PA PA - Lauren Pico Jackson, 5, Spring City, 4 Oct 1988

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The current and former Pennhurst property is a viable option. Oddly the township is very forceful in their wording about not letting anyone into areas of interest. To me, the wording of their responses is more than just a concern about liability as I offered to sign a waver.
 
Trackergd said:
The current and former Pennhurst property is a viable option. Oddly the township is very forceful in their wording about not letting anyone into areas of interest. To me, the wording of their responses is more than just a concern about liability as I offered to sign a waver.
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A student of mine spoke about certain people being allowed on grave sites. I don’t remember the specifics, but I’m going to ask her. There may be a way around it?


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Hi! I am new and just spent my afternoon reading this thread. So interesting and Tracker kudos to you for not giving up! Truly awesomely. I agree with most on theories. You definitely tracked her to the hotel, the one armed man and her being on the outside fits. Also someone who was probably malnourished by spending a significant amount of time in that facility would be smaller with smaller feet which fits your profile. I really wish you could search that cemetery! I really hope you hear back from your contacts at the DAs office, and maybe find some way to be able to search that township property. Very interesting.
 
Bump. This is still an ongoing case for me. Has been for 30 years and likely will be until either it is solved, I pass away from old age or I find that she is alive and well, living a happy life.
 
Are there any updates on Lauren's case or your with your contacts about getting access to Pennhurst or the cemetery?

I check in here every now and then, this was one of the first threads I read here on ws. I just finished re-reading the thread.

Tracker, do you know who any of the children were that Lauren used to play with? I'm wondering if any of them could provide anything helpful now that they are grown...

You are wonderful for keeping Lauren's case alive and continuing to seek answers. Your tenacity is admirable.
 
I have some working theories at this point and am continuing to do research. I have talked to one of the children she played with. I have not gained access to the cemetery at this point. Waiting for the County DA to see how they want to deal with it. It appears that are a ton of unmarked graves in that area and trying to exhume all of them to see if any are Lauren would be no small task, and would open up a can of worms for the Township and State that they probably would not want to be public knowledge. Not giving up!
 
Trackergd said:
I have some working theories at this point and am continuing to do research. I have talked to one of the children she played with. I have not gained access to the cemetery at this point. Waiting for the County DA to see how they want to deal with it. It appears that are a ton of unmarked graves in that area and trying to exhume all of them to see if any are Lauren would be no small task, and would open up a can of worms for the Township and State that they probably would not want to be public knowledge. Not giving up!
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If there are things that they don't want to be public knowledge, you should share everything you know! I'm all for exposing corrupt politicians and their cover-ups.
 
If, as some have suggested, there are a number of unmarked graves near the marked ones, it begs the question of how those poor kids died and why no records were kept. There is no doubt there was rampant abuse at Pennhurst and that a number of staff members should have gone to jail. I suspect that some of them continued their abusive behavior after Pennhurst closed, either locally or elsewhere. There were also a large number of male and female inmates of various ages that were just turned loose into the general public population with little to no supervision to fend for themselves. Many would have tried to get back into Pennhurst as it was the only home they had known, regardless of how horrific their life was. I know that at least one that did and was kicked out on a daily basis by what passed for a security staff. I frequently wonder if some of those abused former inmates became abusers themselves.
 
Trackergd said:
If, as some have suggested, there are a number of unmarked graves near the marked ones, it begs the question of how those poor kids died and why no records were kept. There is no doubt there was rampant abuse at Pennhurst and that a number of staff members should have gone to jail. I suspect that some of them continued their abusive behavior after Pennhurst closed, either locally or elsewhere. There were also a large number of male and female inmates of various ages that were just turned loose into the general public population with little to no supervision to fend for themselves. Many would have tried to get back into Pennhurst as it was the only home they had known, regardless of how horrific their life was. I know that at least one that did and was kicked out on a daily basis by what passed for a security staff. I frequently wonder if some of those abused former inmates became abusers themselves.
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That IS a valid concern. The cycle of abuse is all too common and I would guess that a high percentage of the patients who were released, didn't have any resources to help them break free from that cycle... That's really scary to think about.
 
New to the case. @Trackergd I saw your post on the Jayme Closs thread. I am still reading through Lauren's thread, but needed to post this thought before I continue:
First thing that struck me is the fact that Lauren's sister was not at home at the time of Lauren's disappearance. The timing of it seems...planned. MOO
 
Lauren's mother and sister were the subjects of a Grand Jury investigation, however no charges were filed. At some point I may try and get a copy of the Grand Jury file under freedom of information. It's been over 30 years, so it's a little hard to claim "ongoing investigation".
 
Hello all, I am from the Spring City/Pottstown/Phoenixville area, I have been aware of this case for a long time. I was not born yet when it happened but I remember my mom talking about this of course years later saying, they never found that poor girl Lauren Jackson who disappeared from Park Springs. It was very close to home for my mom because my sister was about the exact same age as Lauren when this occurred. I have read thru this entire thread and first of all I must say, wow. Kudos to all of you who continue to think of Lauren to this day and especially Trackergd who has not stopped his efforts to discuss and look into this case from the ground up. Just so amazing.

I appreciate all of your theories. I on the other hand am a bit more of an optimist. I like to think that Lauren was taken by someone, maybe perhaps relatives, or friends of relatives, and was raised in a happy home. I don't know what makes me think this but my theory was somewhat solidified by Tracker's comment about the "grandparents" that were part of the search party who kept smiling. I do not think that her mother had this arranged by any means, but that these people knowing her condition and history with drug use, knew that it wouldn't be to hard to accomplish given either her carelessness or just pure naivety (the idea that Lauren would be safe and ok just outside the home, playing in the complex playground.) I couldn't quite say if the motive was to get Lauren out of a bad situation, or just selfishly motivated to have a child of their own, etc.

As much as Lauren's sister Diana wanted to insist that Lauren would never wander off with a someone, this just isn't true because as we also know, she wandered off a few weeks earlier with a group of the neighborhood girls. Perhaps whoever took her was just familiar enough to Lauren that she had no hesitation to go with them.

I believe these people were maybe staying at the Vincent motel in the days leading up, or maybe that's just where they had been parked. Maybe it just looks way less suspicious to walk her there to the car, that way no one in the neighborhood actually saw the car lingering and could identify them... Also, for people who are saying that size 7/8 is small for a male, that isn't true, that size is pretty common/average among men, especially if you imagine that these folks might be elderly.

Given the fact that Lauren did suffer from a host of medical conditions, it would remain true that she would still suffer from them, the most notable being the Hydrocephalus. I did some digging into this condition and (don't want to jump any gun) but may have found someone of interest on one of these survivor websites.. Anyway, it does not give much information about the woman where she lives now, but she looks so similar to Lauren, and has a very similar age... Someone let me know if you are interested in following up on this with me, or if I am just completely nuts.

Just a few lingering questions of mine, primarily for Tracker, who has the most info on this case...
-Tracker, can you elaborate on these search party folks any more?
-Did LE look into people who had been staying at the Vincent motel in the last few days to a week prior to her disappearance?
-Tracker have you been able to get in contact with Mickey yet?
-Not that it really matters, just out of curiosity, were the tracks directly up Park rd. to 724, and then along 724, or did they cut thru any of the yards/field/grass to get to the motel?

... anyways, look forward to hearing from you all and digging back into this case.
 
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Just a few lingering questions of mine, primarily for Tracker, who has the most info on this case...
-Tracker, can you elaborate on these search party folks any more? The search team was Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue. At the time it was a very small grass roots group with few resources. Today it is a much larger organization with vehicles and resources in depth.
-Did LE look into people who had been staying at the Vincent motel in the last few days to a week prior to her disappearance? If memory serves, they did check everyone who was registered at the hotel and questioned the staff and occupants about anything and anyone they had seen.
-Tracker have you been able to get in contact with Mickey yet? No. I have been unable to find a contact email or phone number. I guess I need to redouble my efforts on this.
-Not that it really matters, just out of curiosity, were the tracks directly up Park rd. to 724, and then along 724, or did they cut thru any of the yards/field/grass to get to the motel? Directly up Park to 724. The bloodhound extended the trail up to the Vincent Motel.

Nothing would make me happier than to find that Lauren is alive and well. If that is the case, I would love to know the details so I know what to look for in the future on similar cases.

I agree that she did follow the older girls up Park, then up 724 to the store on a number of occasions. I often wonder if she made it to the store and was abducted from there. There is also a large lot in the back boarded with a thin wood line that I am unsure was ever searched. Other than asking the owner if I can poke around, I don't have the authority to do much more and I don't want to intrude on the CCDA's office review of the case details unless invited.

A family member abducting her from the apartment complex has a high degree of risk, not to mention the complexity of timing. The chance that Lauren's mother or sister could walk out and catch them in the act and would instantly preclude a stranger abduction and LE would have known exactly who they were looking for and set up roadblocks.

I really would like to see someone interview Dick (apartment resident) while he is still of this earth and see if he has any details about his deceased friend and any potential involvement in the case.

There is very little for me to follow up on these days and arthritis of the knees is curtailing my ability to put in dirt and investigative time. Getting old is a hard pill to swallow when you have a passion for finding missing people.
 
Also want to add that there was a female member of GPS&R that remained with Lauren's mother during the search operation as an "assistant". Her job (in addition to getting her what ever she needed) was to keep notes on any conversations within earshot and make note of anything unusual that she saw. I have never seen these notes and am unsure of who currently has custody of them. I would assume local LE or FBI. I am unaware if CCDA's detectives have seen them.
 
Trackergd said:
If, as some have suggested, there are a number of unmarked graves near the marked ones, it begs the question of how those poor kids died and why no records were kept. There is no doubt there was rampant abuse at Pennhurst and that a number of staff members should have gone to jail. I suspect that some of them continued their abusive behavior after Pennhurst closed, either locally or elsewhere. There were also a large number of male and female inmates of various ages that were just turned loose into the general public population with little to no supervision to fend for themselves. Many would have tried to get back into Pennhurst as it was the only home they had known, regardless of how horrific their life was. I know that at least one that did and was kicked out on a daily basis by what passed for a security staff. I frequently wonder if some of those abused former inmates became abusers themselves.
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There are approx 40 tombstones in the Pennhurst Memorial Cemetery. 106 individual death certificates listed "Pennhurst Memorial Cemetery" or ""Pennhurst Pa." as the place of burial for former patients (mostly in the late teens and 1920's). So safe to say there are unmarked graves in the area of the official cemetery (as well as other areas across the property).
 
Tracker, please check your messages, I've sent you the link to the site where I may have found Lauren today
 
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