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

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Henry2326 said:
I found this website with articles written by Karin Williams, Phoenixville news. Tracker, did you you ever meet her? She has a story about going in the tunnels with PA S&R.
There are a couple of things I noticed.

Sister says she would not wander off but neighbor says differently.
"Lauren wouldn’t have done that,” Diana said. “Someone took her. Someone out there knows something."

"Christina and her eldest daughter, Diana Severns, were located by The Phoenix for the first time on Tuesday, following exhaustive efforts.
Both women said on Tuesday that Lauren was not prone to wandering away alone, as neighbors had told police in the past."

Didn't know of search dogs at the barn...
"On Friday, Oct. 7, 1988, Morrison was shepherded around the township in a van with shaded windows, then transported to the barn by the Army National Guard.
When search dogs were brought to the area near French's property, they picked up Lauren's scent trail, which led them directly to the barn. The trail ended there.*
French cooperated with police fully, allowing them to search the barn and several wells on the property."

http://s10.zetaboards.com/usedtobedoe/topic/996154/1/

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Huh. I was boots on the ground for the entire search operation. Never at any time was it reported to me that dogs had picked up a scent going to the barn. I say this because the Chief would have put me in a patrol car and raced me over to look for prints, indicators and ground evidence. I was taken to a barn with some cars sitting outside under tarps, the cars were checked as was the barn, however there was not a dog in sight at the time.
 
Trackergd said:
Huh. I was boots on the ground for the entire search operation. Never at any time was it reported to me that dogs had picked up a scent going to the barn. I say this because the Chief would have put me in a patrol car and raced me over to look for prints, indicators and ground evidence. I was taken to a barn with some cars sitting outside under tarps, the cars were checked as was the barn, however there was not a dog in sight at the time.
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Take a read of the articles she posted on the link above.

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Trackergd said:
Huh. I was boots on the ground for the entire search operation. Never at any time was it reported to me that dogs had picked up a scent going to the barn. I say this because the Chief would have put me in a patrol car and raced me over to look for prints, indicators and ground evidence. I was taken to a barn with some cars sitting outside under tarps, the cars were checked as was the barn, however there was not a dog in sight at the time.
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Here is the published article, same as the one I found on the board.

Also, do you remember any searches of the fields behind the barn? She wrote this:
---------------------------------------

Despite the hope that Morrison's vision would provide clues to Lauren's whereabouts, the search of French's property turned up no new leads. Although the search dogs had tracked Lauren to the barn, the trail dissipated, and Morrison's vision did not extend past the barn.

Just behind French's property were large, open fields that had not yet been searched. Cote approached the Army National Guard, which also operated on the grounds of Pennhurst, asking for assistance in searching that area.

Although the governor is the only one who can activate the National Guard to assist with a search, Cote said the commander of the unit out of Spring City restructured their weekend training activities.

Armed with compasses, 200 members of the Army National Guard took to the fields behind the barn on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8 and 9, searching for a trace of Lauren, who had been missing since that Tuesday.

"The commander took the troops out, gave them maps and compasses and told them the field-training exercise was map and compass reading," said Cote. "He said, 'Where do you want us?'"

For hours, teams tramped through the fields looking for a trace of Lauren. Several people, including Morrison and her daughter, also checked the area on horseback."

http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/article/PV/20070130/NEWS01/301309998

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I found where the French property is listed as 3580 Schuylkill Road. Vincent Motel is listed as 3585 Schuylkill Road. The French property was purchased in July 1988.

Is the barn on this property?
29d33d0ec779b56bda67c9f1fb0e92be.jpg


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"An eleven-year-old girl came forward claiming that she had seen Lauren being abducted by a stranger.

An eleven-year-old girl witnessed Lauren being abducted by an unidentified white male. She saw the man forcing Lauren into a car."

Any info on this girl and where she saw it happening?

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Lauren_Jackson

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Trackergd said:
I discovered something new when I was digging through my files to make copies for another WS member. It seems that Lauren had walked to a convenience store with other children on at least one occasion after her mother had forbidden her to do so. I really need to figure out what convenience stores were nearby at the time and if the sites are still intact and not developed. Any locals who can chime in, I would appreciate the input. I am going to make additional copies with markups on this new detail and forward to the DA's office.
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Tracker - I grew up in this area and had a few friends that lived in Park Springs around this time, I'm trying to get in touch with them to ask them about the POI with the bad arm, boots and yellow dirty socks.

I can tell you that right next to the motel is a little shopping plaza and the corner store was called Johns Newstand. Not sure if it's still there or not. It was a seedy little place, my friends and I could go in there and buy cigarettes when we were 14, no questions asked. I imagine that's the store she would go to with her friends. It was a great place to walk to as a kid because it was the only place back then that was within walking distance that you could go to and get chocolate bars and/or candy. Also, it was a place that sold dirty magazines, marijuana papers and cigarettes so there would be some strange men hanging outside of that store from time to time.
 
Henry2326 said:
"An eleven-year-old girl came forward claiming that she had seen Lauren being abducted by a stranger.

An eleven-year-old girl witnessed Lauren being abducted by an unidentified white male. She saw the man forcing Lauren into a car."

Any info on this girl and where she saw it happening?

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Lauren_Jackson

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If I remember correctly, this was investigated and found to be a different girl or was discounted. Can't remember which.
 
pisces1234 said:
Tracker - I grew up in this area and had a few friends that lived in Park Springs around this time, I'm trying to get in touch with them to ask them about the POI with the bad arm, boots and yellow dirty socks.

I can tell you that right next to the motel is a little shopping plaza and the corner store was called Johns Newstand. Not sure if it's still there or not. It was a seedy little place, my friends and I could go in there and buy cigarettes when we were 14, no questions asked. I imagine that's the store she would go to with her friends. It was a great place to walk to as a kid because it was the only place back then that was within walking distance that you could go to and get chocolate bars and/or candy. Also, it was a place that sold dirty magazines, marijuana papers and cigarettes so there would be some strange men hanging outside of that store from time to time.
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Thank you for that additional information. I will see if the store is still there.
 
Trackergd said:
I honestly don't know. Lots of speculation at the time, but I never got the impression that the PD or FBI had that as a primary theory. I spent most of my time on my stomach looking at prints and chasing down every suspected print the sign cutters and grid searches found, including one about 20' up a concrete drainage pipe.

The mother was weepy/puffy eyed the entire time, had dark circles around her eyes and would occasionally break down in tears for short periods. I have no idea what information the "expert listener" who was assigned to be her "personal aid and communications person" during the search overheard. That person was a female member of GPSR and all the conversations that individual overheard were turned over to the PD and FBI. I have never seen the transcripts. The Chief of GPSR never disclosed that information to the SAR team members.

I know that her father and the FBI Agent or Sgt Cote did take a trip to Florida to follow up on a lead but found nothing. Looking back over the articles, I did find that there were extended family on the mothers side that lived in Florida. If they were staying in the Vincent Motel at the time (as noted in one news article)....well...anyone can do that math.
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Maybe the mother owed money for drugs and they had warned her and because she didn't pay up, this was the result.

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mamilau320 said:
Maybe the mother owed money for drugs and they had warned her and because she didn't pay up, this was the result.

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That has been a long held theory and was discussed at length by local and Federal LE at the time of the search.
 
Penhurst Womans Homes.jpg
The buildings overgrown on the left are what I was told were Pennhurst buildings for women, now on the VA Hospital property. I don't remember them being searched. Even in 1988 they were overgrown and in very bad condition. I can only imagine what might be found in them.

Behind News Stand.jpg
This is the field and woods behind the strip mall. Not sure if this was searched or not. Seems a bit open for an abduction, but the woods offer some cover from view. Might be worth a look before spring while the weeds etc are dormant.
 
MadamReporter said:
The most significant thing I found that I believe speaks volumes about how the mother felt about Lauren was the mother's obituary where it says she only had one daughter.... Lauren's sister. I think that is VERY profound becausDide the mother died not knowing what happened to Lauren; she didn't know if Lauren was dead or alive, so to not acknowledge that she even had another daughter told me everything I needed to know.
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Did Christina write her own obituary?
 
Just to update anyone new to the case, I was the SAR footprint tracker on this case and have extensive files and news clippings of this case (and all my cases). I have worked this case for 30 years and am not about to give up.
 
The Pennhurst "upper campus" aka female colony was demolished (except for 1 building the National Guard uses) in late 2016-early 2017. Your picture is actually the torn down water tower and reservoir. Those buildings were long favorites of "urban explorers" so it might be safe to assume if there was a body in any of these buildings, it would have been seen or found. Also the campus was open until 1987, so those buildings were still in use and in 1988 still in relatively good condition. However, it is a large campus with a lot of wooded areas .
 
Multiplemiggs said:
The Pennhurst "upper campus" aka female colony was demolished (except for 1 building the National Guard uses) in late 2016-early 2017. Your picture is actually the torn down water tower and reservoir. Those buildings were long favorites of "urban explorers" so it might be safe to assume if there was a body in any of these buildings, it would have been seen or found. Also the campus was open until 1987, so those buildings were still in use and in 1988 still in relatively good condition. However, it is a large campus with a lot of wooded areas .
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Interesting. I had to go back and check, but the one team reported back that they were in deplorable condition and they did not want to venture in without safety equipment. That begs some questions in itself. I agree that remains probably would have been discovered had they been there.
 
Trackergd said:
Interesting. I had to go back and check, but the one team reported back that they were in deplorable condition and they did not want to venture in without safety equipment. That begs some questions in itself. I agree that remains probably would have been discovered had they been there.
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I should mention the lower campus (now privately owned but still state owned in 1988) has many buildings still standing. Many are in bad condition with collapsing roofs and even in the late 80's a couple of the buildings were in bad shape. More so than the demolished upper campus, urban explorers, homeless, scrappers, etc have been through these buildings (and tunnels) for the last 30 years. A couple buildings have been fixed up for the Halloween Haunt and Ghost Hunters, but plans have been recently announced that the lower campus will become an office-industrial park in the coming years.
 
Lets see what you folks think... Something is nagging at me. While I still am digging around about the former Pennhurst patient who slept in the graveyard, I am also being pulled into the scenario that Lauren walked to the store, with or without other children. Wish I had known this at the time and I would have had the bloodhounds check around the store. Something is staring me in the face and I just can't see it because I am too close. Any locals, or anyone else have ideas?

Edited to add: The direction she was tracked by myself and the bloodhound is the same direction as the store. The scent trail ended at the Vincent Motel. The store is only a little further up the road.
 
Trackergd said:
Lets see what you folks think... Something is nagging at me. While I still am digging around about the former Pennhurst patient who slept in the graveyard, I am also being pulled into the scenario that Lauren walked to the store, with or without other children. Wish I had known this at the time and I would have had the bloodhounds check around the store. Something is staring me in the face and I just can't see it because I am too close. Any locals, or anyone else have ideas?

Edited to add: The direction she was tracked by myself and the bloodhound is the same direction as the store. The scent trail ended at the Vincent Motel. The store is only a little further up the road.
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This is the scenario I can’t stop thinking about. I will speak to you about it more, but I believe there is something there. The only doubt I have is about where she would have gone from there? What could have happened to the body?


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tcg1208 said:
This is the scenario I can’t stop thinking about. I will speak to you about it more, but I believe there is something there. The only doubt I have is about where she would have gone from there? What could have happened to the body?


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Pennhurst
 
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