Vanished in Plain Sight: The Lost Children of 1970s New England

I first learned about some of these heartbreaking disappearances through the work of filmmaker and journalist Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, whose award‑winning documentary Have You Seen Andy? investigates the 1976 disappearance of 10‑year‑old Angelo “Andy” Puglisi. Andy’s case is one of many haunting mysteries from the 1970s and early 1980s in New England, a period when a shocking number of children vanished without a trace.

Even now, decades later, we are left asking: were these isolated acts of violence, or was there something broader at play—something organized, even resembling human trafficking? While investigators have not conclusively linked these cases to a trafficking network, the patterns are deeply troubling.

In the 1970s, the atmosphere in Massachusetts and nearby states was one of relative trust. Children played freely outdoors, often unsupervised until dark. But beneath that innocence, predators were lurking.

August 1976 – Lawrence, Massachusetts: Ten‑year‑old Angelo “Andy” Puglisi was at a public swimming pool near the Stadium Housing Projects when he disappeared between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. Despite immediate searches and a growing list of suspects, Andy has never been found.

June 1974 – Brockton, Massachusetts: Five‑year‑old David Jon Louison was playing with a friend on West Elm Street when he vanished. Witnesses recalled seeing his shoes near a tree line, but not David. For years, the case stalled—until 1980, when David’s remains were discovered in a steamer trunk in the basement of 47 Highland Street. He was still wearing a white jersey with the number 16. No one has ever been convicted of his murder.

1979 – Gloucester and Manchester, Massachusetts: Michael Gorman, 12, disappeared after school. His remains were later found under a rock pile near a rest stop.

1974 – Revere, Massachusetts: Leigh Frances Savoie, 10, disappeared after visiting a nearby restaurant and was never seen again.

1978 – Webster, Massachusetts: Anthony Amato, 4, went missing after a dispute with relatives. His toy later surfaced in an area previously searched. A man reportedly made a deathbed confession years later, but charges were never filed.

1981 – Hanson, Massachusetts: James Rogers, 14, set out to visit a friend by hitchhiking. He never arrived.

1992 – Newburyport, Massachusetts: The remains of an unidentified boy or young man were found in a wooded area off Route 95. He is still unidentified today.

Among the most notorious suspects tied to these tragedies is Wayne W. Chapman, a convicted child rapist whose name surfaces repeatedly in Massachusetts cold‑case files.

In the mid‑1970s, Chapman was living a transient life and had a documented pattern of luring young boys into secluded areas. In 1977, he was convicted of raping two boys from Lawrence and served decades in prison, later deemed a sexually dangerous person and held at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater for an additional 11 years.

Chapman was also a suspect in the disappearance of Angelo Puglisi, the very case that Melanie Perkins McLaughlin has spent years investigating. And he was formally charged in 1976 with the murder of David Louison—even though David’s body had not yet been located. Chapman admitted to police that he had been in Brockton in June 1974 and had lured a boy into the woods, though he claimed he left the child alive at a cemetery. In 1978, those charges were dropped when a grand jury declined to indict him, citing insufficient evidence.

Then, in 1980, David’s remains were discovered in the basement of a Brockton home. Despite this heartbreaking discovery, no one—including Chapman—was ever convicted in connection with David’s death.

Shockingly, in recent years, the state’s highest court ruled that Chapman could be released from custody. Now in his seventies, Chapman was evaluated by state‑appointed examiners, who concluded he was no longer “sexually dangerous.” Despite his history—including convictions for child rape and his status as a former suspect in multiple unsolved cases—the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court allowed his release.

For survivors, families, and communities still seeking justice for children like Andy Puglisi and David Louison, the decision feels like a deep wound reopened. It is a stark reminder of how the justice system often fails those left behind.

Were these crimes part of a broader pattern, perhaps even human trafficking? There is no official evidence tying them together in an organized network. However, these disappearances occurred within a landscape of systemic failures: law enforcement agencies that did not always share information, limited forensic tools, and societal attitudes that underestimated the danger posed to children.

In the case of Andy Puglisi, Have You Seen Andy? reveals overlooked leads and startling evidence that known predators were present at the pool that day. In the Brockton case, the fact that David Louison’s body was only discovered years later—in a trunk, in a home—shows how crucial early, thorough investigations are.

Each name represents a life cut short or forever altered:

Angelo “Andy” Puglisi, 10, Lawrence, MA (1976)

David Jon Louison, 5, Brockton, MA (1974)

Michael Gorman, 12, Gloucester/Manchester, MA (1979)

Leigh Frances Savoie, 10, Revere, MA (1974)

Anthony Amato, 4, Webster, MA (1978)

James Rogers, 14, Hanson, MA (1981)

And the unidentified young man found in Newburyport (1992)

These children deserved safety, and they deserve answers.

Thanks to the advocacy of filmmakers, journalists, and families, some of these cold cases continue to be investigated. Projects like Have You Seen Andy? keep public attention alive, while modern tools like national databases and DNA analysis give hope that someday, someone will come forward—or a long‑buried clue will surface.

If you know anything about these cases, contact local law enforcement or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1‑800‑THE‑LOST. Even the smallest tip can help.

For the families who wait and the communities forever changed, the search for truth continues. Whether these crimes were isolated acts or part of something larger, one thing is certain:

We owe these children answers, and we must never stop searching.