1982 Murder of Oil Executive Bert Henry McMahon Remains Unsolved

Photo of Bert Henry McMahon. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

Bert Henry McMahon was a 47-year-old owner of a Chevron distribution firm from Sonoma, California. In early 1982, McMahon traveled to Las Vegas with his business partner, Charles Kenney - who was a co-owner of the North Bay Oil Company in Napa, California - to attend the Inter-Mountain Oil Company Convention at Caesar's Palace. After the convention ended on the night of February 16, 1982, McMahon and Kenny joined about 135 fellow conventioneers for a banquet dinner at the Library Buttery and Pub restaurant located at 200 W. Sahara Avenue. McMahon was last seen alive waving to friends as they drove away in a rental car and left McMahon standing in front of the Library. The time was about 8:45 p.m.

McMahon's mysterious disappearance occurred in a fifteen minute window between 8:45 pm and 9:00 pm. Around 9:30 p.m. a passing motorist discovered McMahon's lifeless body along the side of East Lake Mead just east of Mt. Hood Street and not far from Sunrise Mountain. McMahon had been shot several times in the head and body. Police estimate the drive from the Library to the murder scene was approximately 23-26 minutes, leaving a tight timeframe for the murder to occur. McMahon's rented car was found in the parking lot of the Library in the spot where he had parked it when arriving at the restaurant.

Police ruled out robbery as a motive since McMahon had cash and jewelry still on him when his corpse was discovered. And Metro detectives traveled to California to explore whether McMahon had links to organized crime but turned up no leads on that front. McMahon had a clean arrest record back in California and was married with a teenage son. Detectives put forward the possibility that McMahon had picked up a prostitute and was killed during an altercation, but police felt this theory was unlikely and noted there was no evidence in support of such a scenario.

Interestingly, the North Bay Oil Company ceased operations in 1984, just two years after McMahon’s slaying. Later environmental impact statements from Napa, California showed that the bulk storage and distribution center operated by North Bay Oil Company had allowed petroleum to seep into the area’s groundwater.

To date, the murder of Bert McMahon during what was supposed to be an uneventful business trip to Las Vegas remains unsolved.

Local Las Vegas press only ran a few articles on the McMahon murder. This article from the year following the murder sought tips as to suspects or a motive. (Las Vegas-Clark County Library District)