Strange Disappearances

Unexplained disappearance is the physical disappearance of people or other objects without apparent cause or reason. people who disappeared mysteriously, and whose current whereabouts are unknown or whose deaths are not substantiated, as well as a few cases of people whose disappearance was notable and remained mysterious for a long time, but was eventually explained.

1) Flannan Isles Disappearance Mystery, Outer Hebrides of Scotland 

A dreadful Flannan’s lighthouse accident has happened at the Flannans, where the three lighthouse keepers, Ducat, Marshall and the Occasional have “mysteriously disappeared” from the Island. Some speculations about these poor keepers, might have been blown or thrown by strong winds or big waves over the cliffs or drowned trying to secure a crane or something in that manner. Some of the remaining men on the island cleaned and gathered every corner for clues as to the lighthouse keeper’s  fate. And according to their investigation, the east landing everything was intact, however the west landing evidence of damage were seen, caused by recent storms. However, the keepers had kept their time log until 9 a.m. on  December 15th and this made it clear that the damage had occurred before their disappearance.

2)  Mysterious Disappearance at the Lincoln Tunnel

Jackson Wright and wife Martha, was driving from New Jersey to New York City passing through the Lincoln Tunnel in 1975. Jackson Wright stated that while inside the tunnel, he pulled over their car to clean and wipe the car’s windshield which became blurred from condensation. Jackson wiped the front windshield while his wife went to back side of the car to helped wipe the back windshield. When Jackson Wright, turned around, ho found out his wife was gone and mysteriously disappeared, Jackson claimed he never heard or saw unusual things that would take place for Martha’s disappearance, thus, police investigations could not find any evidence linking to the strange disappearance of Martha Jackson. The Lincoln Tunnel, nowadays,  is considered to be one of the most high-risk terrorist target sites in the United States, because of frequent robbery hide away route. Other sites in New Jersey include the Holland Tunnel and PATH station at the Exchange Place, and the Port of Newark in Elizabeth, found in Jersey City.

3)  Dorothy Harriet Camille Arnold

The strange disappearance Dorothy Arnold, an American socialite, daughter of Francis Arnold, a wealthy perfume importer. Dorothy Arnold disappeared while strolling down the New York City on the morning of December 10, 1910, to go shopping for a party dress. Then that night when Dorothy Arnold failed to come home for dinner, she was reported missing by her family. Dorothy Arnold was presumed dead. Her father, Francis Arnold, died in 1922spending more than $100,000 for searching his missing daughter, but had come to believe that his daughter, Dorothy is dead. His wife died in 1928 without any hint of Dorothy’s strange disappearance.

Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller Christie, DBE, born September 15,1890, was a British crime write novelist, writes short stories and plays. Agatha Christie’s husband Archie, revealed that he was in love with Nancy Neele, and wanted a divorce. On  December 3, 1926 the couple had a heated argument and husband Archie left their house in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to spend the weekend with his mistress at Godalming, Surrey. That same evening Agatha strangely disappeared from her home, and left a letter to her private secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. Agatha’s “strange disappearance”,  caused a loud clamor from her fans and admirers of her novels. For eleven days, Agatha was never found despite a massive manhunt. However, on December 14, 1926 Agatha Christie was identified as a guest at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel, now known as the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire, where she registered as ‘Mrs Teresa Neele’ from Cape Town, and she never gave an explanatory statement for her strange disappearance. Although two doctors had diagnosed Christie as suffering from a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, personality, memories and other identifying individual characteristics or psychogenic fugue. According to her Physicians, Agatha Christie had a severe nervous breakdown from a depression natural propensity may have been aggravated by her mother’s death that year and her husband’s infidelity. During those times, the public reaction became largely negative, which is supposedly a “stunt publicity or gimmick” or the attempt to frame her husband, Archie, for murder. Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976.

4)  Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan

Amelia Mary Earhart born July 24, 1897 , and strangely disappeared in 1937. Earhart, an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Numerous theories have emerged after the strange disappearance of Earhart and Noonan. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to try a circumnavigational flight globally. However, during the attempt of Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan (44), they both disappeared strangely over the Pacific central of Howland Island vicinity on July 2, 1937.

5)  Judge Joseph Force Crater

Joseph Force Crater (January 5, 1889) a New York City judge, who disappeared strangely on August 6, 1930 night. According to some witnesses, Judge Crater was last seen leaving a restaurant on 45th Street. Earlier that day, Crater had stated that he was planning to attend a Broadway show. Judge Crater’s strange disappearance became one of the most American’s famous history and pop culture, and earned him the title of “New York’s Missingest Man”. Many speculations and sightings revealed that Crater’s disappearance according to his two dinner companions; Crater entered a taxi outside the restaurant. Both later testified before a grand jury that they last saw Crater walking down the street. Some speculations  differs from the popular story that Crater entered a taxi and waved to his companions before speeding away. What happened to him after that remains a mystery. But some theories about his strange disappearance suggested that he was murdered, or that he ran off with another woman, or that he had been involved in corrupt practices which were about to be revealed, and therefore fled and hide.

6)  Paula Jean Welden

Paula Jean Welden (born 1928, missing since December 1, 1946) was a sophomore student of Bennington College, Vermont, USA, who strangely disappearance while strolling down the Vermont’s Long Trail hiking route, which remains an unsolved mystery. Some theories speculated that Paula was depressed and may committed suicide, that she had been in unusual high spirit and decided to run away to start a new life, or may be she was going to meet a secret lover and went off with him, or had an accident and was injured and suffering from amnesia. There are scary theories speculated that she might have been kidnapped, sexually assaulted  and murdered. In that same area where Welden disappeared, there was a previous report that at least four other unexplained vanishings to have taken place between 1945 and 1950. Due to the strangeness of these events, Joseph A. Citro, Vermont broadcaster and author dubbed the northeast area of Bennington’s wilderness area, called the  “the Bennington Triangle” which is a reference to Bermuda Triangle’s strange and unexplained disappearances.

7)   Michael Clark Rockefeller

Michael Clark Rockefeller (born May 18, 1938; strangely disappeared and presumed to have died on November 17, 1961. Michael Rockefeller was the youngest son of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, the New York Governor and later became the Vice President and Mary Todhunter Rockefeller, and the 4th generation of the Rockefeller family member. Michael Rockefeller disappeared strangely during the Asmat region’s expedition of southwestern Netherlands New Guinea. In some speculations, many believe that Rockefeller either drowned or maybe was attacked by a shark or saltwater crocodile. But some speculated that Rockefeller was killed and eaten by the headhunting tribes and cannibals in some areas in Asmat in 1961.

Beaumont Children Disappearance

Jane Nartare Beaumont (aged 9), Arnna Kathleen Beaumont (aged 7), and Grant Ellis Beaumont (aged 4) were three siblings known as The Beaumont Children who disappeared strangely from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia on January 26, 1966 during the Australia Day celebration. The Beaumont case became the most largest police investigations in Australian criminal history and remains Australia’s most infamous cold case. The strange disappearance of the three siblings became a huge attention given to this case, its significance in Australian criminal history, and the fact that the mystery of their disappearance has never been explained. A “witness”, a postman, says, about 3 pm the children were seen walking alone, away from the beach, along Jetty Road, in the general direction of their home. This witness, knew the children well, and his statement was regarded as true and said the children had stopped to say hello to him, in a cheerful mood. Police could not determine why these children, were strolling alone and already late about three hours,  and seemingly unconcerned. This was the last confirmed sighting of the children.

8)  Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia

Harold Edward Holt,CH (59), (born August 5,1908, strangely disappeared and presumed dead on December 17 1967) was the 17th Prime Minister of Australia and his term as Prime Minister was shortened to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned. On the morning of  December 17, 1967, Sunday,  Holt together with friends Christopher Anderson, Jan Lee and George Illson and his two bodyguards drove down from Melbourne to see the British yachtsman Alec Rose, sail through Port Phillip Heads in his boat Lively Lady to complete a leg of his solo circumnavigation of the globe, which started and ended in England. Holt disappeared while swimming in heavy surf at a beach notorious for strong and dangerous rip currents. There was a huge and massive search and rescue operations in Australia, and despite one of this, his body was never found.

9)  Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan

Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934), popularly known as Lord Lucan, a British, a legal system of largely hereditary United Kingdom’s titles and suspected murderer, disappeared without trace early on November 8,1974 . Lord Lucan, (39), the last person indicted for murder by a coroner’s jury. His whereabouts have been unknown since the night of Sandra Rivett, Lord Lucan’s  children’s nanny,was beaten to death with a lead pipe in the basement of his estranged wife’s home. Lord Lucan was officially declared dead in 1999.

10)  Susannah “Suzy” Lamplugh

Susannah “Suzy” Lamplugh born 3 May 1961, was a British estate agent reported missing on July 28,1986 (aged 25) in Fulham, South West London, England. In 1994, Lamplugh was legally declared dead or presumed murdered. The last clue of her whereabouts was an appointment to show a house in Shorrolds Road to someone she referred to as “Mr. Kipper”. After years of her strange disappearance, the DNA tests of  800 unidentified bodies and skeletal remains, conducted by the authorities, that matched Lamplugh’s description.

11)  Bison Dele

Bison Dele born April 6, 1969, strangely disappeared and presumed dead on July 7, 2002. Bison Dele, formerly known as Brian Carson Williams, was an American profesional basketball player as NBA’s Detroit Pistons’ center. Bison Dele was believed to be murdered at sea by his older brother in 2002. In July 2002, Dele and his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, sailed on the South Pacific Ocean in July 2002, along with skipper Bertrand Saldo on Dele’s catamaran, the Hakuna Matata. Miles Dabord born Kevin Williams, Dele’s brother, was the only person involved in the voyage who was seen or heard from after July 8, when the group was in Tahiti. The FBI’s theories  in the investigation along with the French authorities and concluded that Dele, Karlan and Saldo were probably killed, and then thrown overboard, by Dabord. Given that the bodies were likely dumped in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it would be highly unlikely that the three would ever be found. Dabord, Dele’s brother, and the only major source of information or witness regarding the disappearance case, intentionally overdosed oninsulin and slipped into a coma, and died on September 27, 2002,  in a California hospital. After Dabord’s suicide, officials did not expect to find more evidences regarding the murder case. A memorial service was then held for both Dabord and Dele.

John Brisker (born in Detroit, Michigan on June 15, 1947) an American basketball player professional who mysteriously disappeared in Uganda in April of 1978, and later declared legally dead in 1985. After Brisker traveled to Uganda in 1978, he went missing and never heard from his whereabouts. There are different versions about his strange disappearance claiming that Brisker went to Uganda as a mercenary, some rumors says he was invited by Idi Amin as a”visitor”, and the last news from Brisker was in April 1978, after which speculated rumors that he was executed by a firing squad when Amin was removed from power in 1979. In 1985, Brisker was declared dead legally by the medical examiner of the King County, Washington.

12)  Tara Calico

Tara Leigh Calico (born February 28, 1969) who strangely disappeared on September 20, 1988, near her home in Belen, New Mexico There was rumors that Calico was kidnapped which received simultaneous coverage from different media, and television programs such as A Current Affair, Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted.  Tara left her home on September 20 at about 9:30 in the morning to go on her biking routine, then Patty went searching for Tara along her usual bike route, but could not find her and decided to report the case to the police. Patty found parts of Calico’s Sony Walkman and a Boston cassette tape along Calico’s regular route and Patty believed that Tara may have left these items in an attempt to mark her trail. Numerous witnesses claimed, that they saw Tara, riding her bicycle, which has never been found. But there was no witnesses nor confirmation regarding her presumed abduction, although some witnesses observed a Ford pickup model 1953 or 1954  following her, but no confirmation if this was connected to her strange disappearance, because of failure to relocate the strange “pickup”. After ten or eleven years, a Polaroid photo showing two teenagers bound and gagged  found in Port St. Joe, Florida on June 15, 1989 ,found near a convenience store where a white Toyota cargo van had been parked. It was believed that the teen age girl in the photo was Tara Calico, and the boy with her was believed to be the Michael Henley from New Mexico who was reported missing. In 1990, The remains of Michael Henley were found just a few miles from the campsite where he vanished strangely, and the Police believed, Michael wandered away from the site and died of exposure, while Tara Calico, however, remains missing and was never found.

Nine year old Michael Henley Jr. had gone on a camping trip with his father and a family friend on April 21, 1988, in the Zuni Mountains. Just twenty minutes after they arrived, Michael mysteriously vanished. A search of the area found no trace of him.

13)  Richard James Edwards (Richey Edwards)

Richard James Edwards was a Welsh musician, a rhythm guitarist and lyricist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, (born December 22, 1967, disappeared on February 1 1995, and was presumed dead officially on November  23, 2008. Richey Edwards (27) had as self-injury history and was under treatment for alcoholism, anorexia nervosa and depression before his strange disappearance. His car was found abandoned at the Aust service area known for suicide place, adjacent to the Severn Bridge. Richey was presumed dead in November 2008.

14) Kristen Modafferi 

  Kristen Modafferi (18) was last seen at the Crocker Galleria Mall coffee shop where she worked in San Francisco, a former college student from Charlotte, North Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina, who vanished strangely on June 23, 1997, three weeks before her 18th birthday. Modafferi’s case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted.

15)  Florinda Donner and Taisha Abelar

Florinda Donner (originally Regine Margarita Thal, later Florinda Donner-Grau) is a Venezuelan anthropologist and writer known as one of the witches of Carlos Castaneda, (the term for three women who were close followers and lovers of Castaneda). Taisha Abelar, born Maryann Simko, is an American anthropologist and writer who was Carlos Castaneda’s close associate, who strangely disappeared in 1998 after the death of Carlos Castaneda. Same thing with Florinda Donner (54) and Taisha Abelar withe several female followers of Castaneda, who also disappeared mysteriously after Castaneda’s death.  In 2003, the remains of 40 year-old Patricia Partin was found along with other remains which their whereabouts are unknown.

16)  Patricia Partin

Patricia Lee Partin, otherwise known as Nury Alexander, was born on September 4, 1957, and became a member of the inner circle that formed the Carlos Castaneda group to which, he was the leader. According to some, Nury Alexander was said to be the Blue Scout and was last seen alive in late April 1998, who also disappeared shortly after Castaneda’s death on April 27, 1998. Partin or better known as Nury, her whereabouts were not known for certain until her remains were discovered in 2003 in Death Valley National Park, when her car was found abandoned and positively identified by DNA testing in 2006, however the cause of death could not be determined. In late April, Patricia Partin left Los Angeles, along with Florinda Donner-Grau, Taisha Abelar, Kylie Lundahl and Talia Bey, and was never heard from again. All of their telephone numbers were disconnected on the same day. Partin’s bones were discovered in the general vicinity of her abandoned car in 2003 and was identified using DNA analysis in 2006.

Amalia Marquez or Talia Bey

Amalia Marquez or Amalia Monserrate Marquez Marin,(April 4, 1955) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She moved to California and became a member of inner circle of close associates after reading the books of Carlos Castaneda, using the name Talia Bey. On April 27,1998  Castaneda died from a liver cancer complications, and after his death, Talia disappeared strangely and was never heard from. And in a span of few days, Amalia Marquez or Talia Bey, Patricia Partin, Florinda Donner, Taisha Abelar and Kylie Lundahl, had their phones disconnected on the same day and strangely disappeared. According to some unconfirmed information, Carlos Castaneda’s death certificate stated that he was cremated on the same day of his death and his remains were given to Talia Bey or Marquez where his certificate Bey was listed as his niece.

Carlos Arana Castaneda

Carlos Arana Castaneda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was a Peruvian-American author and anthropology student (anthropology is the “science of humanity”) Castaneda withdrew from public view in 1973 to work further on his inner development, living in a large house with three women (“Fellow Travellers of Awareness”) who were ready to cut their ties to family and changed their names. He founded Cleargreen, an organization that promoted tensegrity (The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man), purportedly a traditional Toltec regimen of spiritually powerful exercises. In September 1993, Castaneda married Florinda Donner-Grau in Las Vegas. Castaneda adopted Nuri Alexander better known as Patricia Partin which was written in his will in April 23, 1998.

17)  Genette Tate

Genette Louise Tate is an English girl, was born on May 5, 1965 , and strangely disappeared August 19, 1978, whose disappearance became a famous missing person case when she went missing at age 13 while delivering newspapers in Aylesbeare, Devon, England, she disappeared strangely within the sight of her home on August 19, 1978, Saturday after 1350 BST. According to reports,after Tate had been seen speaking with two friends, and shortly after that, they found her bicycle and scattered newspapers lying in the middle of a quiet country lane. During the time of Tate’s disappearance, some eyewitness reported seeing a maroon colored car in the lane, and police issued a sketched picture of a man that they wanted to interrogate, described as “between eighteen and twenty-five with thick blackish eyebrows and a pale complexion. Despite an extensive search and police investigation of the countryside surrounding, with thousands of volunteers participants, Tate was never found and her strange disappearance remains unexplained.

18)  Etan Patz

Etan Kalil Patz an American child, born on October 9, 1972 , he was six years old when he disappeared in Lower, Manhattan, New York City on May 25,1979 and was legally declared dead in 2001. On May 25, 1979, Friday morning, six-year-old Etan Patz left his SoHo apartment in New York City,which for the first time, Etan Patz walk by himself two blocks to catch the school bus, but never reached the bus stop and disappeared strangely. His disappearance became the most famous missing child of New York City. His disappearance helped spark the missing children’s movement, including new legislation and various methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk carton campaigns of the mid-1980s. Etan was the first ever missing child to be pictured on the side of a milk carton. On May 24, 2012, Raymond Kelly, Police Commissioner announced that a man was in custody who had implicated himself in the Patz disappearance, who was identified as Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, New Jersey, according to The New York Times, and said that he had confessed to strangling Etan Patz. Hernandez, age 51, was a worker for a convenience store for 18 years, at the time of Patz’s disappearance. In November 2012, Hernandez was formally charged with Patz’s murder and kidnapping,

Michaela Joy Garecht

Michaela Joy Garecht (born January 24, 1979) was nine years old when she was abducted on November 19, 1988 in Hayward, California, San Francisco Bay Area, in broad daylight at the corner of Mission Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue, outside a grocery store then known as Rainbow Market but now called Mexico Super. She has been missing for 23 years.

19)  Joe Pichler, Child Actor 

Joseph David Wolfgang Pichler (born February 14, 1987) who strangely disappeared on January 5, 2006, a former child actor who has been missing from his home in Bremerton, Washington.  Pichler was 18 years old when he mysteriously disappeared. Four days later his car was found above the Port Madison Narrows, where the police discovered a message inside his car which they described as a suicide note. Though it did not explicitly state that he intended to take his own life, the note expressed suicidal thoughts and asked that his belongings go to his younger brother. Some reports said that Pichler had been playing cards with some friends, who reported he was in good spirits during the evening.His car, a silver Toyota Corolla 2005 model, was found January 9, 2006, at the intersection of Wheaton Way and Sheridan Road. He was reported as officially missing by his family on January 16.According to his family’s statements to the media at the time, the last outgoing call on Pichler’s cell phone was placed on January 4 at 4:08 a.m., to a friend who had said that he had been visiting with Pichler earlier.

20)   Rebecca Coriam

Rebecca Coriam a crew member from the Disney Wonder cruise ship off the Pacific coast of Mexico, she mysteriously disappeared on March 22, 2011 morning. She was last seen in the crew lounge, where a security camera recorded her during a phone conversation that appeared to be causing her some emotional difficulty. This case was the first incident in Disney Cruise Lines history. Since Coriam was not found on the ship, it has been concluded that she went overboard, how or why, whether she might able to survive or not, it is still unknown. Different theories was formed regarding the emotional phone conversation she was having in the video that is the last known sighting of her. Some reports there are evidence points to the possibility that she was alive as of May of that year.

Tommy Davis

Thomas W. “Tommy” Davis (born August 18, 1972, is the head of the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Center International in Los Angeles, California. It was reported on Channel Nine’s program, A Current Affair that he, and his wife, have not been seen for over a year, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. In the same BBC documentary, Davis interrupted when celebrity members are asked about Xenu, saying: “None of us know what you’re talking about. It’s loony and it’s weird.” After the death of Jett Travolta, son of celebrity Scientologist John Travolta , the Church came under fire from critical groups accusing it of being irresponsible for Jett Travolta’s death who had died of a seizure soon after being taken off of his medication. Tommy Davis responded by denying that the Church keeps people from taking medications, and also denying that “the Church claims to cure disease”. Tommy Davis (40), Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Center International in Los Angeles, California, leader was reported missing along with his wife, and have not been seen for over a year.

Gavin Smith

Gavin Smith (born December 10, 1954, who disappeared May 1, 2012) a former UCLA basketball player and was a part of the 1975 team that won the NCAA championship, the last for legendary coach John Wooden. On the night of May 1, 2012, Smith left a friend’s house in Oak Park, California, where he had been staying due to reported marital difficulties. It does not appear as if he had planned to be away for an extended period. When he failed to pick up one of his sons for school the next morning, his family reported him missing. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was investigating the strange disappearance of Gavin Smith. On May 7, 2012, Smith was reportedly seen at a restaurant with an unidentified woman in Morro Bay, California, raising suspicion on the case.

Guma L. Aguiar

Guma L. Aguiar is a Brazilian born American, married and father of four children, an energy industrialist and millionaire businessman who splits his time residing between the United States and Israel. Guma Aguiar is recognized as a leading philanthropist who has supported a variety of Jewish causes including Nefesh B’Nefesh and the March of the Living, and invested over US$4 million in support of the Beitar Jerusalem Football Club. On June 20, 2012, Aguiar was reported as missing while boating. The process of immigration to Israel was an act described by himself as a personal dream. On January 13, 2010, Aguiar was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital following a court order. On June 20, 2012, Aguiar’s 31-foot, center console Jupiter boat landed on Fort Lauderdale Beach east of East Las Olas Boulevard around 1:15 a.m., with its navigation lights on and engines still running, according to the Sun Sentinel. The Sea Tow company that Fort Lauderdale authorities contracted to tow the boat said that the vessel appeared sea worthy and did not believe a mechanical problem had occurred. Aguiar’s wallet and cell phone were found on board, but no sign of him or any other passenger were found, and disappear strangely.

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007 Thursday evening. She was on holiday with her parents and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. The British girl went missing from an apartment, in the central area of the Praia da Luz resort, a few days before her fourth birthday, and has still not been found. Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have said that they left the children unsupervised in a ground floor bedroom while they ate at a restaurant about 130 yards or 120 meters away.

Kyron Horman

Kyron Horman is a 10-year-old American missing person who did not return home from Skyline Elementary School on June 4,2010 in Portland, Oregon. The FBI and the Local and state police completed an exhaustive search for the boy and launched a criminal investigation, but have not uncovered any significant information regarding the boy’s whereabouts. His fate is unknown.