I’m still trying to track down the source of the information about the children being sick when they died. Listened to the November 17, 2015 press conference and it wasn’t mentioned there.
Wikipedia mentions it: “Vaughn, was between 5 and 11 years old.
She had symptoms of pneumonia, a crooked front tooth and a
diastema (space between her top teeth)” and links Marie’s NCMEC poster from 2014 as the source. However, the poster is no longer available since she has been identified.
Bear Brook murders - Wikipedia The pneumonia is also mentioned here:
Decades-old slayings of woman, 3 girls still baffle N.H. officials - The Boston Globe
The middle child’s poster is available and says this “She was 2 to 4 years old at the time of her death, placing her birthdate between 1975-1977. She had slightly wavy brown hair. She had a slight overbite that may have been noticeable. An analysis of her bones suggest that
she may have had anemia in life but this cannot be confirmed.”
Have you seen this child? JANE DOE2000
View attachment 189103
I haven’t found any mentions of Sarah being sick when she was murdered.
Also found this comment, that is relevant to the discussion:
“Based on evidence and poor dental care, officials believe the four may not have been visible members of society.
"If they interacted with people on regular basis and suddenly disappeared you would expect somebody to say something," says Williamson, a forensic scientist.
And they may not have been in a traditional family setting.
"I don't think they were regularly in school and went home and had dinner with mom and dad every night," says Williamson.” New images, DNA tests aim to solve New Hampshire murder mystery - CNN