Around New England

New Hampshire Teen-Ager’s Body Identified; Went Missing in 1984

November 14, 2018

A 17-year-old who walked away from a youth detention center in New Hampshire in 1984 and was never seen again was found murdered in Tennessee in 1985 — but police are just learning that now.

That’s because Elizabeth Lamotte of Manchester wasn’t reported missing until last year — 33 years after she disappeared.

Two brothers of the missing person submitted DNA samples to police, which allowed them to identify the previously unknown body found near an interstate highway in Tennessee in 1985, according to The Union Leader. The young woman died of blunt force trauma to the head, but no one has ever been arrested in the case.

Lanotte’s case slipped through the cracks in New Hampshire partly because when she turned 18 she was discharged from the juvenile criminal system, even though she had never returned to the youth detention center after she left, according to The Union Leader.

Another reason:  No one ever reported her missing before last year.