On a Sunday evening, November 15, 1981, twenty-year-old Lauren Gail Andersen was last seen at her parents' home in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Around 6:15 p.m., an unknown individual in a vehicle picked her up from the residence. She had recently returned from a store where she purchased milk and gasoline for her car, seemingly in preparation for her work week at Fabri-Tek Inc.
Lauren was wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a short blue silk jacket that had blue and white trim on the collar and cuffs. At the time of her disappearance, she had blonde hair, brown eyes, and wore eyeglasses. The departure was quiet, as she left without a word to her parents. They initially were not alarmed when she did not return that night, as she occasionally stayed with friends. The concern for her well-being grew into a formal missing person report the following day when she failed to show up for her job.
The circumstances surrounding Lauren's disappearance were immediately unsettling to her family and investigators. She left behind all of her personal belongings, including her clothing, toothbrush, and medication for tonsillitis she was suffering from at the time. While she took her checkbook and car keys, her checking account was never used again. Her own vehicle remained at her parents' house. Lauren had been living independently for two years before moving back in with her parents just a few weeks prior to her disappearance. She had plans for the future, including a move to Austin, Texas, to live with her sister the following April. Friends and family described her as someone who enjoyed motorcycles, yoga, playing pool, and rock music. She was also a vegetarian at the time. A place she was known to frequent was the Cardinal Bar in Minneapolis.
Decades have passed since Lauren Andersen was last seen, and her case remains an unsolved and painful mystery for her loved ones. The investigation into her disappearance has continued over the years, though with few significant developments. In 2002, law enforcement conducted a search of the vacant home of one of Lauren's former boyfriends, seeking any evidence that might shed light on her whereabouts. However, it is not publicly known if anything of substance was found during that search. Her family has described her as not being in any serious romantic relationship at the time she went missing and that she had not indicated any troubles in her life. The official classification of her case is that of an endangered missing person, and it is being investigated as a possible homicide. The lack of answers has left a void in the lives of those who knew and loved the young woman who vanished on a cool November evening.Last Seen: Nov 15, 1981
