Launa Merritt Missing Person Case

Jan 09, 2010

Mar 12, 2024

Launa

Merritt

60

17

59 inches

130 lbs

145 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the winter of 1983, a 17-year-old female named Launa Merritt disappeared from Syracuse, New York, leaving behind a mystery that has endured for decades. The last time anyone is known to have heard from her was early on the morning of February 23, 1983. Launa, who also went by the nicknames Tina, Colleen, or Lisa, telephoned her grandmother from a pay phone at the corner of James and Townsend streets. She explained that she was with friends and would be home a little later. That phone call was the last contact she ever had with her family. At the time of her disappearance, Launa had very few possessions with her; it is believed she only carried a grocery bag containing some clothes. Crucially, she left behind personal items like her makeup and toothbrush, and she had no money with her. She was likely wearing her typical attire of jeans, a T-shirt, a brown rabbit fur coat, and brown boots. Launa's life in the period leading up to her disappearance had been unsettled. She had previously lived with her mother in Fremont and attended East Syracuse Minoa schools, but she eventually dropped out and moved in with her grandmother. Described as having a very trusting nature, Launa began to frequent the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse and had a history of running away from home. In the months prior to her disappearance, she had been arrested for prostitution and was scheduled to appear in court on this charge the day after she was last heard from. Despite these troubles, her grandmother did not believe she was involved with drugs or alcohol at the time. A particularly ominous detail emerged from a conversation Launa had with her grandmother, where she stated that if she ever went missing for a month or more, her grandmother should inform the police about a specific man she had been associating with. Due to her history of running away, Launa was not officially reported as a missing person until March 16, three weeks after she was last heard from. Following her grandmother's advice, investigators did look into the man Launa had mentioned. A search of this individual's home reportedly uncovered one of Launa's shoes, but this was not enough evidence to press charges against him, though he remains a person of interest in her disappearance. Over the years, Launa's case has grown cold, leaving her family without answers. The circumstances surrounding her vanishing are complex, involving her vulnerability, her scheduled court appearance, and her warning to her grandmother. The lack of significant belongings taken with her suggests she did not plan to be gone for long, yet the weeks that passed before she was reported missing may have hampered the initial investigation. Her case remains an open and haunting reminder of a young life interrupted.

Feb 23, 1983

Syracuse

New York

Onondaga County

26260

Syracuse Police Department

Syracuse

New York

Onondaga County

13202

Christopher DeJoseph

Police Detective

511 S. State Street, New York

3154425111

Local

Law Enforcement

83-272298

1983-03-16

Syracuse Police Department

Brown

Brown

Brown

08/29/2026