NH NH - Laureen Rahn, 14, Manchester, 27 April 1980

New Posts

outofthedark:

Do you know if they ruled out the other Green River Doe and this young lady or not?
 
When this girl disappeared, AIDS was still in the process of being identified. The disease was first described in 1981, and the first known transmission to a woman was in 1984. If she was involved in prostitution or *advertiser censored* in those days, the worst thing that she would have worried about catching was hepatitis. From what I've read, even as recently as 2004 the use of condoms in the *advertiser censored* industry was minimal at best and from the tenor of the news coverage, I doubt that much has changed. That whole industry is just gross, IMO. Anyone who thinks it would be cool to date a *advertiser censored* star should really rethink that idea, for their own health...

Also, from what I read of the Traci Lords scandal, it seems that it would have been easy for a minor to be in the *advertiser censored* industry (and of course easier to enter prostitution). You can read about her here, but be careful as of course it discusses her "career".

Can anyone find out any more information about this hotline that was called? Was it someplace for teens to call to get answers when they had questions? Or was it a rape crisis hotline, or was it perhaps the Children of the Night program that was started in 1979 to combat child prostitution? Knowing might make a huge difference.
 
Bluecat said:
When this girl disappeared, AIDS was still in the process of being identified. The disease was first described in 1981, and the first known transmission to a woman was in 1984.
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that? I've read elsewhere that the first known AIDS case in the United States was in a teenage boy who died in 1969 (they saved tissue samples from him, which were later found to be infected with the virus). And Randy Schilts's book about the epidemic identified a woman doctor who died of what was almost certainly AIDS in I think 1974.
 
AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on December 1, 1981, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in recorded history. In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.4–3.3 million lives, of which more than 570,000 were children. It is estimated that about 0.6% of the world's living population is infected with HIV. :(
 
I know AIDS was officially recognized in 1981, but that wasn't the year people started getting sick from it. People had been sick for years beforehand, it was just that in 1981 someone finally realized this was a whole new illness. So we can't assume that a person couldn't have died of AIDS prior to 1981.
 
Laureen was a friend of mine. Briefly. My family had just moved up to NH from MA and I went to Jr. High where I met Laureen. She was one of the first friendly people I met at school, as I was having a hard time adjusting from the move. One day, Laureen told me she was moving, and would be going to a different school. I was sad to see her go. I never heard from her again. The next thing I knew, her picture was posted on the front page of the Union Leader, saying she was missing. I was shocked to learn that Laureen lived one street over from my house. So I wondered why she was going to Parkside Jr. High when she should have been going to Hillside Jr. High, like me. She definitely lived in the district for Hillside and did go there, so why the change?

Anyway, there were so many rumors going around about this. Some said there was a guy who lived in her building who was a sexual predator and that he may have killed her. There was a rumor that the "Moonies" (who were in the area trying to recruit) got ahold of her. And then there were the people who owned the corner store on her street ( I frequented this store a lot) where she supposedly "worked" from time to time. There was a rumor that maybe someone from there may have something to do with it. (I never got a bad vibe from these people, in fact, there was one guy there who was pretty cute and a bit of a flirt, but seemed harmless). These were all rumors going around at the time and none were substantiated as far as I know.

I just can't believe that she lived so close to me and frequented the same corner store as me and I never saw her or ran into her. I wish I knew the name of the kids who were with her that night. I just wonder if I knew any of them.

As time went on, my gut feeling is that she was dead. I don't know about the *advertiser censored* ring thing. It's possible, I suppose, but I just don't think so. The whole thing about the boys and girlfriend who were there that night sounds really fishly to me, I just feel like they must know something. One of the boys committed suicide I heard, tho I don't know how long ago.

I never forgot about Laureen, I always hoped they would find her. The Union Leader did a whole write aup about this case a year or so ago. She was a nice kid, a good friend to me at school.
 
meggilyweggily said:
Are you sure about that? I've read elsewhere that the first known AIDS case in the United States was in a teenage boy who died in 1969 (they saved tissue samples from him, which were later found to be infected with the virus). And Randy Schilts's book about the epidemic identified a woman doctor who died of what was almost certainly AIDS in I think 1974.
Click to expand...
You are right. It was years later that they studied the tissue, etc. of the infected teenage boy and diagnosed his illness as Aids. I believe this was the first documented case in the US.
 
I wasn't trying to say that the illness was not around; merely that noone had identified it yet and no one was taking any precautions. Given that, it seems like the time frame of her disappearance would have made it more likely for her to have caught it and died than someone who entered that industry a few years later.

I think that we're speculating that she got into *advertiser censored* and/or prostitution because if she ran away, she probably would have gravitated to a city, and then there is the phone call from the so-called teen hotline. It could have been coincidence that their phone number was used - someone could use completely random phone numbers to charge these things to, I supposed. It's just as likely that she never made it out of town. As for why she was transferred out of her school district - she could have gotten into a bad crowd. My sister and I were transferred out of district when it was time for each of us to go to high school. There was an open enrollment period, and my folks got into a lottery for admittance to the school they wanted us to go to. As it happens, my sister's group of friends was not so great, she was discovered smoking, and her grades had gone into freefall. This was all in 8th grade. So they transferred her to get her away from the bad influence and I followed. Her transfer could well have been for similar reasons.
 
Judith Chani of Lake Worth, Florida, has been consulting psychics and praying for the safe return of her only child, Laureen Ann Rahn, for the last 28 years. Fourteen-year-old Laureen vanished from their third-floor Manchester, New Hampshire, apartment late April 26 or early April 27, 1980, while her mother went on a date. "Not one of them has said they see her passed away," Chani says of the numerous psychics who have advised her. "It's a mother's instinct, too. I've never, ever felt her passed away in my heart." Recently, a Florida psychic who gave the 61-year-old retired restaurant/nightclub owner a telephone reading told her that her daughter had been abducted by an Asian gang, is living in Israel, has had two children whom she "had to give up," and would be coming home, alive. "I say my prayers faithfully," says Chani, "and I trust the Lord that he's going to bring her back to me."

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/02/03/return_to_me/?page=5
 
Under certain circumstances eye color can change postmortem. Ann Rule wrote about a case where a blue-eyed girl was killed and her body dumped in a very polluted river. When she surfaced, the girl had brown eyes. And they were definitely blue before, there were pictures.
 
If Judith is reading this, maybe she'll take a look at the picture and teeth there.
 
The girl in the picture definitely looks a lot like Laureen and the location of the body fits the phone calls. I hope her mother looks into the dental records.
 
I would like to know if there were ever any cadaver dogs brought around the area where she disappeared. There was an alleyway behind the building Laureen lived in. There are any number of crevices and hiding spots where a body could have been placed (and may still be there today for all we know). I've tried contacting the police about this, but no one has ever bothered to call me back. My feeling is the police believe she has been abducted, and that may be so. I just wonder if they ruled out other possibilities.
 
hmg, what is the picture you are referring to? Do you have the link?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 149 more.
Total: 4,066 (members: 150, guests: 3,916)

Online statistics

Members online
150
Guests online
3,916
Total visitors
4,066
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,614
Messages
17,971,832
Members
228,844
Latest member
SoCal Greg
Back
Top