144: San Diego’s Lost Women, Episode 2: Mary Colette Rawlinson

In October 1985, 19-year-old Mary Colette Rawlinson walked out of a home in San Diego, California, telling her boyfriend she'd be right back. She was never seen again.

As more women disappeared from El Cajon Boulevard and the surrounding communities, investigators struggled to answer a troubling question: were these isolated crimes, or was someone hunting women across San Diego County?

In Part Two of our three-part series, we widen the lens beyond a single case to examine the growing pattern of disappearances and murders targeting women living at the intersection of addiction, poverty, and survival sex work. Through the stories of Mary Colette Rawlinson and the women who vanished alongside her, we look at how fear spread through the community while families fought to convince authorities that their daughters deserved to be searched for.

The mounting number of victims would eventually force law enforcement to confront the possibility that the cases were connected, but by then, many women were already gone.

This is Part Two of our three-part series, San Diego's Lost Women.

📍 San Diego, California | October 1985

📖 Featuring an original poem written and read in her honor by Lahna Turner.

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More about Lahna Turner:

Lahna Turner is a comedian, filmmaker, writer, producer, co-director, and published comic book author whose work spans stand-up, television, film, music, publishing, and documentary storytelling.

For more than two decades, Lahna has built a loyal following with fearless comedy, sharp observations, and an unfiltered perspective on relationships, motherhood, grief, family, and the messy realities of life. Her credits include NBC, Comedy Central, Netflix, Hulu, VH1, Animal Planet, CMT, truTV, and SiriusXM.

Known for blending stand-up with original music, Lahna’s one-hour special A Song About It and albums including If These Lips Could Talk, D!@k Jokes and Other Assorted Love Songs, and Limeade showcase her ability to find humor in life’s most uncomfortable truths.

She is also the creator and published author of the four-book Pounds of Power comic series, and the producer and co-director of Come What May, the documentary chronicling the life, legacy, struggles, and impact of comedian Ralphie May.

Whether on stage, on screen, or on the page, Lahna Turner tells stories that make people laugh, think, feel, and connect.