on October 4, 1973. Contemporary-discussion material also cites newspaper coverage describing an approximately 8:00 p.m. disappearance on that date.

However, the California Department of Justice currently lists Shaw’s date last seen as October 8, 1973. The state page does not explain the four-day discrepancy.

Because the official sources conflict, October 4 should not be silently substituted for the state’s October 8 entry. October 4 is the date most consistently supported by the detailed narrative sources, while October 8 remains the date presently displayed by California authorities.

Identification Information Available to Investigators

California’s missing-person record states that dental X-rays are available for Shaw. Older NamUs-derived material reproduced by Websleuths also indicated that dental information had been entered and that a DNA sample had been submitted and testing completed at the time that information was captured.

Because databases change over time, the older DNA notation should not automatically be treated as the present NamUs status without direct confirmation from investigators.

Dental records can be particularly important in a case this old because unidentified remains discovered decades ago may eventually be compared against missing-person files.

Latest Publicly Available Developments

Shaw remains listed in the California Department of Justice missing-person database, with the Berkeley Police Department identified as the reporting agency and case number 01-63542. There is no public indication on that state record that the case has been resolved.

A discussion tracking the NamUs record reported that by October 2024, 14 unidentified-person exclusions had been associated with Shaw’s case, including an additional exclusion identified there as UP15524. Because that information is reproduced in a Websleuths discussion rather than a current accessible NamUs case page, it should be regarded as secondary reporting of database information rather than an independent police announcement.

A more recent development came in February 2026, when The Doe Network added Shaw to its missing-person database as 7075DMCA. The Doe Network’s own update log records Peter Michael Shaw as a California missing-person case added on February 5, 2026, while a later Websleuths post referencing the entry states it was added February 3. The addition increases the case’s visibility but does not indicate that Shaw has been located or that investigators have announced a new suspect or theory.

As of the most recent public records reviewed, there has been no publicly announced resolution, recovery of Shaw, recovery of his Pontiac, arrest, or officially identified suspect.

Why Peter Shaw’s Case Remains Difficult

More than 50 years have passed since Shaw disappeared. Witness memories have faded, some original participants may no longer be living, and investigative technology available today did not exist in 1973.

At the same time, several unusually concrete pieces of information remain: Shaw’s dental records, his physical description, a photograph, the exact make and approximate appearance of his vehicle, its California license plate and established missing-person case numbers.

The fact that both a person and a large, identifiable automobile apparently vanished together makes the location of the Pontiac potentially central to explaining what happened.