Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
2025 documentary film directed by Skye Borgman
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is an American true crime documentary film directed by Skye Borgman and released to streaming on Netflix on August 29, 2025.
The documentary explores the events and investigation into an unknown person cyberbully and harassing teenagers in Beal City, Michigan using an unknown number via insults and sexual claims. It also explores the increasingly great impact of the harassment on the community, the eventual reveal of the culprit, and the trial that followed.
Summary
Unknown Number tells the true story of American teenager Lauryn Licari and her then-boyfriend Owen McKenny, who began receiving harassing text messages from an unknown number in October 2020. The messages stopped, but began again persistently in September 2021 for over 15 months. The content of the messages was threatening, insulting, and bullying, with particular aim at Lauryn's appearance, as well as expressing a sexual interest in Owen. Lauryn and Owen's parents and school staff were concerned for their safety and reported the text messages to the police. An investigation was led by the Isabella County Sheriff, with support from police officers from Beal City and the FBI. The IP address for the phone number was eventually discovered, revealing the perpetrator to be Kendra Licari, Lauryn's mother, whose subsequent trial is also explored by the film.
Cast and crew
Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny were interviewed for the film, as well as their respective parents. Lauryn and Owen's high school friends were also interviewed, as well as some of the friends' parents.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q136036338. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025, 2020 and 2021.
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