Ragna was born and raised in Iceland and married Emerson Lawrence "Larry" Gavin, an American soldier stationed there, in 1946. A photo of Larry is posted below this case summary. After their marriage the couple moved to Larry's hometown of Portland, Oregon and Ragna began calling herself Esther Gavin. They had a son and daughter.

The last communication Ragna had with her Icelandic family was in October 1947, when they got a letter from her. Ragna wrote she had been separated from Larry for four months but they were reconciling. Her family never heard from her again. Her father made several attempts to find her and enlisted the help of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He died in 1970, and Ragna's brother took over the search. The Icelandic Embassy tried to locate Larry and spoke to his brother, but his brother wasn't cooperative and claimed he hadn't seen Larry in years.

Larry was a violent husband who frequently abused his wife and threatened to kill her. In July 1951, he beat her so badly she had to spend two weeks in the hospital, and Larry was charged with assault, but Ragna dropped the charges. Their young son and daughter were placed in the Waverly Baby Home while Ragna was hospitalized. Ragna got a divorce and got sole custody of her children in December 1952, but the Waverly Baby Home refused to release them until she paid the bill for their care. She was unable to pay and the children were made wards of the court. In 1953, they were adopted by a Portland couple who changed their names. Ragna's daughter, who was mentally retarded, was institutionalized when she was eight. She died in 1999.

Larry remarried only a month after his divorce from Ragna was final, and had five children by his second wife. His daughter Melissa claims he sexually abused her. She described her father as a violent, abusive man who could not keep a job. After Melissa told her mother about the sexual abuse, Larry was committed to the Oregon State Hospital for an evaluation. He was quickly released, however, and went on to marry two more times. He died in Florida in 2008.

In 2009, Ragna's family in Iceland hired a professonal genealogist to locate her. The genealogist got in touch with Melissa and connected her to Ragna's niece in Iceland. After more searching, Melissa located Ragna's son and contacted him. Ragna's son told her his last memory of his mother was of her cowering in front of Larry, who was holding a knife. As he grew up he believed he had witnessed her murder.

The last confirmed sighting of Ragna was on January 31, 1952, the day she tried to reclaim her children at juvenile court. Larry's second wife's sister remembered that around this time, Ragna called and asked for money so she could get her children back. A few days later, Larry told his wife not to worry about it, as the situation had been taken care of. A missing persons report wasn't filed until the summer of 2011, nearly sixty years later.

Ragna's Icelandic family believes she was murdered by Larry. They continue to search for a resolution in her disappearance.

Above: Larry Gavin in 1946