Disappearance of Laureen Rahn

Laureen Ann Rahn (April 3, 1966–disappeared April 26 or 27, 1980) is an American teenager who vanished under mysterious circumstances from her home in Manchester, New Hampshire.

On the night of her disappearance, Rahn was accompanied by a male and female friend at the apartment she shared with her mother, Judith, who was out on a date with her boyfriend.

At some point during the evening, Rahn's male friend left the apartment after hearing voices in the hallway, assuming Rahn's mother was returning home.

Her female friend remained at the apartment.

Upon Judith's arrival home after midnight, she found that all of the lightbulbs in the apartment building's hallways had been unscrewed, leaving the halls completely dark.

In the apartment, Judith saw a figure sleeping in her daughter's bed and assumed it to be her; however, she then discovered it was in fact Rahn's female friend who had slept in the bed.

Her friend claimed to have seen Rahn going to sleep on the couch.

In the months after Rahn's disappearance, Judith was billed for numerous phone calls from an unidentified caller, which were placed from motels in Santa Ana and Santa Monica, California.

Karole Jensen, an investigator from the association Wings for Children, uncovered that one of these motels had been suspected of hosting the production of child pornography, but it was never confirmed that Rahn had been at either motel.

Rahn's mother continued to receive anonymous calls in the ensuing years before eventually changing her phone number.

Laureen Rahn was born on April 3, 1966 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Her parents divorced when she was an infant, and she was primarily brought up by her mother, Judith Rahn (nee Swanson).

When Laureen was four, she and Judith moved to Miami, Florida, but six years later, they returned to Manchester.

By 1980, they resided in a third-floor apartment on Merrimack Street.

Laureen was a student at Parkside Junior High School.

She was described as a happy, outgoing girl and a good student who got along with her mother.

She loved to sing and dance, and she dreamed of being an actress.

However, Laureen was said to be "troubled."

She spent much of her time alone on the streets, had talked about running away, and had begun to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol.

Her aunt, Diane Pinault, described her as "an angel who hung around with the wrong people for a while."

On April 26, 1980, Laureen Rahn was left to stay home at the apartment.

Her mother, Judith, was spending the evening attending an out-of-town tennis match to watch her boyfriend, a professional tennis player, compete.

Rahn, who was on spring break at the time, usually attended the matches with her mother, but she had asked to stay home this time.

Rahn spent the day around the neighborhood and at a convenience store on the block.

Several family members had stopped by the apartment during the day.

In the evening, she invited one male and one female friend over, and the three drank a six-pack of beer and a bottle of wine together.

Rahn's friends would later say they had seen her restocking wine coolers at the convenience store during the day, possibly in exchange for the alcohol.

Around 12:30a.m. on April27, Rahn was sitting with her male friend in the living room when they heard voices in the apartment building's hallways.

He exited the apartment through a back door, assuming that Rahn's mother was returning home and that he and Rahn would get in trouble if he was found there.

The male friend stated that he heard Rahn lock the door behind him as he left.

Another neighbor confirmed having heard voices approaching the apartment around that time.

Some time around 1:15 a.m. on April 27, Judith arrived home accompanied by her boyfriend and noticed that the light bulbs on all three of the apartment building's floors had been unscrewed, leaving the hallways completely dark.

When she arrived at her apartment's front door, she found it unlocked.

Judith initially looked into her daughter's darkened bedroom, saw the bed was occupied, and assumed it was Laureen.

Her boyfriend then noticed the back door was open.

Judith went to wake Laureen to ask why, but realized as she approached the bed that it was not her daughter at all, but a friend.

Laureen's friend claimed that Laureen had been in bed with her, but had taken her pillow and blanket to sleep on the couch in the living room.

The girl would later state that she was unable to recall any of that night due to her inebriation.

Upon further examination of the apartment, Judith found Laureen's purse and her brand new sneakers, a birthday gift, in the living room.

None of Laureen's possessions, including her money or clothing, were missing, nor were there signs of a struggle in the apartment.