Unknown Number: The High School Catfish

In Beal City, Michigan, the high school student Lauryn Licari and her boyfriend Owen McKenny start receiving harassing texts from an unknown number in October 2020. It intensifies in September 2021 and runs for more than fifteen months. The messages attack Lauryn's appearance and express sexual interest in Owen. When the Isabella County Sheriff, the FBI and local police trace the IP address, the sender turns out to be Lauryn's mother, Kendra Licari. The documentary covers both the investigation and the trial that followed. Skye Borgman directed. It runs 94 minutes, went up on Netflix on 29 August 2025 and reached Netflix's global top ten in its first week. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 85 percent from 13 reviews. The Guardian called it a remarkable and chilling cautionary tale. In Review Online questioned the ethics, asking where the line falls between examining human evil and exploiting child victims. Who it is for: viewers interested in true crime documentaries and cases of digital harassment. Who it is not for: anyone uneasy about cases with child victims being told this way. That objection came from critics too, and it is not unfounded.