Laureen Rahn in 1980 Credit: The Rahn Family / Courtesy

When 14-year-old Laureen Rahn vanished from her Manchester home at Merrimack Street four and a half decades ago, she left behind her clothes, money and the rest of her personal belongings.

It’s possible Rahn could have left home, perhaps with someone she knew and planned to return later. Yet, she was never seen again

Investigators with the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit are appealing to the public for information pertaining to her case. They released a sketch of what she might look like as a 60-year-old woman.

An age-progression image of what Laureen Rahn would look like today. Credit: FBI Boston Division’s Cold Case Team / Courtesy

“Our commitment to bringing Laureen home remains steadfast,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, chief of the Cold Case Unit, said in a statement. “We are deploying advanced forensic technologies that were unimaginable in 1980, but science is only part of the equation. We know that relationships and loyalties change over four decades. We urge anyone who has been holding onto information to come forward and help give this family the resolution they deserve.”

The Cold Case Unit is working in tandem with the Manchester Police Department.

April 27, 1980 broke with a cold morning and warmed to about 60 degrees by midday. When Rahn’s mother came back to the apartment in the evening, she discovered that the home was “unsecured,” according to information provided by the Cold Case Unit. Additionally, a friend of Rahn’s was asleep in Rahn’s bed. Police found no signs of a struggle.

Investigators are looking for information from former neighbors who lived in or around Rahn’s home at 289 Merrimack Street in Manchester in April of 1980. Authorities also hope to hear from classmates and peers, people who went to school with Rahn or “socialized” with her around the time of her disappearance.

“Investigators believe that someone holds the missing piece of information needed to solve this case,” according to information from the Cold Case Unit.

Any detail, no matter how small, can help the case progress. People with information pertaining to Rahn or what happened on April 27, 1980.

No detail is too small to be relevant. Anyone with information regarding the events of April 27, 1980, or Laureen’s whereabouts is urged to contact authorities:

To contact the NH Cold Case Unit:

Rachel is the community editor. She spearheads the Monitor's arts coverage with The Concord Insider and Around Concord Magazine. Rachel also reports on the local creative economy, cold cases, accessibility...