In late December of 1978, 15-year-old Larry Goodman disappeared from Park Ridge, New Jersey. His mother left home that day to go shopping and asked Larry if he would like to go along with her, but he declined. When she arrived home, Larry was gone. His mother reported that he had left home wearing a red flannel shirt, jeans, a denim jacket, sneakers and had $30 in his pocket. Investigators spoke to the teen's friends, teachers, and parents, but no one knew where he may have gone. Larry was a good student, and there didn't appear to be anything in his life to run from. There were articles in the local paper detailing Larry's mysterious disappearance. The local police stated they had run down every lead and hoped to appeal to the public for information. Everyone was shocked when Larry reappeared 27 days later on his 16th birthday. Larry told his mother he had been hundreds of miles away in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The police closed the case now that he was home safe, but that wouldn't last long. Soon, Larry was gone again. Everyone assumed he had run away from home again and would return soon. This time, there were no articles in the newspaper about Larry Goodman. He never called or came home, and 45 years later, Larry's case remains unsolved.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Larry Goodman, please contact the Park Ridge Police Department at (201) 391-5401 or the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at (609) 882-2000.

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

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Lawrence "Larry" Goodman

The Vanished Podcast