What do you guys think about this one? I never believed that the mother "gave her away" at a mall as that lady claimed. I'm sure her and Lauren's father already had animosity between them and he certainly jumped on the bandwagon blaming her. Anyway I came across a profile of her that kind of shocked me as it was age progressed to 22 years. Here's a look:

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=601776&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

What happened with her? I can't remember..

Lauren was abducted from outside her apt complex when she was playing out side, if i remember correctly, it is probably a case of a male neighbor molesting her and murdereing her, just like the Mellissa Brannen case in Virginia

Repeated on the 1pm episode today. Discuss.

What was so shocking about her age progressed photo? I looked at the photo and it looked like Lauren, but older.

What was so shocking about her age progressed photo? I looked at the photo and it looked like Lauren, but older.

The picture itself wasn't creepy I just remembered what Lauren looked like so well in my mind it took me by suprise to see her aged as an adult.

I also never bought into the "gave her away" theory, because that would be calling the neighbor who was playing with her and the mom a liar. I think she was just abducted and later killed. Sad that they still haven't solved this.

I agree with you crystaldawn. I just don't think that her mother had anything to do with her abduction.

I have a student who bears a striking resemblence to Lauren - not so much the age-progression photo that crystaldawn posted - but frankly a look strikingly similar to the younger Lauren. It was something that always crossed my mind whenever my student laughed but what really gripped me was when my student mentioned that she was adopted. She's also the right age too. A fleeting thought ran through my head but I know that idea is just plain silly. Right?

jeeps

Age progressions have come a long way. That "photo" is amazing. It looks just like a snapshot. Saw it yesterday - what a sad story.

I agree with you crystaldawn. I just don't think that her mother had anything to do with her abduction.

I have a student who bears a striking resemblence to Lauren - not so much the age-progression photo that crystaldawn posted - but frankly a look strikingly similar to the younger Lauren. It was something that always crossed my mind whenever my student laughed but what really gripped me was when my student mentioned that she was adopted. She's also the right age too. A fleeting thought ran through my head but I know that idea is just plain silly. Right?

jeeps

ask your student if she has two small scars on her stomach

Why was this case featured as a Lost Loves case? Wouldn't it be a Missing Person case instead?

Why was this case featured as a Lost Loves case? Wouldn't it be a Missing Person case instead?


They did the same thing with the Amy Bradley case. I didn't get it then, either... :lookaroun

I definitely lean towards the mother being innocent. The only "evidence" they have against her is this supposed "eyewitness" who claims to have seen the mother give away Lauren at a mall parking lot. However, at least one eyewitness places Lauren at her house (which is where her mother says she was at) at the time this supposedly took place. Plus, I think the last place anyone would give away their child would be a mall parking lot. I mean, this happened at 7 p.m., in a mall full of cars, in one of the most populated states in the country - Pennsylvannia. The mother would have had to have known there would be witnesses in that circumstance. Too unlikely.

Another supposed eyewitness just turned up in the Jodi Huisentruitt case, and it didn't pan out. I don't know what the deal is with so many people lying about being witnesses. I'm not sure if they just want to feel important or what, but not only do they not help the police, they actually hinder the investigation by providing false information.

The ex-husband says that he believes the mother could have done it, but if there was bad blood between the two, which is very possible if it was a bad divorce, he might be willing to say or do anything in order to trash her reputation. Or, he might have just wanted custody of their other daughter, and Lauren if she ever resurfaced, and figured that if the mother was found guilty she wouldn't get back custody.

Plus, if the mother did give Lauren away, she probably would have given her away to somebody she at least partially knew, so she would at least know where she's at as opposed to a complete stranger who could have just run off with her. The fact that no one has heard anything from Lauren or anyone leads me to believe that, unfortunately, some creep probably happened to be driving by and tagged Lauren as an easy target as she was outside playing alone and seized on it.

Interestingly, the doe network profile of her, which I found off another thread, classified it as a non-family abduction, so it seems the investigators are convinced the mother isn't involved. It also said that Lauren was playing with other children, but the segment only shows her with one boy, and when he went back to his home, that left Lauren alone by herself.

anyone else find it weird that they took the supposed "eyewitness" to Lauren's mother's house to "positively idenitfy" her? Wouldn't a lineup have been more suitable? Since I view this eyewitness as not really reliable, had she picked the wrong person out of the lineup, which would have been very likely, she probably would have been discredited.

anyone else find it weird that they took the supposed "eyewitness" to Lauren's mother's house to "positively idenitfy" her? Wouldn't a lineup have been more suitable? Since I view this eyewitness as not really reliable, had she picked the wrong person out of the lineup, which would have been very likely, she probably would have been discredited.


I read somewhere (probably this forum) that the supposed witness was a friend of the police detective assigned to the case. THis make me think that probably the cops wanted to close the case and the easiest way was to put the blame on the mother.

Jeeps, I really hope that wasn't her. My guess is you never did ask, and of course odds are it wasn't her but still...what if?

I don't believe the witness's account as it seemed like she saw her from too far away, however I do believe Lauren's mother was unstable and capable of giving her away or worse.

What wasn't mentioned in the UM segment is that Lauren's mother, Christina O'Donnell, had a history of substance abuse problems and was even arrested on drug charges sometime before the abduction.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/j/jackson_lauren.html

I initially thought that Lauren's father kinda came off as a jerk in his interview with the way he accused Christina of being responsible for her disappearance, but given that she had substance abuse problems at the time, it's certainly more understandable that he'd be pissed about Lauren disappearing on her watch and might believe Christina gave her away. I don't believe the mall parking lot scenario, but it is plausible that Lauren could have been snatched because Christina was being irresponsible and wasn't watching over her as well as she should. The Charley Project page does state they didn't exactly live in the best neighbourhood, so abduction is certainly possible.

Its a scary world when your little one can't even play in the front yard without the fear of abduction.

It all comes down to this. Which witness do you believe? Its either the 11 year old girl who claims she saw Lauren getting picked up in a car or the middle aged woman who saw the abduction in a mall parking lot with Christine assisting her. Almost certainly one of them is telling the truth/saw the right thing.

The mall parking lot thing could be a number of situations. For starters this could be a random mother scolding her child and telling her to get in the car with...........let's say grandma and grandpa since the couple in the re-enactment looked elderly. It could just be a routine swap with family members and the kid fusses about leaving their mother. Honestly, how many of us did that very thing with a babysitter? I did. So the eyewitness account could be just that, it could be an entire different family. You get the idea that the eyewitness would have been able to describe more of what was going on. Who were the people who took Lauren? What did their car look like? Did the kid actually look like Lauren? This is why I hesitate on this one.

There might be a hole or two in the 11 year old seeing the abduction too. Why was Lauren wandering aimlessly? Why didn't she go inside?

Another thing that doesn't get brought up is the fact that Christine had drug problems. She either had some shady enemies or she had some shady accomplices (the mall parking lot).

First off, let me just say that I don't think Christine O'Donnell seemed like the most stable of individuals. Despite this, I don't believe that she gave Lauren away.

Here's how the scenario could have played out: Lauren is playing outside with the boy next door while her mom is inside watching TV. Christina probably thought Lauren was perfectly safe playing with the boy. The boy's mother comes and tells him it's time to go out with her. The boy leaves with his mother. This leaves Lauren alone outside by herself. Some sick pervert/creep driving around probably saw Lauren alone with no one watching and he takes Lauren.

It would be easier on the mind to think Lauren was given away and raised by someone else. Sadly, I think she was likely the victim of a child predator.

Well, it looks like Lauren's mother, Christina O'Donnell, passed away last Match.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/philly/obituary.aspx?n=christina-odonnell-severns&pid=149600415

Sadly, passing away at a young age seems to be fairly common occurrence amongst parents of missing children as the stress and heartbreak of the whole situation can take years off one's life.

I never really believed the eyewitness account of Christina giving Lauren away in the mall parking lot, but Christina did have substance abuse problems at the time and might not have been the most responsible parent, so I think the most likely scenario is that Lauren was simply snatched away while Christina wasn't watching. Hopefully, Christina didn't take any secrets to her grave with her.

Well, it looks like Lauren's mother, Christina O'Donnell, passed away last Match.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/philly/obituary.aspx?n=christina-odonnell-severns&pid=149600415

Sadly, passing away at a young age seems to be fairly common occurrence amongst parents of missing children as the stress and heartbreak of the whole situation can take years off one's life.

I never really believed the eyewitness account of Christina giving Lauren away in the mall parking lot, but Christina did have substance abuse problems at the time and might not have been the most responsible parent, so I think the most likely scenario is that Lauren was simply snatched away while Christina wasn't watching. Hopefully, Christina didn't take any secrets to her grave with her.

Wow, good find on the mother's death.

For what it's worth, I always thought the mother seemed kinda "off" in her interview, for lack of a better word. I guess the history of substance abuse probably explains that.

That being said, my gut feeling always was that the mother was not involved in the disappearance and that Lauren probably was abducted. I can't remember if this was mentioned in the segment, but I wonder if the police interviewed registered sex offenders or known child predators living in the area.

I was always kind of annoyed at the neighbors for leaving Lauren in the dust like that. Surely they could have spared a minute to inform Christina that they were leaving. Probably could have avoided this tragedy.

I did find out some new things on the net. Here they are:

-a mental hospital in the city had shut down recently, and many of the residents were sent off to fend for themselves. You have to wonder if one of them could have been responsible.

-Lauren was reprimanded a few weeks prior to her disapperance for walking to a nearby store with a group of older girls.

-another girl claimed that a man in his early 30's approached her, asking her to help him look for his dog. this was shortly before Lauren's disapperance.

-earlier in this thread, I speculated the reason that Mickey was so blunt and negative towards Christina in the segment was because he wanted to get full custody of their other daughter. My hunch appears to have been validated as Mickey went on record saying that he didn't approve of the living conditions of Christina's apartment (complex).

That's what I found out. I've always agreed with the majority here, that while Christina probably wasn't a pillar of society, I don't think she had anything to do with Lauren's disappearance.

I think if Christina did give her away, it was more likely due to Lauren's hospital bills (she had a long history of health problems) than drugs. Sadly, I fear that if Lauren is alive, her abductor(s) or whatever might not have treated her health problems sufficiently and she died anyways. :(

I've also read that Lauren's 12-year old sister, Diana, was watching some other kids in the neighborhood that day and that when Lauren asked to come along, Diana said no. Diana's always felt pretty guilty about that since Lauren disappeared while she was gone.

So if Christina really did give away Lauren, she would have needed to accurately predict that Diana wouldn't let her tag along to the neighbor's house, and then slipped out of there and come back without anyone else in the apartment complex noticing. And every article I've read about this case indicates that Christina called police and organized a search party almost instantly after Lauren vanished. This goes against the pattern of most parents who are responsible for their child's disappearance, as they tend to wait awhile before informing the authorities in order to give themselves more time to devise a story and cover their tracks.

Well, it looks like Lauren's mother, Christina O'Donnell, passed away last Match.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/philly/obituary.aspx?n=christina-odonnell-severns&pid=149600415

Sadly, passing away at a young age seems to be fairly common occurrence amongst parents of missing children as the stress and heartbreak of the whole situation can take years off one's life.

I never really believed the eyewitness account of Christina giving Lauren away in the mall parking lot, but Christina did have substance abuse problems at the time and might not have been the most responsible parent, so I think the most likely scenario is that Lauren was simply snatched away while Christina wasn't watching. Hopefully, Christina didn't take any secrets to her grave with her.


Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised that Lauren isn't mentioned in the obituary? Is that common with missing children? Just seems to add to the tragic. Wherever she is, she never stopped being her daughter. May she rest in peace.

I am pretty disturbed by this case and am perplexed by a lot of holes in the case. Question #1- If your son is playing the only playmate of a young girl outside wouldn't you walk the little girl back home or tell the mom you are leaving as so the child is not left unattended? Question #2- Did anyone questions neighbors or anyone who was outside at the time of the disappearance? Some one MUST have SAW or HEARD something! Question #3- What if what the woman saw was not the mom but the kidnapper handing off the a partner or a ring of kidnappers? Question #4- What follow up was done about the 11 year old girl story? What about a car description? a kidnapper description? They really just snatched on to the whole mom thing and really stopped trying..at least by how its portrayed in UM Segment! I feel the family of this girl is pretty much let down by not only the Segment, but by the police as well. If you got info out i would sure like and maybe we can bring her home or at least help get this case moving again!

I don't think the mother is guilty. She could be, but I don't think so.

However, I don't think that being a mother makes you a saint or an untouchable. There are a lot of good mothers but also a lot of bad ones (think about Marie Hilley or the women whose child is molested by stepfathers or boyfriends and they believe the scumbag and not their own child!). So I think I can be more objective.

She had problems with drugs, but it doesn't make her guilty. I think she was irresponsible for leaving Lauren (so young) unattended, but that's all.

I understand the reaction of the father. If you are divorced, your ex wife has custody of your kids and she has problems with drugs, lives in a risky neighbour, has some irresponsible behaviour, you fight custody but your child is abducted... I would like to kill the other person!!!! Maybe not kill literally, but I would be very angry.

I think Lauren was:

a-abducted by a child molester. Maybe she was targetted some time before: mother unapprehensive, little child whi plays outside alone, etc....

b- abduted by a drug addict who needed money. She could be sold for a lot of reasons (pornography, ilegally adoption, etc). I think she also was targetted time before by a neighbour.

And sadly, she may be deceased.
But If policy didn't charge the mother, I think there was little proof that she could be guilty.

Surprised there isn't more discussion on this one.

The segment says they lived in East Vincent, but CP has it listed as Spring City, so I wonder which is correct.

I had always been under the impression she was snatched from her front yard, but after reviewing the segment, it appears Lauren had walked some distance and then was kidnapped (dogs traced her scent away from her house and an eyewitness placed her a short distance from her house). As I noted in post #23, Lauren had then-recently been reprimanded for walking to a store without permission.

Though I tend to believe neither Christina nor Mickey are involved in her disappearance, I thought both of their interviews were "off". Christina's eye movements are kind of all over the place, and it's impossible not to notice the constant 'worried lines' on Mickey's forehead throughout his entire interview. But at the end of the day, I think it was an unknown perp.

As a bit of a sidebar, I always wondered what fast food place that was. Looks to be potato chips instead of fries with the burgers, and serving it in a box instead of bags. Weird thing to say, I know.

For all of websleuths faults, there's been a lot of good discussion on websleuths just in the last few years on this case, including a lot of insightful posts from the individual who was called to track footprints when Lauren disappeared. He had been called in by police chief Cote (interviewed in the segment) for the filming of the UM segment, but never knew if he could be seen in the segment or not. This guy has a wealth of good information, to put it mildly, and has not only kept all of his notes for the last 27 years, but also has the vast majority of newspaper articles on this case.

-There is sort of a significant "Person of Interest" in this case, an older guy who lived in the mental facility that I mentioned earlier in this thread. He moved to the apartment complex when the mental facility closed, was said to have an obsession giving little girls gifts and is described as "slow". This guy has since passed on, but his close friend is still alive and there's been some desire to contact this friend. However, it should be noted that police did a door-to-door check of the entire apartment complex (which I believe was about 150 apartments or so) and did not get the impression Lauren was anywhere else in the complex.

-The tracker has mentioned several times that he felt Lauren was abducted by someone she knew, and that various things in the footprints indicated this (pace, no attempt to pull away, etc.)

-The tracks went to a local motel or hotel. Lauren's scent was detected at the motel parking lot, but not inside the actual building. Conflicting information on if staff and guests were questioned or not. One source says they were all questioned, but came up empty. Another says there were 3 members of Lauren's extended family staying at the motel she is believed to have disappeared from.

-I continue to get the vibe Christina O'Donnell was NOT involved in her daughter's disappearance. Tracker said that she was EXTENSIVELY questioned, and that she would frequently break down in legitimate tears (I also recall mentioning she was choked up in the UM interview). The police had also sent a "listener" to "aid" her, and her job was essentially to note and transcribe every thing Christina said, presumably so that they could use it against her later if they thought she was guilty.

-The tracker goes on to say that he was told there were 2 older people involved in the search for Lauren that were her grandparents, but doesn't know which side (paternal or maternal). He said the older folks acted very strangely and smiled at him whenever he looked at them, and didn't seem at all concerned their granddaughter was missing.

With all of that being said, I think a possible scenario is this: Lauren was abducted by a member of her extended family who didn't like the conditions she was living in at the time, and I think it's a very real possibility Lauren is still alive, but has no idea about her past life and may be living under another identity now. There were rumors of her being in Florida, where Christina O'Donnell was known to have relatives, and Mickey even flew down there at one point to follow up on a lead. I don't believe Mickey or his relatives had any part in this (I read that Mickey called the lead investigator on this case every single day at 4 p.m. for a very long period of time until the 2 had a falling out of sorts).

Now, a possible problem with that is "Why didn't they also abduct Lauren's sister?" But I think I have a possible reason for that. Lauren was born with all sorts of physical problems, and I think the relatives feared she wasn't getting the appropriate care under Christina's watch and/or were concerned that Christina might not be able to afford to appropriately care for Lauren for a continued period of time. Mickey had planned to fight for custody, but of course we'll never know how that would have turned out or if the relatives knew about it.

A couple of other miscellaneous items the tracker noted I thought were interesting. Helicopters were used, and while he appreciated them, he said it runs the risk of them masking any sound or cry for help the victim is making. Also stated that local news stations arrived and stepped on the very footprints he was trying to track. To get them to go away, he picked his nose while they were trying to film him for the segment. They went away and police put up caution tape after that to prevent their reappearance.

There's no way Christina was involved. She left Lauren in the company of other children and had no idea she was going to be left alone like that. She's not the Mother of the Year award winner, but I definitely don't think she had any part in this.

I'm not sure of the timeline, but I don't see any opening where Christina could have taken Lauren somewhere, did something to her, then get back unnoticed. I'd also be curious to get a feel for the layout of the neighborhood.

I'm surprised this case doesn't get more run on this board. I saw it once years ago and just watched it twice. I lean toward Lauren being kidnapped and killed, but I could also see a scenario for a family member taking her due to her physical ailments and trying to raise and care for her in a better manner than what they perceived her mother to be doing. Such a sad, sad case anytime a child is involved.

I'm surprised this case doesn't get more run on this board. I saw it once years ago and just watched it twice. I lean toward Lauren being kidnapped and killed, but I could also see a scenario for a family member taking her due to her physical ailments and trying to raise and care for her in a better manner than what they perceived her mother to be doing. Such a sad, sad case anytime a child is involved.

I know this is a year old, but it's amazing how many child abductions (despite the statistic that most children are abducted by someone known to them or in their family) were featured on UM that were familial related. I wonder how many of the abductions presented as stranger abductions were actually family related.

I just rewatched this segment today. I don't think her mother had anything to do with it and believe she was abducted by a stranger or a male neighbor she was acquainted with. It's so sad that her family never got closure.

I just watched this segment. I’m shocked I’ve never seen it before?? I’m floored that all of his time Lauren is still missing. I see that Christina has passed away which is awful. They never tell the entire story on television.
The US segment is all all over the place, chopped up and pieced together for a show.
Who leaves the neighbor’s small daughter outside? Also, I do believe that Lauren walked away from home as she was reprimanded earlier for walking to a store with a group of girls without permission.
I feel like she walked off even after knowing it wouldn’t be ok and some nasty male species grabbed her or someone could’ve hit her too and panicked. What freaks me out is the “update” on US is a age progression of what Lauren looks like at age 29! Like seriously that’s no update where the heck is she !!!

For all of websleuths faults, there's been a lot of good discussion on websleuths just in the last few years on this case, including a lot of insightful posts from the individual who was called to track footprints when Lauren disappeared. He had been called in by police chief Cote (interviewed in the segment) for the filming of the UM segment, but never knew if he could be seen in the segment or not. This guy has a wealth of good information, to put it mildly, and has not only kept all of his notes for the last 27 years, but also has the vast majority of newspaper articles on this case.

-There is sort of a significant "Person of Interest" in this case, an older guy who lived in the mental facility that I mentioned earlier in this thread. He moved to the apartment complex when the mental facility closed, was said to have an obsession giving little girls gifts and is described as "slow". This guy has since passed on, but his close friend is still alive and there's been some desire to contact this friend. However, it should be noted that police did a door-to-door check of the entire apartment complex (which I believe was about 150 apartments or so) and did not get the impression Lauren was anywhere else in the complex.

-The tracker has mentioned several times that he felt Lauren was abducted by someone she knew, and that various things in the footprints indicated this (pace, no attempt to pull away, etc.)

-The tracks went to a local motel or hotel. Lauren's scent was detected at the motel parking lot, but not inside the actual building. Conflicting information on if staff and guests were questioned or not. One source says they were all questioned, but came up empty. Another says there were 3 members of Lauren's extended family staying at the motel she is believed to have disappeared from.

-I continue to get the vibe Christina O'Donnell was NOT involved in her daughter's disappearance. Tracker said that she was EXTENSIVELY questioned, and that she would frequently break down in legitimate tears (I also recall mentioning she was choked up in the UM interview). The police had also sent a "listener" to "aid" her, and her job was essentially to note and transcribe every thing Christina said, presumably so that they could use it against her later if they thought she was guilty.

-The tracker goes on to say that he was told there were 2 older people involved in the search for Lauren that were her grandparents, but doesn't know which side (paternal or maternal). He said the older folks acted very strangely and smiled at him whenever he looked at them, and didn't seem at all concerned their granddaughter was missing.

With all of that being said, I think a possible scenario is this: Lauren was abducted by a member of her extended family who didn't like the conditions she was living in at the time, and I think it's a very real possibility Lauren is still alive, but has no idea about her past life and may be living under another identity now. There were rumors of her being in Florida, where Christina O'Donnell was known to have relatives, and Mickey even flew down there at one point to follow up on a lead. I don't believe Mickey or his relatives had any part in this (I read that Mickey called the lead investigator on this case every single day at 4 p.m. for a very long period of time until the 2 had a falling out of sorts).

Now, a possible problem with that is "Why didn't they also abduct Lauren's sister?" But I think I have a possible reason for that. Lauren was born with all sorts of physical problems, and I think the relatives feared she wasn't getting the appropriate care under Christina's watch and/or were concerned that Christina might not be able to afford to appropriately care for Lauren for a continued period of time. Mickey had planned to fight for custody, but of course we'll never know how that would have turned out or if the relatives knew about it.

A couple of other miscellaneous items the tracker noted I thought were interesting. Helicopters were used, and while he appreciated them, he said it runs the risk of them masking any sound or cry for help the victim is making. Also stated that local news stations arrived and stepped on the very footprints he was trying to track. To get them to go away, he picked his nose while they were trying to film him for the segment. They went away and police put up caution tape after that to prevent their reappearance.

Rarely does anything past season 4-5 drive me to the boards here anymore. Just out of sheer curiosity, I looked for a thread on Lauren and found this one. Then, after reading the above, I went and found the Websleuths thread mentioned.

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/pa-lauren-pico-jackson-5-spring-city-4-oct-1988.27917/page-9

This is about where wiseguy182 would've left off when he made the post I quoted. There are 7 more pages (for a total of 16).

Among all those........

-There is significant mention by the Tracker, of trouble communicating with the local PD. He would pass along evidence, notes etc, only to be met with stone cold silence.

-One of Lauren's cousins posted (on page 9) and emphatically stated her maternal grandparents did *not* have anything to do with the disappearance.

-There is mention (also on page 9) of a nearby trailer park where a reputed child molester lived. Parents of children in Lauren's complex were reportedly slow to catch on to this person's past and let their kids play in this person's home. Said person later committed suicide.

-The Tracker mentioned (on page 10) that he was forwarding his information along to his State Representative and that said rep was reportedly horrified at some of what was dug up, recommending passing the info on to the County DA

-The Tracker has mentioned that in addition to the former mental patient angle, he also entertained the notion that Lauren walked to a nearby convenience story, with or without other children (page 15)

I haven't read the first 8 pages, but I would suspect they'd be just as fascinating. Unfortunately, there haven't been any new posts since early June of this year.

Hello Lauren Group! I am the Tracker from the Lauren Jackson case. I just found this thread while doing a search and since you all have been following this case for a number of years, I figured I would join in. I continue to develop new information by both "boots on the ground" work and online searching. I have been handing information over to the Chester County DA, however I am now getting the same lack of response as I was from the local police. I am getting a bit old (64) and I want to get this case solved before I am no longer around to keep pushing it. The DA's office says its an active case, but you would think they would share a bit with the guy who has been working this case non-stop all these years. I just added a post today and be assured I will continue to keep looking. I'll try and take a look here once in a while, so if you have a specific question, please ask.

Hello Lauren Group! I am the Tracker from the Lauren Jackson case. I just found this thread while doing a search and since you all have been following this case for a number of years, I figured I would join in. I continue to develop new information by both "boots on the ground" work and online searching. I have been handing information over to the Chester County DA, however I am now getting the same lack of response as I was from the local police. I am getting a bit old (64) and I want to get this case solved before I am no longer around to keep pushing it. The DA's office says its an active case, but you would think they would share a bit with the guy who has been working this case non-stop all these years. I just added a post today and be assured I will continue to keep looking. I'll try and take a look here once in a while, so if you have a specific question, please ask.

Hello! I've followed your developments every now and then on the Websleuths thread.

Your post today was certainly interesting, as I had assumed up until now that the child molester who committed suicide had something to do with it.

I had to backtrack a few pages to find out what the connection was with the Vincent Motel (where family of Lauren's mother were staying), but boy, is it damning. For me, I think that changes the calculus and makes it a near certainty now that her mother and/or that side of the family had something to do with Lauren's disappearance.

The only questions that leaves is did the mother/relatives kill her (in order to keep Lauren away from her father) ?? If not, then what might've happened to her?

Barring any evidence that points elsewhere, really looking hard at Lauren's mom's side of the family would seem to be the next logical step I would think?

Hello Huskerz,

The lack of known information being shared at the time Lauren went missing is really unforgivable. There are probably a lot of other places I would have added to my list of search areas and questions to ask.

As there have been no named POI's in the case, it's difficult to discuss any on person or group of people without a degree of backlash, although you have hit on a particularly interesting scenario.

Lets look at some facts: 1. Family staying at the Vincent Motel. 2. Footprints go from the apartment complex to the Vincent Motel. 3. Bloodhound tracks Lauren from the apartment complex to the Vincent Motel. I am victim and family friendly, so I tend to be very careful what I say. After this amount of time, the above becomes a potential focus for cold case investigators, however I am not privy to what goes on behind the closed doors of LE it appears.

I know this is a year old, but it's amazing how many child abductions (despite the statistic that most children are abducted by someone known to them or in their family) were featured on UM that were familial related. I wonder how many of the abductions presented as stranger abductions were actually family related.

There has been a huge uptick in child abductions and attempted child abductions in the last few months in PA, NJ and surrounding states. It's almost as if they have some sort of network and have a coordinated plan, or there is something about this time of year that motivates that particular mental defect.

You are correct with regard to the statistics, Ohio State did a rather good one if you care to Google it. Stranger abductions with no witnesses are the hardest to solve. One would not think so in this day and age as each of us is captured on at least seven video cameras every day.

Your last question is the elephant in the room.

Did you ever find out anything about that student you had in you class.. they have a podcast out about Lauren Jackson with cold case Chronicles and it was mentioned that Christina’s sister lives in Massachusetts.. please if you have any information please contact this podcast bc they interviewed Lauren’s father on the podcast and he would really love to know what happened to his child..

I was interviewed for the cold case podcast. I am still involved in the case and hope the podcast gets things moving again.

Not surprised that they never found LJ. I don't think the mother had anything to do with the disappearance/abduction.

I do think that the two alleged "sightings" of LJ that day (the older kid who thought she saw LJ being put into a car; the middle-aged woman who saw a woman handing off a girl to a couple in a mall parking lot) were red herrings. In the case of the mall sighting especially - I don't see that as involving LJ whatsoever, due to the timing being off.

Unfortunately, it's possible/probable?! that LJ was probably taken by a stranger; the open question is as to whether or not she's still alive. We may never know.

I feel this case needs to be aired on 2020 or dateline so it can get some attention

We need to help Lauren returned home dead or alive. Everyone needs to start putting her missing poster out on social media or around spring city.. whoever has any information has to come forward even if they thing it’s a small detail.. this case needs to be solved it is 2021 and they are solving cases left and right.

This case and Marlena Childress are eerily similar. One thing that I wonder about is, with the whole shopping mall parking lot supposed sighting, since that wasn't Christina handing Lauren over to someone, what was that? Someone obviously handed a child over to someone else, but why? What exactly did that lady witness there?

Someone obviously handed a child over to someone else, but why? What exactly did that lady witness there?

A child custody transfer. I used to stop at a gas station adjacent to a freeway exit pretty routinely on Sunday evenings and it was very common to see children being exchanged between cars.

A child custody transfer. I used to stop at a gas station adjacent to a freeway exit pretty routinely on Sunday evenings and it was very common to see children being exchanged between cars.

That makes sense

This case and Marlena Childress are eerily similar. One thing that I wonder about is, with the whole shopping mall parking lot supposed sighting, since that wasn't Christina handing Lauren over to someone, what was that? Someone obviously handed a child over to someone else, but why? What exactly did that lady witness there?

Honestly, that could have been anything. A parent passing the child off to the grandparents is the most likely explanation. The kid saying "I don't want to go" that makes sense. Kids do that all of the time. Rare to do that for a grandparent, but who knows. That's the simplest explanation I think.

Here is what I think could have happened to Lauren. It is 1988, and while random abductions do happen, and did more back then because no one had a camera on them, they were remote. Maybe Nyleen Kay Marshall was randomly kidnapped. I think Michaela Garecht was, Jaycee Dugaard, and maybe even Tara Calico. But normally it just doesn't happen that a pedo stumbles on an opportunity to snag a kid like that. It could have happened to Lauren, who knows, but random kidnappings are extremely rare. Usually there is a backstory.

They mentioned Christine's substance abuse problems. That right away triggered a memory in me. In 2009 there was a little girl in Ontario that was abducted right after school, presumably walking home. Her name was Victoria Stafford. Then there was this footage released, some grainy video of an adult walking away from the school with Victoria following her, somewhat willingly too. No dragging, no kicking, no yelling, nothing. In the video it even shows them walking right past another adult. The video isn't great, but it is enough to see that it is a woman walking beside her. Anyway, it haunted the community for a while, and perplexed everyone. For sure this was just a random snag off the street. However, we found out it wasn't that simple. Victoria's mother would buy Oxycontin off of a woman, and that woman's daughter - who was the one in the video - had a boyfriend who was bugging her to find a young girl for him. She knew Victoria and told her there was a puppy she could see. Victoria knew the young woman, so that video was where she was luring her to the car to see the "puppy".

Long and sad story short, she was sexually assaulted and then bludgeoned with a hammer. Both the boyfriend and girlfriend got 1st degree murder convictions. But it would have never happened without the girlfriend helping her sick counterpart. Bottom line is, Victoria's mother knew some shady people. It wasn't thought to be based on owing any sort of money, but my question is, did Christine owe anyone money and was Lauren used as a way to pay her debt. Not saying Christine allowed this to happen, I am just saying if she had substance abuse issues chances are she knew some sketchy people. To me, that's what happened here.

I tend to believe the story that perhaps Lauren was picked up and put in a car. Either way, she was snagged and I don't think it was a stranger that did it if I were to guess.

I did a deep dive into this case and read everything there was to read that I could possibly find. Here's some of the key details left out of the UM segment:

-As first mentioned by MOneel back on page 3, a few weeks before she went missing, she got in trouble with her mother because she walked with a group of older girls from her apartment to this (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/John+Tuski+News+Agency+Newsstand/Park+Spring+Apartments,+1800+Park+Springs+Blvd,+Spring+City,+PA+19475/@40.1755093,-75.560144,1139m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c68fafd6e9b2f9:0x8277f6e19c98c83!2m2!1d-75.5624851!2d40.1792513!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c68fcae7e7ffd7:0xe6997a10223a94bf!2m2!1d-75.5547646!2d40.1737061) convenience store.

-trackergd claims that he tracked her prints in the exact same route shown in the map above. On Websleuths as well as here, they also mention that bloodhounds also traced her scent along this same exact route, but it ended here (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/John+Tuski+News+Agency+Newsstand/3585/@40.1788457,-75.5625365,285m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c68fafd6e9b2f9:0x8277f6e19c98c83!2m2!1d-75.5624851!2d40.1792513!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c68fb1b560ec39:0x55644381cac44a97!2m2!1d-75.5611257!2d40.1784126) at the now abandoned Vincent Motel. Her scent was lost in the parking lot and was not found in any of the motel rooms. The owner of the tracker dog said that because of an auto shop/gas station located directly in the middle of the Vincent Motel and the convenience store where she had previously walked with older girls, that the exhaust fumes could have killed her scent. In other words, the Vincent Motel could be a huge red herring in this case.

-There has never been any verifiable proof that members of her family were actually staying at the Vincent Motel at the time of her disappearance.

-Lauren's father, Mickey, called the police department every single day at 4:00 p.m. for years trying to see if they had uncovered any new information. He, as of 2020 (according to Websleuths), still thinks that Lauren's mother was involved.

-Several people from around that area suspected Lauren's mother essentially selling Lauren for drugs.

-trackergd says that while examining the foot prints, they could tell that Lauren was walking on the left side of an adult, facing the dangerous side towards traffic, as if she was holding hands with someone's left hand. The tracks also indicated that both the adult and Lauren were walking leisurely and there were no signs of a struggle. In all likelihood, Lauren knew who she was walking with that day.

-Pennhurst State Hospital, a former mental institution, which housed roughly 1,200 patients, shut down in 1987 and the patients were moved into various housing developments in the area. One of these developments was the apartment complex where Lauren and her mother were living.

-One of the former patients who lived at the apartment complex walked in an almost stomping manner, and could not use his right hand because it was permanently "stuck" in an upward position. He would try to give stuffed animals to little girls in the complex and was caught exposing himself to some older girls in the years after Lauren's disappearance. He has since died.

-Another potential person of interest was a convicted sex offender who lived in a trailer park less than a half a mile from the apartment complex. Members of the apartment complex would let their children play at this man's house, long before anyone knew what he was doing. He later committed suicide.

-It has never been confirmed as to whether or not either one of these men actually knew Lauren.

-The last person to see Lauren alive was an older girl named Christina Pelen, who remembered seeing Lauren playing outside on her front steps. According to this (https://www.pottsmerc.com/2007/02/18/haunted-by-her-disappearance/) article:

In an interview on Thursday, Christina Pelen, who had been hanging out in the parking lot directly in front of Lauren’s home that night, said she saw Lauren playing by herself on her own front step. She said Lauren’s mother came out of the house and told the little girl she would have to come inside soon. Shortly after, Pelen’s group of friends moved to the side of Lauren’s building, in a grassy area, but left their jackets in the parking lot. ‘I ran back to where we were to get the jackets and Lauren was still sitting on the step,’ Pelen said. ‘I waved at her and went back to the side of the building.’ A very short time later, Pelen saw Lauren’s mother running around and panicking because she could not find Lauren. Pelen and her friends helped look for the little girl, checking neighboring houses, a playground and a wooded area near the complex. ‘We looked around the complex, we went to our friends’ house to see if Lauren was there,’ Pelen said. ‘Christina (O’Donnell) got in her car and was driving around. We kept walking around the complex checking parks.’ Pelen said she did not notice if any cars were coming in or out of the parking lot.

-If the above is accurate, this would rule out Lauren's mother, IMO. It also would rule out the alleged witness who claims to have seen Lauren and Christina at a mall where Christina was forcing Lauren into a car on the day she disappeared. Also complicating this sighting was the fact that Lauren's older sister had left the home to babysit some neighbors just before Lauren disappeared. That would have been near impossible for Christina to orchestrate and pull off.

-Lauren disappeared a month after Mickey informed Christina that he was going to seek full custody of Lauren.

I can see why several people suspected the mother over the years. But I don't think she had the time to pull this off. Someone Lauren knew and trusted took her. I don't think this was a stranger abduction. Some people theorize that the abductor had his/her car already waiting at the Vincent Motel because her scent stopped in the parking lot. But again, if it was possible that her scent got lost due to exhaust fumes from cars at the gas station, this could be a red herring. The person who took her walked a route where they could easily have been seen. They could have taken a different route and avoided the main highway altogether. But they didn't. They also were walking with Lauren facing towards traffic. Which is something a fully functioning adult would almost never do. They would be the ones walking towards traffic. But if they were left handed, incapable of using their right hand, and mentally handicapped? The former mental patient was trackergd's strongest POI in the case. I would tend to agree, but there was a post on Websleuths from someone who remembered this guy and lived in that area around the time that Lauren disappeared. They did not think he had the mental capacity to pull this off and hide her body to where it's never been found in over 30 years. Such a frustrating case.

They did not think he had the mental capacity to pull this off and hide her body to where it's never been found in over 30 years. Such a frustrating case.

It doesn't take any real cunning to throw a body into a dumpster and make them disappear.

Here's a recent case where even with the general date of when someone was put in a dumpster a search of the landfill came up empty (https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-police-end-landfill-search-for-teen-savagely-taken-from-family/).

It doesn't take any real cunning to throw a body into a dumpster and make them disappear.

Here's a recent case where even with the general date of when someone was put in a dumpster a search of the landfill came up empty (https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-police-end-landfill-search-for-teen-savagely-taken-from-family/).

That person could easily be lying about where he put her body.

I know he had nothing to do with it, but is there a shadier husband/father than Mickey Jackson out there? I know it is just an interview I am witnessing, and I know he isn't a suspect, but he really points the blame at Christine here. Saying that she would do something like this to spite him. That's pretty harsh to think that, I think.

Also, I don't think there was anything wrong that Christine did either. She did what every parent did in 1988, let her kids play outside with other kids. If you grew up in the era that Lauren did we all did this and no one batted an eyelash.

I do lean on the side that Lauren did know her abductor.

It always just came off to me that Lauren's father completely blamed her mother because they didn't get along. He took his anger out on her, regardless of whether she was responsible, and came off like a jerk although I don't like thinking that given that he lost his daughter.
I don't think the mother was responsible. Never did.