Search in New Hampshire linked to Massachusetts woman who vanished in 2013, DA says

BARRINGTON, N.H. — An ongoing search in New Hampshire is linked to an investigation into the disappearance of a Massachusetts woman who vanished more than a decade ago, authorities confirmed Thursday.

Massachusetts State Police Detectives are assisting Lynn police and New Hampshire State Police in a search in the Strafford County town of Barrington that’s connected to Leeanne Redden, a 37-year-old Lynn woman who disappeared in 2013, one a day after visiting her family, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.

On April 15, 2013, the day of the Boston Marathon bombings, Redden showed up at her mother’s door with a new boyfriend, an older man from Saugus. She hasn’t been seen since.

“He made a statement that he was going to marry her and help her,” Donna Redden told Boston 25′s Bob Ward in November 2023. “And she didn’t say anything. She just looked at me like, you know, gave me a little weird look. And I said, ‘Is that what you want to do? You sure? She said, Yeah.’”

Donna recalled that she got a call the next morning from Leeanne’s boyfriend who said she had left him in the middle of the night. A week later, he returned Leeanne’s belongings to her family.

Donna reported Leeanne missing to the Lynn Police Department and authorities told Boston 25 that Leeanne’s boyfriend is potentially a person of interest. Months after Leeanne disappeared, the boyfriend suddenly died from a suspected drug overdose but investigators continued to investigate, recently searching a Saugus home where he lived.

On Wednesday, dozens of law enforcement officials swarmed a wooded area on a piece of private property on Small Street in Barrington, which is located about 30 miles northeast of Manchester.

Cruisers, crime scene vans, and police dogs were spotted at the scene of the search. An excavator was also being used.

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New Hampshire search

“Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker would like to thank the New Hampshire State Police and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office for their invaluable assistance,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “We recognize the losses suffered by families with missing loved ones and want them to know that they are not forgotten. Our office is committed to reexamining old cases and acting on any new leads.”

Lynn police have been working to determine if Leeanne was a victim of foul play.

Anyone with information on her disappearance is urged to contact Lynn police at 781-477-4398 or the Essex County Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit at 978-745-8909.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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