Imagine you’re 13, your phone buzzes with a threatening message, and the person sending it is someone you trust. That’s the chilling reality at the heart of Netflix’s Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, a documentary that unravels a real cyberstalking case in Beal City, Michigan.

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Premiered on Netflix: August 2025 ·
Subject age during harassment: 13 years old ·
Duration of cyberstalking: Months ·
Director: Skye Borgman ·
Production company: Campfire Studios

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
  • The documentary covers a real cyberstalking case that began in October 2020 (Netflix Tudum).
  • Lauryn Licari was 13 years old when the harassment started (Netflix Tudum).
  • The perpetrator was Lauryn’s own mother, Kendra Licari (Netflix Tudum).
2What’s unclear
  • The exact motive behind Kendra Licari’s sustained campaign remains speculative in public reporting (TIME).
  • Whether any other accomplices were involved beyond Kendra is not publicly detailed. (TIME)
  • The harassment start month is reported as October 2020 by Netflix Tudum but as fall 2021 by TIME, creating a timeline discrepancy. (TIME)
3Timeline signal
  • October 2020: First threatening texts sent to Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny (Netflix Tudum).
  • September 2021: Harassment resumed and escalated (Wikipedia).
  • December 2022: Kendra Licari arrested and charged (Netflix Tudum).
4What’s next
  • After release, Lauryn and Kendra Licari gave interviews to Netflix Tudum (Netflix Tudum).
  • Director Skye Borgman continues to produce true-crime documentaries (TIME).

Five key facts, one pattern: the case moved from family cyber abuse to a rare conviction.

Attribute Value
Director Skye Borgman
Release Year 2025
Target Age 13
Harassment Duration Several months
Platform Netflix

Who is the cast of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish on Netflix?

Lauryn Licari

  • Lauryn was the primary victim of the cyberstalking, receiving vulgar and threatening text messages starting at age 13 (Netflix Tudum (official documentary companion)).
  • She and her then-boyfriend Owen McKenny were the targets of the harassment campaign (Wikipedia (user-contributed summary)).

Kendra Licari

  • Kendra is Lauryn’s mother. In December 2022, she was arrested and later pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking a minor (Netflix Tudum).
  • She was sentenced to 19 months to 5 years in prison and released on August 8, 2024 (Netflix Tudum).

Owen McKenny

  • Owen was Lauryn’s boyfriend during the events and also received threatening messages (Wikipedia).

Sophie Weber

  • Sophie Weber is listed in the IMDb cast for the documentary (IMDb (film database)). Her exact role in the story is not elaborated in the primary sources.
The upshot

The cast list is small because the case was deeply personal: the perpetrator was already living in the victim’s home. That proximity made the betrayal exponentially more traumatic.

The pattern: a small cast reflects the intimacy of the crime, where the perpetrator was not a stranger but a parent.

What is Unknown Number: The High School Catfish about?

The timeline of the cyberstalking case

According to Netflix Tudum (documentary companion article), the harassment began in October 2020 when Lauryn Licari, then 13, and her boyfriend Owen McKenny started receiving “vulgar, taunting texts” from an unknown number. The texts stopped for a period, then resumed in September 2021 and continued for more than 15 months. The messages instructed Lauryn to kill herself and urged the couple to break up (TIME (news magazine)). Police officer Bradley Peter, acting as a liaison to the FBI, traced the masked messages back to Lauryn’s mother, Kendra Licari (Netflix Tudum). A search of Kendra’s home led to a confrontation captured on police body camera, which is shown in the documentary.

The role of social media in the harassment

The perpetrators (in this case, a single perpetrator) used a burner phone and anonymous messaging apps to mask their identity. The case underscores how easily digital anonymity can be weaponized against vulnerable targets, especially teenagers. As TIME (news magazine) notes, the documentary “raises uncomfortable questions about the limits of parental control and the dark side of digital anonymity.”

Bottom line: The case is a stark example of how cyberstalking can originate from within a victim’s own household, making legal intervention both necessary and emotionally devastating.

What this means: the documentary forces viewers to confront the reality that trust can be the most dangerous vulnerability.

Is Unknown Number still available on Netflix?

How to find the documentary on Netflix

The film premiered on Netflix in August 2025 and, as of November 2025, remains available for streaming in most regions. You can find it by searching “Unknown Number” or browsing the documentary category.

Regional availability of the title

Netflix generally offers the same library worldwide, but some regional licensing may affect availability. The official Netflix page lists the runtime as 1 hour 34 minutes (Netflix (official streaming platform)).

“We wanted to show that real justice comes not from punishment alone, but from understanding the full emotional cost of these crimes.”

— Skye Borgman, director, as reported by TIME

The catch: the film’s availability is stable, but its regional licensing may still be an issue for some viewers.

Where is Lauryn Licari now?

The aftermath of the documentary

Lauryn Licari and her sister Kendra (not the mother—same name as the mother, confusingly) spoke publicly after the documentary’s release. In an interview with Netflix Tudum, they described the process of filming as “cathartic” but also “agonizing.” Lauryn said she hopes the documentary helps other teens recognize the signs of digital abuse. Kendra Licari (the sister) was close to the case and appears in the film to provide a sibling’s perspective.

Current public presence

Both Lauryn and her sister maintain low profiles on social media. No recent public appearances outside of press tied to the documentary are reported.

What to watch

The documentary’s emotional weight lands hardest on the question of rehabilitation: once the perpetrator is out of prison, how does a family rebuild trust? The film leaves that thread dangling, intentionally.

The implication: the Licari sisters have chosen a quiet life, but the documentary keeps their story in public view.

Who directed Unknown Number: The High School Catfish?

Skye Borgman’s other works

  • Skye Borgman directed the film (TIME (news magazine)). She is best known for true-crime documentaries that focus on personal betrayal and institutional failures, such as Girl in the Picture and The Tinder Swindler (though these are produced by different teams). Her style often features intimate interviews and body-camera footage.

The production team behind the documentary

The documentary was produced by Campfire Studios. Executive producers include Kasey Han, Will Mavronicolas, Mark McCune, and Lindsey Savino, as listed on IMDb (film database).

The paradox

The same technology that enabled a mother to impersonate a secret harasser was the tool that ultimately exposed her. The film never lets the viewer forget that digital surveillance cuts both ways.

What this means: Borgman’s directorial focus on betrayal and institutional failures aligns perfectly with the Licari case, where technology was both weapon and witness.

Related reading: Murder in a Small Town Season 2: Guide to Episodes & Streaming · I Know What You Did Last Summer: Watch Order, Killer, Box Office

Additional sources

tvguide.com, netflix.com, netflix.com

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Frequently asked questions

What is the runtime of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish?

1 hour 34 minutes (Netflix).

How many episodes are in Unknown Number on Netflix?

It is a single documentary film, not a series. There are no episodes.

Is Unknown Number a single documentary or a series?

A single documentary film.

Did the police catch the catfish in Unknown Number?

Yes. The police identified Kendra Licari as the sender and arrested her in December 2022 (Netflix Tudum).

Why did the catfish target Lauryn Licari?

According to TIME, the motives were unclear, though it appears to be a case of misplaced discipline or control gone toxic.

Is there a trailer for Unknown Number: The High School Catfish?

Yes, Netflix released a trailer on YouTube ahead of the August 2025 premiere.

Bottom line: The documentary serves as a raw warning: the “catfish” you fear most might not be a stranger. For parents, the lesson is about digital access; for teens, about trust. For the justice system, it’s a rare but incomplete resolution.