EP 43 | What Happened To Andy Puglisi? Lawrence, Massachusetts & Local History of Crimes Against Children (part one)

What happened to Andy Puglisi? Part one. This is a true crime, local history, and storytelling podcast. I write about crimes, yes, I set the scene, connect story themes, I talk about things that happened here, in Massachusetts and New England. This episode is about murdered and missing children, one in particular, about child sexual abuse, the attitudes among the public at large in regard to this topic, and the part that the Catholic Church has played in the serial abuse of children. If this is something that will hurt you, impede your own healing, or offend you, it may not be something you wish to listen to. This often goes unsaid, but this podcast is not for children.
Andy Puglisi vanished on August 22, 1976* from his neighborhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was two weeks away from his eleventh birthday. His case remains one of the greatest mysteries in the state's history. Andy disappeared long before the many advances were made to assist in locating missing children in the hours immediately following an abduction.

*Reposted new audio with edited date to reflect the day Andy was last seen.
The search for Andy began on August 22, 1976.

To this day, the question remains  unanswered: What happened to Andy Puglisi?

National Center For Missing and Exploited Children | missingkids.org

NCMEC Cyber Tipline
1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-543-5678) cybertipline.org

Boston Phoenix, March 23, 2001  By Kristen Lombardi

Boston Globe Spotlight piece, Jan 6, 2002 - Church allowed abuse by priest for years

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, 2001

Have You Seen Andy?  The documentary researched and directed by Melanie Perkins (Andy's childhood friend), 2007

Amber: The Girl Behind the Alert -  the story of Amber Hagerman, 2023 
Spotlight, 2015 film
Mystic River, 2003 film
The K