Key facts
- Name: Laureen Ann Rahn
- Born: April 3, 1966
- Age at disappearance: 14
- Last seen: April 26, 1980, around midnight (some agencies list April 27, 1980)
- Location: Third-floor apartment she shared with her mother, 289 Merrimack Street, Manchester, New Hampshire
- Height / build: 5’4″, 90 lbs, brown hair, blue eyes
- Status: Still missing — NH DOJ renewed appeal May 2026
- Investigating agency: Manchester Police Department (603-668-8711); NH Cold Case Unit tip line (603) 271-2663 (Cold Case Unit also reachable at (603) 223-3648 per some case coverage)
The night at 289 Merrimack Street
April 26, 1980. Fourteen-year-old Laureen Rahn was home at the third-floor apartment she shared with her mother, Judith, at 289 Merrimack Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. Judith was out of town with her boyfriend — a professional tennis player — at a tournament. Laureen, who was on spring break from Parkside Junior High, had asked to stay home.
That evening, Laureen spent time with a male friend and a female friend in the apartment, drinking beer and wine. At some point the male friend heard voices in the hallway, feared Judith was coming home, and slipped out through the back door; he later said he heard Laureen lock the door behind him.
Judith arrived home around midnight to find the light bulbs in the hallways on all three floors of the building unscrewed and everything dark. The apartment’s front door was unlocked. She checked Laureen’s room, saw a figure in the bed, and assumed it was her daughter.
In the morning, Judith discovered the figure was the female friend, asleep in Laureen’s bed — the friend said she had last seen Laureen sleeping on the couch. Laureen was gone. Her clothes and brand-new sneakers were in the living room, her purse was left behind, and the back door was open. A 14-year-old girl does not vanish from her own home without a trace.
The phone calls
The strangest thread in Laureen’s case is a set of documented phone calls. On October 1, 1980 — three months after Laureen disappeared — Judith discovered she had been billed for three calls to California she never made. Two were placed from a motel in Santa Monica to another motel in Santa Ana; the third went to a teen sexual assistance hotline run by a physician, who years later changed his story about what he knew. Judith had no friends or relatives in California, and Laureen had never lived there. An investigator who visited the motels in 1986 found one may have been used by a child pornographer known as “Dr. Z” — though no link to Laureen was ever established.
For about a year after the disappearance, Judith also received mysterious calls at roughly 3:45 a.m. in which the caller never said a word; more silent calls arrived around the Christmas holidays for several years, until Judith eventually changed her number. In 1986, a childhood friend of Laureen’s received a call from a woman identifying herself as “Laurie” — the caller was never identified.
Judith came to believe her daughter had placed the October 1980 California calls herself, and that Laureen might still be alive. The calls were never conclusively explained. Judith later moved to Florida and remarried.
The investigation
The Manchester Police Department (603-668-8711) has carried Laureen’s case since 1980, with the NH Cold Case Unit supporting. The open back door, the belongings left behind, and the later phone calls have kept the case in the public eye for decades — it has been covered by true-crime podcasts and New Hampshire press across generations. The NH Department of Justice issued a renewed appeal for information in 2026, asking anyone with information to contact Manchester police or the Cold Case Unit tip line at (603) 271-2663; the FBI Boston Division’s Cold Case Team contributed an age-progressed photograph of Laureen.
No suspect has ever been publicly named. No arrest has been made. The California phone calls were never conclusively explained.
Theories: what might have happened
Abduction from the apartment. The open back door, the belongings left behind, the unscrewed hallway bulbs. What supports it: nothing about the scene suggests she left willingly. What undercuts it: no witness, no forced entry reported, no identified abductor.
Someone she knew. Two friends were in the apartment that night; the male friend left via the back door. What supports it: the unlocked front door suggests someone with access. What undercuts it: no person of interest has ever been publicly named. Any living person is presumed innocent.
The phone calls mean she was alive. Judith believed the October 1980 California calls were placed by Laureen herself. What supports it: the calls were billed to Judith’s number and came from California, where Laureen had no ties. What undercuts it: no caller was ever identified, and no trace of Laureen ever surfaced in California.
Voluntary departure. What undercuts it completely: her clothes, brand-new sneakers, and purse left behind — and 46 years of silence.
Have information?
Contact the Manchester Police Department at (603) 668-8711 or the NH Cold Case Unit tip line at (603) 271-2663. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- April 3, 1966 — Laureen Ann Rahn is born.
- April 26, 1980, around midnight — Vanishes from the apartment she shared with her mother at 289 Merrimack St., Manchester; mother out of town, two friends present that evening; found gone in the morning — clothes, brand-new sneakers, and purse left behind, back door open. (Some agencies list the date as April 27, 1980.)
- October 1, 1980 — Three calls billed to Judith Rahn are traced to California motels (Santa Monica, Santa Ana) and a teen hotline.
- 1980s–1990s — Judith receives years of silent phone calls (~3:45 a.m., then around the holidays) until she changes her number; a 1986 “Laurie” call to a childhood friend is never identified.
- 1980–present — Case open with Manchester PD and the NH Cold Case Unit; no suspect publicly named.
- 2026 — NH Department of Justice issues a renewed appeal for information, with an age-progressed photo from the FBI Boston Cold Case Team.
- April 2030 (upcoming) — The 50th anniversary of her disappearance.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Laureen Rahn still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Laureen Rahn has been missing for more than 46 years. The NH Department of Justice renewed its appeal for information in May 2026.
Was Laureen Rahn ever found?
No. No trace of Laureen has been reported since the night of April 26, 1980.
How old would Laureen Rahn be today?
Born April 3, 1966, she turned 60 in April 2026.
What were the phone calls?
Three months after Laureen vanished, her mother Judith was billed for three October 1, 1980 calls to California she never made — two from a Santa Monica motel to a Santa Ana motel, one to a teen sexual assistance hotline. For about a year afterward Judith received silent calls around 3:45 a.m., and more silent calls around the holidays for years, until she changed her number. None were ever conclusively explained.
What did Laureen leave behind?
Her clothes, her brand-new sneakers, and her purse — all left in the apartment. The front door was unlocked, the hallway bulbs had been unscrewed, and the back door was open.
Who is investigating?
The Manchester Police Department, (603) 668-8711, and the NH Cold Case Unit tip line, (603) 271-2663.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: New Hampshire Department of Justice, renewed appeal (2026); Manchester Police Department (603-668-8711); NH Cold Case Unit tip line (603) 271-2663.
- Reference: The Charley Project (retrieved Oct 2026); Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Laureen Rahn” (retrieved Oct 2026); Uncovered case file (retrieved Oct 2026).
- Media: True-crime podcast coverage (retrieved Oct 2026).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.
Corrections (Oct 2026): Height/weight corrected from “5’1\”, 105 lbs” to “5’4\”, 90 lbs” (Charley Project profile via missingkids.com/NCMEC; Wikipedia infobox; Doe Network mirror). Narrative reframed: the apartment was the one Laureen shared with her mother, not a friend’s — the “sleepover” framing was inaccurate (Charley Project; Wikipedia). The phone-call account was rewritten to the documented record (three Oct 1, 1980 California calls billed to Judith; years of silent calls; 1986 “Laurie” call) — the “crying woman being beaten in the background” detail could not be sourced and was removed. Removed the unverified claim that Judith Rahn had died. Added the date note (some agencies list April 27, 1980) and the NH DOJ’s official Cold Case Unit tip line, (603) 271-2663.