True Crime with Kimbyr - Mom Disappears Before Halloween: The Heart breaking Case of Lauren Kidd

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

Just days before Halloween 2018, 3-year-old Addison waited in costume for her mom to take her trick-or-treating—but she never showed up. In this emotional episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, Kimbyrleigha shares the haunting story of Lauren Kidd—a beloved mother, daughter, and sister whose sudden disappearance shattered her family. As Kimbyrleigha dives into Lauren’s early life, close-knit family, and the joy they once shared, we begin to understand the depth of this tragedy. What happened to Lauren, and why did her favourite holiday become a day of heartbreak? Watch to uncover the chilling truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was just a few days before Halloween in 2018. A little girl was gearing up for an evening of trick-or-treating. It's one of the most fun days as a child. It's the one time a year where zombies walk the streets, alongside Disney princesses and Marvel characters. For that one day, you can be anyone you want to be. And of course, all the free candy only makes the day so much better. Three-year-old Addison was waiting for her mom to meet up with her

and her dad so she could show off her costume and fill her bag with candy. However, little Addison's mommy didn't show up to take her trick-or-treating, and that's when the family knew that something was very wrong. When the truth finally came out, Halloween would never again be a day of celebration. Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel. My name is Kimberlya. If you've never been here before, nice to finally meet you. I should have have said kimbu lea i forgot well it finally happened to me though i got covid for the first time and it is miserable i don't know if you can tell how bad i sound i'm doing my best to show up today for loren's story another one a part of my all hollows horror series this fall and i didn't want to drop the ball

because the story needs to be told as the crispy chicken sandwich from 7-11 people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know. I'm crispy. Did you expect me to whisper? If you want quiet, go eat some soup and reflect. Like, I know I'm a handful. I'm bold, I'm juicy. Throw some pickles and barbecue sauce on me and baby I'm a whole meal. And with seven rewards, I'm just $4. Quiet. No, crispy, saucy, and $4? Very. Only at 7-Eleven. Valley through 62326, participating stores only while supplies lastly out for full terms. I'm always surprised when I find out about a case that I feel did not get that much attention, but it's so shocking that I can't stop thinking about it, and that is this case. And I'm going to be introducing you to not only Lauren

Kid, but her family as well. And to do that, I have to go back in time and introduce you to Lauren's mom and dad, Joe and Krista Kid, and they are both so adorable, and they're even more adorable as a pair. In 1992, Krista had moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma as a 23-year-old single mama of her three-year-old son Joshua. She had just landed a job at an apartment complex as a leasing agent and one day, she crossed paths with 22-year-old Joe Kid while he was working at the complex's fitness facility, and they hit it off. Joe accepted Krista's son as his own and they became a little family of three and ultimately got married. Now three years later, Krista had some exciting news. She was pregnant. And of course, with this being Joe's first child of his own, there were so many emotions running

through him. He was scared. He was excited. He was wondering if he was ready for this, but who is right? Nothing prepares you. But soon enough, the time had come. The couple welcomed little Lauren Ashley Kid into the world on December 5th, 1996, just a few days before Christa's own birthday on December 11th and 20 days before Christmas. Christa said that Lauren's birth was the best birthday and Christmas gift combined that she could have ever asked for. She thought her newborn looked like a perfect porcelain doll. And everyone in Joe's family was waiting for Lauren's arrival. She was Joe's parents' first granddaughter, so it was a very special time for them. Joe's dad, Dustin, who was known as Dusty, but called Pawpaw by the family, was just the best with kids. He was the type of

grandpa that did everything for his grandchildren, not just teaching them things, but just love it on them so much. Even Joshua, who wasn't Joe's biological child, was treated like family, and he loved Papa, and so did Little Lauren. There's a home video from a visit they made to Mumford, Tennessee, to Papa's in April of 1998, right after Lauren had turned 16 months old, and how precious is this video of her just jumping on Papa, and he's just loving every moment. This family was very close. You can tell how important relationships like this mean to the kid family. They truly valued the love that they shared with one another, and life was good until change came a year later in 1999. The company that both Krista and Joe had been working for,

they went into bankruptcy, so they had to make a big move out to Phoenix, Arizona for a new job opportunity. But Joe and Krista were the type of people who made things fun and memorable. They knew this was going to be hard on their family. So instead of making it a work-related move, They looked at it like an adventure, a family vacation that they called their working vacation. Here's a cute picture of Krista, Joe, Josh, and Lauren on that vacation. A thousand-mile road trip. And they weren't in a rush. They took their time.

They took in all their new surroundings, being tourists in their new home. The kids had never seen mountains before. The weather was different. The view was new to them. And little Lauren was adventurous like many children that age. Everything knew was exciting. She was pointing at everything and asking, Mama, what's that? What's that?

And they were documenting everything with pictures and home videos. It wasn't easy moving far away from everything that they were used to, but they made the transition as easy as possible. Lauren was a very active little girl. She loved to sing. She was actually a very good singer from a young age,

and also developed a love for sports. She thrived playing soccer and was absolutely fearless. She started playing when she was only four years old and her favorite position was actually a goalie. Krista was kind of surprised because, you know, the ball was coming flying towards Lauren, but she had no fear. She loved it. She was in her element. She of course had that sense of adventure and I want to show you this cute little home video of Joe interviewing Lauren about one of her big games. Joe was so proud of his little girl. He was beaming watching her get into the sport.

Lauren made an impression on the field. All eyes were on her. But before the family could truly settle in, they decided they wanted to be closer to family once again. And in 2002, they picked up and they moved all the way back to Tennessee to be close to Joe's father. That's where Lauren started kindergarten in another new place. But still, being as young as she was, this transition was easy for her.

She was excited. She had her cute little Barbie backpack on. She gathered up all her school supplies, ready to take on another new adventure. And mom was always there to document every moment, and I'm sure she was very glad that she did. I personally really related to this clip of Lauren getting into the car after her first day at school. Krista asked her how it went and here is Lauren's response. Where's your first day at school? That was great.

All right. We took pictures and which and... You can hear Joe's voice. as he's putting on Laurence Sibow, he's saying just wonderful as he's listening to his little girl, excited as ever, as she's asking politely if she can eat her treat on the way home. It's in my backpack. All right. Wonderful. Can I eat them on the way home?

Sure. Most of us either remember being that little because our parents also made these videos or because we made them for our kids. I have both. I have clips of me growing up and all the memories of my daughter. just like this one of Lauren, the pure joy of innocence, and knowing that it will all be lost hurts. And I'm sure that you'll be able to feel that as I continue to tell you what's going to happen.

And how much pain this family is going to go through, but for now, it was all happiness. Lauren looks so much like her mom, with those almond-shaped eyes, the high cheekbones, they were like twins. But there was another little mini-me coming because Krista was pregnant, her and Joe's second child that year. And that ultimately made the family decide they needed

to be closer to Krista's family so that they could get help with the kids. Now having three would prove to be a lot more work with two needing to go to school and a newborn coming. It was a lot. So they made the hard decision to relocate back to Oklahoma. With Lauren just settling in back in Arizona to move to Tennessee to be close to Paw Paw and then to realize they would be moving once again, it was tough on her. It would be for anyone. They actually say the stress of moving is as bad as a divorce or death when it comes to all the emotions and changes. I know it comes with a lot of stress, but I beg to differ on it being as bad as losing a loved one. I bet any of us would agree to move anywhere, to not have a loved one pass away. But I understand stress-wise, it's difficult.

I hate moving myself, but the kid family knew they would be best for them, even though, the Lauren wasn't dealing very well with all the change. By the fall of 2002, her little brother Dustin was born. Krista went into labor on October 25th. And by the next day, around 2 p.m. on October 26, little Dustin was born, named after his papa. And Lauren was so excited. She was so happy when she found out she was getting yet another brother. She loved her brothers. She was very protective over them. She cared for them and developed a strong bond with them. She loved being their sister. You can just see the joy. And I wish that I could live in this moment right here forever and not move forward in this story. Because at this moment, everyone was so happy and I absolutely hate what's coming

for them. This time of year, and this part of the story reminds me of when I had my daughter. She was born on October 28th in 2011, and I brought her home on Halloween, which was our first, my favorite holiday, but once it had even more significance, it became even more meaningful. And the same goes for the kid family. Halloween was a favorite holiday for Lauren and her siblings. And Crystal always made it special. And even more so, once Dustin's birthday was so close every year, they threw a Halloween-themed party. And I do the same for my daughter.

It's perfect because everyone is in the spirit. They all get dressed up and get into character. And look how cute. Little Dustin is right here as Tigger. Lauren was Snow White and she always loved dressing like a little princess, which is fitting, since to her father at least, she was the closest thing to a real-life princess. To say that Lauren was a daddy's girl would be an understatement. She was his everything and he was hers.

The bond between them is very obvious and it translates easily through the screen when you watch videos of the two of them. She hangs on her father with her tiny arms wrapped around his neck and a hug, that reveals the love and trust that she placed in her daddy. As a family, Halloween was the time when the kids really came together. Everyone was involved in trick-or-treating every year and the birthday festivities. Let me know in the comments because I really like connecting with all of you there. Were there any traditions that you did growing up for Halloween?

Or maybe that you do now with your family because I'd love to hear about them. The kid family had traditions that went beyond Halloween. They spent a lot of time learning from Papa. In this video from Thanksgiving in 2004, here he is. And the thing he loved to do was take them hunting. And Lauren, again, she's fearless, not afraid to hold a rifle, learn how to shoot it, listen, and try to take direction. But she was also kind of feisty. And even when Papa would tell her to be careful with that backfire so that she wouldn't hurt herself, she liked to be in control.

And there were a few times she didn't exactly listen. But looking back at these moments years later, Dustin, who we see right here when he was a little boy, found this moment to be really cute. He remembered his sister Lauren as always being open to try new things and making sure she had fun with her brothers. She never left them out. She was the type of big sister who always involved them in the things that she was getting into. Unlike some siblings who can't stand their little brothers or sisters, not Lauren. And that was good because she had yet to.

another little brother coming her way. February 2005 brought little Tyler kid into the world, and I swear he looks like Lauren's twin. Look at him. What a cutie pie. And he had a lot of fun with Lauren and her friends. They treated him like their own little baby boy, but actually, they would dress him up in girls' clothes and even put makeup on him. And when Tyler got older, one of Lauren's friends came up and was like, oh my God, I remember you. I used to dress him. you up and put makeup on you. And as embarrassing as it was, it was a cherished memory. Lauren adored her new little playmate and couldn't get enough of dressing him up and transforming him into her own living doll. By this time, the family had a lot keeping them busy with four kids running

around, but one thing was stable, and that is where they were living. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. And like many of the places I talk about, I had never heard of it before. Broken Arrow is a city in northeastern Oklahoma. It's actually the fourth largest city in the state with a population of around 115,000 people, so it's not really a small town. And it's the largest suburb of Tulsa. Another fact I found quite interesting, considering we're talking about a murder, is that Broken Arrow is known as the safest city in Oklahoma. Yep, it's true, according to Google, but cities don't kill people. People kill people. And you can never predict who will be living in your safe city. Broken Arrow is also one of the best and most affordable places to live in America

for families, and it seemed like the perfect place for the kid family, a place where they can raise their children, and they were truly doing their very best to give them everything they needed. I actually wondered what this area was known for because it definitely had the city life, but there's also a lot to do outdoors. Here's a video of the kids spending time swimming. There's Lauren in the foreground. She's 12, almost 13 here. It's 2,000. And when I zoomed in on Google Maps, there were so many homes in this area. But it didn't actually look like there was anything else. Just a bunch of neighborhoods.

I mean, yes, there were nature parks, museums, restaurants, the usual. But I could see how this could get a bit boring for older kids. And while Lauren was definitely going through a bit of a rough patch at this age, it's an in-between age. You're in middle school, you've got hormones, the uncertainty of just like not fitting in and just coming into your own. And unfortunately, Lauren was having a hard time. Her mental health was suffering. And Krista, she wanted to help as much as she could. So she brought her in for an evaluation with a doctor who ended up diagnosing Lauren with ADHD. I'm sure that you've

heard of ADHD and maybe you even suffer yourself. It's a condition that affects someone's ability to concentrate and sometimes control their impulses. So to help Lauren, she was placed on medication to mitigate some of these symptoms. But instead of helping her, the medication started to change Lauren's personality. Rather than the outgoing and playful child she once was, she became withdrawn and quiet. Her mom said that Lauren's essence just faded away. What made Lauren Lauren seemed to become subdued. And slowly, she began to drift away from her old group of friends.

And trying to find a place to belong was really hard to. that year. It was hard for her to navigate these shifting dynamics and life would get even worse for the then teenage Lauren. This really was hard. I don't know if you remember this, but in 2009, this swine flu pandemic hit. I remember it very well. It was the H1N1 virus and it was a scary time, very similar to what we saw with COVID, but of course on a somewhat smaller scale. Children, young adults, and the elderly were the most affected. And unfortunately, Lauren, contracted it as well as Dustin and Paw Paw too. And it was bad.

And being sick myself right now, I know how much health matters. And honestly, I have personally been trying to make so many steps to try to be healthy. I'm scared of everything right now. But I've had an even bigger scare in 2013. I thought my life was going to be changed forever. Sickness is no joke.

And in 2009, this flu was devastating. It swept across the world. It killed more than 284,000 people. Much like the 2020 pandemic, the swine flu affected so many families. They were torn apart because of fatalities. And sadly, Papa was taken away from Lauren and her family. He didn't make it through the swine flu.

And if Lauren's mental health was suffering before getting sick, you can only imagine what being ill and then losing someone so close to you would do. It was so unexpected. The kids were just sitting in the driveway when I was just sitting sitting in the driveway one afternoon and Joe pulled up. And that's when he gathered them around and he broke the news to them that Papa had passed away.

They could not believe it. They did not want this to be true. He was never coming back. They'd never get to hug him or learn from him again. It was just horrible. And just like that, Lauren had lost one of the major male figures in her life. The whole family felt a void that just could not be filled. Being a teenager is hard enough, but adding a devastating loss while on a mood-altering medication

did not make it any easier for Lauren to navigate these very difficult times for her. Here's a family video from 2010, and Lauren, she's holding a ghost-shaped pinata for her brother's Halloween birthday bash as he was turning eight. He's blindfolded, and he's trying to hit it. And of course, Lauren is messing around. She's pulling it up. She's making it harder and harder for him while everyone's laughing and carrying on. but you hear Mama in the background.

While Joe is there guiding Dustin, Krista's like, Lauren, come on. You gotta make it easier. It's got to be doable for him. Lauren, come on, it's gotta be. And this may seem like normal teenage antics, but behind this small action, there was actually a lot of pain.

Lauren was keeping something from her family. She was looking for ways to manage her emotions. And like so many troubled teens, she turned to self-harm. Now, I want us to be sensitive to this topic because it's not always understood and that's why I'm here. I like to shed light on these things to humanize them and the people that are facing these hardships. I researched it. And it made sense after learning why people do it.

They want to feel in control of something when their life is chaotic. And it usually starts when a devastating event occurs or it could be other trauma, physical, sexual, bullying. many things can result in individuals turning to harming themselves. And it usually starts small, a little cut here and there on the thigh or on the arms, somewhere you could hide it with clothing. And I read that sometimes it makes a person feel alive to remind themselves that they're here, that they can feel. And the pain makes them realize that they still exist in this world

where they may feel very insignificant and misunderstood and scared. Lauren began cutting herself. She was cutting on her arms. And despite her best efforts to conceal what she was doing, Krista became aware of it. She knew Lauren's secret, and she urged her to please stop. It was really hard for Krista to understand.

She had this image of her beautiful daughter in her mind, and she couldn't make sense as to why Lauren would essentially desecrate her body. And that's fair. I think many of us can understand that, being a parent and being afraid for our child, and maybe also feeling like a failure. Like, why is my child turning to this?

And what can I do to make them stop? Krista continued to take family videos, but this time they weren't shots of her carefree daughter smiling and being happy. They were darker and more somber. They were close-up shots of Lauren's self-harm wounds. Krista was monitoring Lauren. Every few days, she would make Lauren roll up her sleeves

and present her arms for Krista to take a look at. And she took videos because she wanted to be able to tell if there were more as the days went on. While Lauren complied with her mother's wishes, she started to grow frustrated at the scrutiny. She was convinced that she had everything under control. She didn't need any help from her mom. She thought that Krista was being overbearing and overreacting,

trying to control her. She didn't think this self-harm was a big deal. because Lauren was a teenager. And I think we all know that when you're a teenager, you think you know everything. And that can be scary as a parent, knowing that our kids think that they know best

when we know that they don't. This was a very trying time for the family. And while Krista and Joe were doing what they thought was right in supporting their little girl, they were already many steps behind. They just didn't know it. It didn't seem to make sense to Krista, but Lauren was hiding a darker secret.

one that was the catalyst of this whole situation. But she would tell her parents not to worry that she was fine. She would figure it out. But she really wasn't. And she just became more and more upset as her parents tried to do their best to help. They were desperate for answers, and it took a while. But Krista finally found out what happened. Lauren was hanging out with a new group of friends at the time,

and they all left Lauren behind with a boy in the group. Well, he pushed himself on her. you pinned her against a wall, and he forced her to do sexual things against her will. This was emotionally devastating and physically devastating for Lauren. She was so young, she didn't know how to deal with it. She was so embarrassed to tell her parents what really happened. And I'm sure that you can think of all the terrible feelings that come with something like this. Lauren hid this secret from everyone.

But once Krista became aware of everything, she really felt terrible. And she tried to convince Lauren to see a therapist who get help. And finally, she did. And things started to look up. The next couple years went really well for the family. Lauren got better. She was happy again. She was making friends.

And one of those friends was named Dylan. Well, he ended up introducing her to a friend of his named Zachary Maine. This was in 2012. He was a skater boy. And Lauren was smitten. And I cannot help but think of Avril Levine when I hear skater boy. But instead of saying, see you later, boy, if you know, you know, Lauren was glued to Zach. Everyone could tell that they had such a strong connection.

Look how cute they are right here. All smiles. Spark started to fly between the two love-struck teenagers, and it didn't take long for them to be joined at the hip. Lauren's family accepted Zach right away. Her brothers liked him a lot. He fit right in. They could tell how happy he made Lauren, and he acted like an older brother to Dustin and Tyler. He would play with them.

he would hang out with them. And Lauren and Zach officially became a couple in February of 2012 when they were 16 years old. A girl's first love is something very special. And Zach was Lauren's for sure. High school sweethearts. And if there's anything true about teens being in love, it's that they are bound to make some pretty impulsive decisions. But Zach and Lauren's impulsive decisions weren't about, you know, sneaking a kiss underneath the bleachers at school. know, these two decided to take their impulsiveness in love to a whole new level.

One day, during Lauren's senior year of high school, her father, Joe, he returned home from work for lunch, and he comes home to find Lauren and her friends carrying boxes from in her room outside. Well, of course, I think he had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on, but Lauren told him, matter-of-factly, that she was moving out, and he couldn't stop her. She and Zach had gotten their own apartment. And not only that, they were planning to get married. Yes, and this was quite a surprise. Lauren was barely an adult. And her dad was like, okay, I know this was to be expected at some point, but it's the middle of your senior year. But it didn't stop Lauren. She left home to live with her boyfriend. Trying to stop a teenager who has their mindset on something is almost impossible.

Krista had already lost that battle before, so this time she let Lauren go off and be independent on her own. But you know what? Joe trusted Lauren and Zach. They were good kids. They were smart with good heads on their shoulders. He was sad. He didn't want to see his baby girl move out,

but he trusted that she would make good choices. But not long after this move, Krista became suspicious. It's always said that a mother's intuition never fails. And Krista's intuition was telling her that there was something up with her daughter. She thought that Lauren may be present. and that was why she was rushing everything.

Eventually, Krista convinced Lauren to go to a doctor's appointment and they gave her pregnancy test. And just as she suspected, it was positive. Krista's intuition was spot on and on March 22nd, 2015, Lauren gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Addison Nicole Maine. Some parents may be disappointed or mad about their teenage daughter getting pregnant and having a child, but Krista and Joe were overjoyed. with Addison's arrival. Joe said that watching his daughter

bring another little girl into this world was amazing. And it didn't stop Lauren from achieving her goals either. Just a few months after giving birth, she graduated from high school, and it was a really significant milestone in her life. It marked the end of one chapter in the beginning of another.

She had told her mom when she was moving out that her intention was to graduate, get married, and get a job, and she was on her way to fulfilling those promises. By the next year on July 16, 2016, Lauren and Zach got married, and it was such a happy day for them and for Lauren's family. They both looked absolutely stunning. Tyler remembers seeing his big sister in her wedding dress with her pretty red hair and just being in awe of her beauty. Zach was smiling from ear to ear. He was just looking at his bride,

so much happiness. They were now Mr. and Mrs. Maine. They spent their honeymoon in Branson, Missouri, in the Ozark Mountains, where they visited Silver Dollar City, which is an over 60-acre amusement park, and it looks so cool. I had never heard of it before, and that's why I love learning about new things like this. I see why Lauren and Zach would love this. It looks like so much fun, especially right now in the fall with their harvest festival going on. Zach and Lauren really liked this fun house called Grandfather's Mansion. There were a lot of optical illusions, and here's Lauren and Zach, and for you. front of this leaning mirror.

But Lauren mentioned in a post on Facebook that she appreciated the cave. She said there was so much history and gorgeous structures that she couldn't wait to visit again. And here is a picture of her and Zach inside. So how does everything in Lauren's life go from being so perfect to so perfectly heartbreaking? Everything was falling into place. That is why stories like this are so frightening because in this moment, life was so good. Everyone loved each other, so how does it all go so wrong? Joe thought that Zach and Lauren would be together forever,

but they were so young. Not to say that it's not possible, but many of us know how many changes we go through as a young person, and Lauren was only 19. She was still a child herself in many ways, and now she was raising one of her own, with her equally young husband, but they were good parents. They cared so deeply about their little Addison.

She was their world. But I also wanted to get to know Lauren more. So of course, I went to her Facebook, and I looked at the things that she wrote about, what she shared, and what she cared about. I learned that just like me, she likes candy corn. I know that's a rarity. Most people say to just throw it away. Halloween goodies and desserts were her favorite. I also listened to the music that she liked.

She listened to Tegan and Sarah and Tovlo, and I really like both of them. Their music is very deep, and it can be soothing for someone like Lauren, who outwardly expressed that she dealt with a lot of a lot of anxiety. Here's a post where she said, now she looks as emo as she feels. She said, I'm just going to avoid all situations that could cause anxiety today. This post was so telling about Lauren on March 11th, just days before Addison's first birthday. She wrote, quote, when you have your own issues, but you push them down so that you can do your best to make everyone pleased with you. But then months, years in the future, they fester and they get worse, and you start changing. And no one.

tells you until it looks too late. Now who are you? End quote. This sounds like many young people who are coming into their own. They're learning about who they are in this world, and it appears from Lauren's own words that she would suffer quietly, and she would put on a happy face to make everyone else happy. But deep down, not expressing that was changing her. But she was staying strong for her daughter. She loved being with Addison. She loved laying with her and listening to the thunder and the rain. And in this post, she says she's laying on the edge of the bed listening to thunder and rain, and she's loving it. And Addison is laying parallel to the pillows with one foot in her shoulder blade and one on her neck. And I can relate to those days with my own daughter. But there was also

a storm brewing inside Lauren.