The Disappearance of Laureen Rahn

A 1980 Cold Case in Manchester, New Hampshire That Remains Unsolved

Where This Case Begins

Laureen lived with her mother, Judith Rahn, in a third-floor apartment on Merrimack Street, on the west side of Manchester, just a few blocks from the Merrimack River.

On April 26, 1980, Judith left town for the day to attend a tennis tournament with her boyfriend. Laureen, who usually went along, asked to stay home. Judith agreed.

That decision would become one of the last normal moments in this case.

That night, Laureen invited a couple of friends over. They spent time in the apartment, drinking beer and wine, the kind of behavior that feels ordinary in the moment and only stands out later. At some point, Laureen went to bed. Later, according to her friend, she got up, took a pillow and a blanket, and moved to the couch in the living room. That is the last confirmed moment anyone can place Laureen Rahn inside that apartment.

The Apartment Scene

Around 1:15 a.m., Judith returned home. Almost immediately, something felt wrong.

The front door was unsecured.The back door was open. Inside, one of Laureen’s friends was asleep. But Laureen was gone.

Investigators later confirmed:

• No signs of forced entry

• No signs of a struggle

• No missing clothing or personal belongings

Everything about the apartment suggested normalcy except for the one thing that mattered.

Laureen was not there.

Timeline: The Night Laureen Disappeared

April 26, 1980 – Evening

• Judith leaves town for a tennis tournament

• Laureen stays home and invites friends over

Late Night

• Laureen and friends drink beer and wine

• Laureen goes to bed

Sometime After Midnight

• Laureen moves from her bed to the couch with a pillow and blanket

• Friend falls asleep in Laureen’s bed

Around 1:15 a.m.

• Judith returns home

• Notices front door unsecured and back door open

• Finds friend asleep

• Laureen is missing

3:45 a.m.

• Manchester Police respond to report of a missing 14-year-old girl

A Timeline That Ends Too Soon

In the hours that followed, police worked to reconstruct Laureen’s movements.

They could confirm where she had been.

They could confirm who she was with.

But they could not answer the one question that mattered:

What happened after she moved to the couch?

No one saw her leave.No one heard anything unusual.

The timeline stops inside the apartment.

What Kind of Disappearance Is This

Cases like Laureen’s begin with a critical question:

What kind of missing is this?

• A voluntary walkaway

• A short-term exit that turned into something else

• An abduction by someone known

• A stranger encounter

Each possibility leads investigators in a different direction.

But in this case, there was not enough evidence to fully support any one theory.

The California Phone Calls

Months after Laureen disappeared, the investigation took a turn that remains one of its most unsettling elements.

Judith discovered three unusual charges on her phone bill dated October 1, 1980.

Investigators traced the calls to California.

• Two calls were placed from a motel pay phone in Santa Monica to another motel in Santa Ana

• One call was placed to a teen sexual assistance hotline

Through operator-assisted billing, common at the time, the charges were linked to Judith’s home phone in New Hampshire. Investigators followed the lead. They contacted the physician connected to the hotline. Initially, he denied knowing anything about the call.

Years later, he reportedly changed his story, stating that runaway girls sometimes visited his wife and that one may have been from New Hampshire.

But investigators were never able to confirm that Laureen was ever in California.

Geographic Context: Manchester to California

One of the most unsettling aspects of this case is the distance between:

Manchester, New HampshireandSanta Monica and Santa Ana, California

If the calls were connected to Laureen, it would mean she traveled across the country in the months after her disappearance. But there is no confirmed evidence that she did.

The calls remain one of the most debated and unresolved elements of the case.

What We Know and What We Don’t

What We Know

• Laureen was last confirmed inside her apartment

• The apartment showed no signs of a struggle

• She left behind all personal belongings

• Three phone calls were billed to her mother’s number from California

What We Don’t Know

• Whether Laureen left voluntarily or was taken

• Who, if anyone, she may have met that night

• Whether the California calls were connected to her

• What happened after she moved to the couch

Why This Case Still Matters

The disappearance of Laureen Rahn is not defined by a single event.

It is defined by the absence of one.

No clear break.No moment of violence.No definitive explanation.

Just a quiet apartment and a missing girl.

Laureen was fourteen years old.

She had a life beyond that night, interests, relationships, and plans.

And whatever happened to her, she deserves to be remembered as more than a mystery.

If You Have Information

If you have any information about the disappearance of Laureen Rahn, please contact:

Manchester Police Department (603) 668-8711

Listen to the Full Episode

This article accompanies Episode 1 of SEQUESTERED Season 4, where Sara Reid reconstructs Laureen’s final known hours and examines the unanswered questions that continue to define this case.