Tammie McCormick Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2010

Sep 05, 2023

Tammie

McCormick

53

13

65 inches

108 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

On a spring morning in Saratoga Springs, New York, on April 29, 1986, 13-year-old Tammie McCormick vanished. That Tuesday, she had told her sister she was going to skip school. It was initially believed she missed her school bus and decided to hitchhike, but later reports clarified that she had no intention of going to school that day. She was last seen wearing a yellow striped shirt, a jean jacket, black corduroy pants, and beige boots, and she was carrying a shoulder bag. Tammie, a seventh-grader at Saratoga Springs Junior High School, also had a distinctive homemade tattoo of her initials, "T.A.M.," on her upper left arm. Her mother did not report her missing for two days, as it wasn't unusual for Tammie to stay over at a friend's house without notice, though she usually called the next day. When she didn't return home or contact her family, and they learned she hadn't been to school, the search for the young girl began. The investigation into Tammie's disappearance was complex from the start. Some of her friends mentioned that she had talked about running away to Florida, and there was a plan for her and a friend to hitchhike there. In fact, a friend had secretly stayed over at Tammie's house the night before with the intention of leaving with her. However, on the morning she disappeared, Tammie left the house alone, leaving her friend behind. That friend eventually made the trip to Florida with someone else. A motorist later reported picking up a girl matching Tammie's description that morning and dropping her off near Saratoga Lake, which was not in the direction of Florida. Over the years, there were several unconfirmed sightings of Tammie in various states, but none led to her whereabouts. Foul play was suspected early in the case, particularly because she left behind all of her belongings. Her mother doubted the runaway theory, pointing out that Tammie was wearing old, uncomfortable boots that gave her blisters. Years later, the focus of the investigation shifted significantly towards a single suspect. In 2011, authorities announced they believed Tammie had been murdered and named Arthur Mason Slaybaugh II, a former corrections officer, as the probable killer. Slaybaugh, who was in his mid-twenties when Tammie disappeared, was someone she knew and looked up to. He was known to have underage girls at his house near Saratoga Lake, close to where Tammie was reportedly last seen. Investigators received crucial information after Slaybaugh's death from a heart attack in 2001, as witnesses who had been afraid to speak previously came forward. Police conducted searches for her remains on property connected to Slaybaugh's family as recently as 2017, but these efforts were unsuccessful. The case of Tammie McCormick remains an unresolved disappearance. Despite the passage of decades and the identification of a prime suspect, her body has never been found, leaving her family with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss. Investigators believe that recovering her remains is the key to officially solving the case.

Apr 29, 1986

Saratoga Springs

New York

Saratoga County

12866

8301

Saratoga Springs Police Department

Saratoga Springs

New York

Saratoga County

12866

5 Lake Avenue, New York

5185841800

Local

Law Enforcement

https://www.saratoga-springs.org/150/Police-Department

GPDS0706

1986-05-01

Saratoga Springs Police Department

Brown

Hazel

Hazel

09/15/2026