Post by Scumhunter on Jan 9, 2019 3:04:16 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: Unsolved Mysteries Wiki (re-enactment, there are no actual photographs of Laurence))
From Unsolved Mysteries Wiki:
Real Name: Lawrence Harding Jr.
Nicknames: No Known Nicknames
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: June 30, 1944
Occupation: Minor
Date of Birth: 1944
Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Marital Status: Single
Characteristics: African-American Male, 10 weeks of age at the time of his disappearance.
Case
Details: On the morning of June 30, 1944, ten-week-old Laurence Harding Jr. went with his mother, Margaret Harding, to a store and encountered two teenage girls who looked at him and said that he was a beautiful baby. She did not recognize them but did not feel worried. As she was walking home from the store, they were apparently following her. When she arrived at their apartment complex, she asked an upstairs neighbor to watch Laurence while she took the groceries inside. The neighbor was on an upstairs balcony, but could clearly see the baby from where she was standing. When the neighbor turned away, the teenage girls abducted Laurence. Margaret immediately ran after them, but soon lost sight of them. The girls and Laurence had disappeared.
Three days later, his parents received a call from a woman who claimed that she had him and that she was planning on returning him. The FBI and Chicago police could find no trace of him or his kidnappers, and the search was later called off. In 1953, schoolmates taunted Geoffrey Harding about a brother he never knew. When he told his mother what had happened, she decided to tell him about his brother's abduction.
Later, Geoffrey began searching for him. However, it would not be until August 1986 that he was able to receive the FBI records of Laurence's abduction by virtue of the Freedom of Information Act and was able to get a new lead. He hired a private investigator who was able to find more information about the lead.
The investigator found that on July 4, 1944, one of the kidnappers arrived at a railroad station and asked an older woman to hold "her" baby while she went to the restroom. When the teenage girl did not return, the older woman got on the train. She assumed that the teenage girl had also gotten on the train. However, after arriving in St. Louis, Missouri, it was clear to the woman that the teenage girl was not on board. The older woman told two railroad porters about the baby. She decided to take him with her to Magnolia, Arkansas. The two porters later told FBI agents about the story.
Geoffrey's private investigator went to Magnolia in hopes of finding information about him, but found no new clues. Geoffrey is certain that his brother is alive and that they will be reunited one day.
Suspects: In 1944, Laurence's kidnappers were described as two African-American teenage girls. His mother and their neighbor did not recognize them. It is believed that one of the girls called the Hardings three days after the abduction. It is also suspected that one of the girls gave Laurence to an older woman from Magnolia, Arkansas. The abductors have never been identified.
The older woman has also never been identified; however, she is not believed to have been involved in the abduction. She is believed to have lived in Magnolia in 1944. At the time, she had nine children.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the March 28, 1990 episode. There are no actual photographs of Laurence available; above is a photograph of the reenactment actor.
Results: Unsolved. If he is still alive, Laurence would be seventy-three-years-old.
unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Laurence_Harding_Jr.
Official Unsolved Mysteries website page on Laurence's case: unsolved.com/gallery/laurence-harding-jr/
Unsolved Mysteries fan page Facebook posting: www.facebook.com/341180555899616/posts/on-june-30th-1944-10-week-old-laurence-harding-jr-went-with-his-mother-margaret-/1004674336216898/
Thoughts? This is one of the coldest cases ever aired on Unsolved Mysteries. Even at 70-plus years old, if Laurence is still alive, he deserves to know who he really is/was.
Admin Note #1: According to online coverageIf you have any information concerning Laurence Harding Jr, please call the Chicago Police Department at 312-746-6000
Admin Note #2: If you have any (news-related) updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form