Mysterious Disappearances That Puzzle Experts

Every year, millions of people disappear without explanation, and while many return, or are eventually found, some just appear to leave no trace. For the friends and loved ones left behind, this is obviously more than heartbreaking but some of these disappearances are just so bizarre they become infamous.
Sudden vanishings are intriguing – they leave us wondering what happened, and some people even think they might be able to find out. Ever wondered what happened to Virginia Dare, the infamous first child born on US soil, who vanished into thin air, along with her family? Or whether author Ambrose Bierce was really captured and executed amid the Mexican Revolution?

There are 1000’s of famous unsolved cases but we’ve put together our pick of the top 20 strangest disappearances that have never been solved – yet. Get ready to go down the rabbit hole and uncover the mystery of the world’s most baffling missing person incidents – maybe you will be the one to find out the truth.


















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Owen Parfitt, crippled, was resting in a chair outside his home in 1793, in Shepton Mallet. His sister and a neighbour helped him into it but when she went to get him back in – Owen was mysteriously gone. Some farm workers had been labouring close by, so she asked them if they had seen if anyone had come to get him. They’d witnessed nothing, so everyone searched the nearby area, but there was no trace of him.

Owen had apparently led a wildlife, regaling his friends with stories of pirates and women, and some said pirates had taken him away, so they could find out the location of a buried treasure. Others said the devil had taken him, as there were rumours he was involved with the occult and black magic.

This wasn’t the first time Owen had disappeared- he’d vanished in his youth while working as a tailor and no one knew where he’d gone for decades. He turned up again in 1760, when a man returned to Shepton Mallet, claiming to be Owen Parfitt. There’s one more twist to this tale – a witness said they saw Owen fleeing the area, a short time after he vanished. So did he pretend to be crippled to fake his disappearance or were supernatural forces at play? We only know one thing for certain – the last time Owen vanished, he was never found again.

 

Travel writer Claudia Kirschhoch embarked on a working trip to Cuba but it got cancelled and she wound up stranded in Jamaica. She decided to stay at a hotel in Negril with a fellow writer and the pair stayed for three days before managing to book a flight home. After having breakfast with her friend on May 27, 2000, Claudia took a beach stroll, then disappeared.

When her room was searched, her passport, phone, and flight ticket were discovered, but the hotel staff were careless and the phone mysteriously vanished, as did the logbook containing the license numbers of the vehicles entering and leaving the resort.

Claudia had spent some time with a bartender at the resort, and he had called in sick the day after she went missing. A hair of hers was found in his car and her scent was detected in the trunk but there was no conclusive evidence he was guilty, so he never became a suspect.

The last credible sighting was made by a lifeguard who spotted her walking on the beach in a blue bikini. Her parents felt both the hotel chain and the police mishandled evidence, so it could be a vital clue was missed, that would have been crucial to solving the case.

 

On August 26th,1995, a person peering through a telescope near the Ohio River saw something completely unexpected – a woman apparently being abducted. A man on the other side of the river, wearing a wig and a mosquito net over his face, came out of the woods and grabbed a sunbathing girl. Heather Teague's abduction occurred on the Kentucky side of the River, near Newburgh, Indiana.

The police searched for Heather but the only thing they found was a piece of her swimsuit. Then a man called Marty Dill was pulled up on a routine traffic stop- inside his car were two guns, two knives, rubber gloves, rope, and duct tape. Dill’s red Ford Bronco matched a car seen parked near Heather’s and he closely fitted the witness’s description. The Police discovered blood stains in the rear of Dill’s vehicle, along with hairs that looked like Heather’s. Law enforcement had already received tips about Dill’s involvement, so they headed out to arrest him – but before they could, he shot himself in the head.

In court, his wife pleaded the 5th amendment, refusing to talk, and despite mountains of evidence, Dill was not found guilty – but no one really knows why? Heather Teague’s mother believes there was a cover-up, and as the case is still pending, we’ll have to wait to find out what really happened to Heather after she was abducted that day.

 

The creepy mystery of actress Ada Constance Kent



Ada Constance Kent was an English screen and stage actress who was last seen on 6 March 1939, buying a packet of cigarettes from her local pub. A friend, who hadn’t seen her for 3 months searched her Fingringhoe cottage, but as she found no sign of Constance, she called the police. A constable came, reporting that there was nobody – and no corpse, in the house at the time he looked. It appeared Ada had just left in a rush – the door was unlocked, and her coat was still hanging up. There was a supper tray with leftovers and an open copy of Romeo and Juliet in a chair by the fireplace.

In 1942, another of Ada’s close friends searched all three rooms of the cottage, after breaking through the now locked front door. He noticed the book and the supper tray but did not discover Ada. Later, Ada’s bank told the police someone had been making large deposits into her account up until September 1948. The Police went back to check the cottage – and were baffled to discover a fully clothed skeleton next to the bed, beside an empty poison bottle. Robbery was ruled out, as money and jewels were found, but a 21 one-year old man later said he had seen bones under the bed when as a child he clambered through the window. Rather creepy don’t you think?

The landlord who last saw Ada said she looked ill but it has never been confirmed that the skeleton was hers – and a suspect has never been named. What really happened still remains a mystery.

 

The paranormal disappearance of Martha Wright


In 1975 a married couple, Martha and Jackson Wright pulled over in the Lincoln Tunnel while driving to New York City, to wipe condensation off the windshield of their vehicle. Martha said she was going to clean the back window, so she hopped out to do so but when Jackson turned around, she had strangely vanished.

Jackson claimed he never heard or saw anything suspicious, and an investigation turned up zero evidence of foul play. Seemingly, Martha had just disappeared – but where had she gone?

Because of the high amount of traffic passing through the tunnel, it was thought Martha would have been spotted if she had run away, or been taken, leading some to wonder if there was a spookier explanation like time travel or aliens.

Some people say the entire story must have been false as there are no stoppages allowed in the tunnel, and there’s no evidence Martha even existed. Did she really vanish mysteriously, or did Jackson kill her, then made it all up? Was Martha even a real person or just a figment of Jackson’s imagination?

 

19-year-old Brandon Swanson disappeared while driving his Chevy Lumina home to Marshall, Minnesota, on May 14, 2008, after a party in Canby. His car had veered into a ditch, so he called his parents to ask them to pick him up, saying he was walking towards Lynd, southwest of Marshall, and would meet them there.

Brandon had first called at 1:54 a.m and as they drove to find him, his parents spoke to him over the phone, for another 47 minutes – until he suddenly said, ‘Oh, s**t!” and the call was cut off.

Police thought he might have fallen into the Yellow Medicine River but later they focused on searching an area near Mud Creek, northwest of Porter. The last search for Brandon was in October 2013, but although dogs picked up the scent of human remains, he was never found.

Brandon had no trouble walking long distances, but even so, his parents think he might have become disorientated after wandering so long in the dark. This case is particularly baffling, as authorities have ruled out foul play, and Brandon was seemingly happy, making it unlikely he faked his disappearance, so he could run away.

 

The series of missing person cases in the Bennington triangle


Between 1943-1950, several people vanished in The Green Mountain National Forest, in Bennington County, Vermont, an area of woodland nicknamed The Bennington Triangle.

First was Carl Herrick, who became separated from his cousin on a hunting trip in 1943. Carl’s cousin discovered his body three days later – someone or something had squeezed him until he passed away. There were bear prints around Carl’s corpse – but apparently, a bear wouldn’t squeeze a man like that. Middie Rivers vanished in 1945 while heading up a hunting party in Hell Hollow after he got ahead of the group. His party wasn’t worried, as he knew the Vermont woods well, but the only trace left of him was a spent rifle cartridge, of the sort he used.
Sophomore Paula Jean Welden, whose disappearance already made our top twenty, was another of the Bennington Triangle vanishings. The red jacket she wore to hike the Long Trail in 1946 would have been hard to miss, yet a couple who saw her turn a corner said she vanished after they caught up. In 1950, 8-year-old Paul Jephson vanished, after his mother hopped out of the truck she drove to run an errand. She told Paul not to leave, but when she came back, he was missing. Paul wore a red jacket, like Paula, so it would have been impossible not to spot him. According to superstition, it’s unlucky to wear red in the forest.

Frieda Langer went missing on a hike with her cousin, after returning to camp to change her wet clothing. Seven months later, her body was discovered in an open field that had been searched repeatedly, in such a state it was impossible to say why she’d died.

Local tribes believed the woods were cursed, with one legend telling of a “man-eating stone” that would swallow a person if they stepped on it. Others believe the changeable wind can disorientate – though this couldn’t explain all the cases. Aliens, wildmen, or the Bennington Monster, a giant hairy beast like Bigfoot, have all been said to be responsible. Until these cases are solved, the string of disappearances is so eerie, that people will continue to speculate.

 

21-year-old Elisa Lam was staying at the notorious Cecil Hotel when she vanished on February 1, 2013. The last known sighting of her was in the hotel’s elevator, and it was captured on the security camera.

The clip was bizarre – Lam presses all the buttons, then repeatedly peeks out of the elevator, gesticulating as if she were talking to someone who couldn’t be seen. Finally, she exits the elevator, disappearing down a corridor.

Some claimed Lam was mentally disturbed, while others said she was scared of someone – or something. Two weeks later, a hotel employee checked on the rooftop water tanks, and, noticing the top hatch on one was open, looked in. What he found was grim, Elisa Lam was floating face up in one of the tanks.

Things took a puzzling turn – the roof couldn’t be accessed without activating an, and only employees had the key to the rooftop stairwell and door. Even if she’d made it to the roof, she’d have had to get onto the tank’s platform, scale another ladder to reach the top, then lift a weighty hatch, before jumping inside. The tank was only between half to three-quarters full, so many wondered how she’d even managed to drown.

Elisa was supposed to be on anti-psychotic medication but there was only a very low level of the drugs in her system, leading some to conclude she’d ended her life, due to under-medication. As the autopsy couldn’t rule out foul play, we’ll sadly, never know for sure.

 

The disappearance of the two princes in the Tower continues to haunt us, though it’s shrouded in mystery to this day. What we know is this – after the Prince’s father, Edward IV died, his elder son, Edward V, was named his heir. But his uncle, Richard III, who was also his legal protector, placed 12-year-old Edward in the Tower, closely followed by the 9-year-old Richard.

The two were never seen again and there’s been much speculation as to what occurred. It’s thought Richard feared he’d be toppled, as the brothers would be seen as more legitimate, but there were others involved who may also have stood to benefit.

Margaret Tudor, whose own son Henry had a disputed claim to the throne, was close to the Royal court and could have secured access to the boys. She had just as much motive as Richard to want to see them gone. Margaret had previously spoken with Elizabeth Woodville, the boy’s mother, about marrying her son to one of Woodville’s daughters but nothing came of this due to the instability of the court. Did Margaret get too ambitious? It’s true there were numerous other obstacles before Margaret could place her son on the throne, but we know she managed to navigate these – Henry VII was crowned on 22 August 1485.

As to why the Princes vanished, we’ll probably never know, but as much as Richard III could have been responsible, it could also have been down to Margaret Tudor.

 

On October 25, 2016, 19-year-old Donna Kay Cloud left her son with his dad to go to a restaurant with a man she said she’d met on Facebook. On the 26th of October, she texted, promising to visit her family the next day, but on the 27th, she didn’t turn up.

The police pinged Donna’s phone- she’d made several stops, before she disappeared off the grid, in the Westchase area, in Houston, without credit cards, ID, or extra clothing. There was no footage of her at the restaurant and no evidence she’d gone there.

A Houston private investigator discovered there’d been an argument between Donna and her father, and claimed this was the cause of her disappearance. Donna’s assertion she was going on a blind date was not true – she’d been living in her father’s house, and he’d asked her to leave.

But Donna also had an abusive ex-boyfriend and had been threatened by another person the day she went missing. The police did not follow up on this, though they questioned the two men last known to be with her, who said they’d dropped her off on her Dad’s driveway.

It’s difficult to imagine Donna would have abandoned her young son, but her ex could have been involved, though he passed a polygraph. Or, it could have been the person who had threatened her, and equally, the men who said they had dropped her off could be lying. Whoever is responsible, Donna Kay Cloud is still missing, and no trace of her has yet been found.

 

Adam Walsh: Looking back 40 years after the child abduction that changed America​

 

The disappearance of nine-year-old Asha Degree, on Valentine’s Day, 2000 in Shelby, North Carolina left everyone who knew her shaken. Her father checked on his two children around 2:30 am, after a car accident caused the neighborhood’s power to go out. Asha was still sleeping then, but by 6:30 am she was gone – her brother said he’d heard her bed squeaking but had assumed she was shifting in her sleep.

Asha was a diligent student, who was wary of strangers and there was no sign of forced entry to the Degree’s house. Police canine units could not detect her scent but two witnesses saw a girl matching her description at 4 am, on Highway 18. One of them approached her but Asha ran away, heading into the woods.

Then the police located her hair bow, in a nearby shed, though an extensive search turned up nothing more. A year and a half later, her backpack was discovered by labourers in Burke County, 30 miles away from Asha’s home.

In 2004, the police received a tip from an inmate who said where her body was – but they searched and found only animal bones. Another tipster told police Asha had been spotted entering a green car, then in 2020, another prisoner claimed he’d heard someone saying they were responsible. The inmate was interviewed but nothing came of this lead. This is a troubling case, but until she is found, no one can say what happened and we can only hope that one day Asha will be located, alive and well.

 

Louis Le Prince created the first working technology used to capture motion, though Thomas Edison and the Lumiere brothers were assumed to have invented it first.

Before he could showcase his creation though, Le Prince totally vanished. He was last known to be boarding a train to Paris, on 16 September 1890, after visiting his brother in Dijon, but never arrived at his destination and was not seen again. The last person to see him was his brother, at Dijon station, and an extensive search found no trace.

Edison could have been involved, not least because Le Prince was about to patent his technology. This would have contradicted Edison’s claims to have invented the world’s first motion picture camera, and since Le Prince had the evidence, we can’t discount this theory. Le Prince’s son took Edison to court to prove it was his father who first invented the technology but lost the case. Two years later Le Prince Junior was found dead.

It’s thought Le Prince took his own life because his work was not being recognized. Backing this up is a photograph of a man who drowned in the River Seine, who bears a strong likeness to him.

Others think his brother got rid of him because of their mother’s will, or that he disappeared to start a new life with another man. It’s possible Le Prince never boarded the train to Paris, but as for eloping with a male lover, there was zero evidence he was gay, so it’s unlikely this was the case.

 

Stamford college sophomore Paula Jane Welden, left her Bennington College campus on December 1, 1946, to hike along Vermont’s Long Trail, wearing a red parka, jeans, and sneakers but the police were alerted when she failed to return. Paula had been spotted shortly after she left campus running up and then down a gravel pit, and Louis Knapp said she’d hitchhiked a ride and he’d let her out near one of the entrances to the hiking route.

She’d also been seen in Bickford Hollow at 4 pm, after Knapp dropped her off, making her way towards the trail. One of the people who’d seen her said he’d warned her about needing heavier clothing, but she’d ignored him and continued on. An elderly couple saw her turning a corner on the trail, but when they reached the same spot, she’d vanished.

A waitress in River Falls claimed she’d served dinner to a distressed woman fitting Paula’s description, so her father went to investigate. When he returned, he said he was certain her disappearance involved a man she was seeing, because a clairvoyant told him so.

Nine years later, Fred Gadette claimed he was responsible – then later he said he’d made the whole thing up. Gadette had been one of the last people to see Paula after an argument with his girlfriend and had stormed off afterward in a jealous rage. As no body was ever found, Paula’s disappearance remains a mystery. Some have wondered if her death is connected to the infamous Bennington Triangle, an area where several people vanished between 1943 and 1950.

 

Disappearance of Martin Allen - Wikipedia​

 

GOOD FIND

 

Plenty of theories there.