To have a person vanish out of thin air is extremely disturbing, but to have bizarre events surrounding the disappearance can make the situation even more unsettling. This list compiles ten of the most unsettling disappearances that have occurred. The circumstances surrounding each disappearance are extremely bizarre and many of the crimes have yet to be solved.

See Also: 10 Truly Bizarre And Chilling Cases Of Mass Disappearances

10 Jackie Sutton

Jackie Sutton was a passionate, former BBC journalist who was working for War and Peace Reporting to help local journalists in war torn areas. 50-year-old Jackie Sutton had landed in Turkey from her London flight around 10:00PM in October of 2015. Her connecting flight to Erbil, Iraq, was scheduled to leave at 12:15AM. It was said that Jackie had spent some time in the café leisurely drinking a beer and reportedly fell asleep. At around 12:30 Jackie walked up to the counter in no apparent distress only to be told that she had missed her flight. It’s said that she suddenly started crying and saying that she had no money to pay for another flight, but was told that nothing could be done. From there, the story takes a very odd turn. Jackie was seen entering the bathroom and a few minutes later two Russian women are seen coming out of the bathroom visibly panicked. This is because they found the body of Jackie Sutton after committing suicide in a bathroom stall.

While some have come to terms with the suicide, others believe that there had to have been foul play. Many of her friends say that she was an extremely happy and passionate person, who would never have taken her own life, especially over something as trivial as missing a connecting flight. Even more mysteriously, it was found that Sutton actually had 2,300 euros in her bag, which would go against the fact that she said that she didn’t have enough money to buy another ticket. She had spoken out previously about fear of being targeted by the Islamic State as her predecessor, Ammar Al Shahbander was killed in a car bomb in Baghdad in May of 2015.

9The Toronto Trio

The body of Philip Sit was found in a wooded area of York Region on August 9th, 2006, after disappearing in September 2005. His killer was never found. What is so odd about this case is not just Philip’s disappearance, but also the disappearance of his three friends, Eve Ho, Kevin Lim, Jackie Li that occurred on August 14th, 2006. Eve Ho had arranged to meet up with her best friend at the Eaton Centre, but never showed up. Jackie Li was last seen by her mother when he left their Scarborough apartment to go to work in the morning. He called her later that day, but that is the last she ever heard from her son. Kevin Lim was last seen by his grandmother as he went to the store to buy a drink. Eve and Jackie were dating at the time and Kevin was Eve’s childhood friend, but all three were friends of Philip. What makes this disappearance even more odd is that Philip’s murder was made public on August 25th, 11 days after the trio disappeared. The three are not considered suspects in Sit’s murder, and no leads have been given as to their disappearances.

8 Craig Frear

Craig Frear was a well-built, 17-year-old high school soccer player that vanished after walking into the woods on July 27, 2004. That day, Craig had been at the Cambridge Manor apartments where his girlfriend lived. His mother Veronica had gone to see Craig at Price Chopper, where He was working, but when she got there, she was told that Craig had just stopped showing up a while back. Confused, Veronica was able to get hold of Craig to ask him about what was going on. Craig had told her that he would be home to talk with her about it, but went to the Cambridge Manor Apartments instead. Two middle school boys last spotted him at 2:00PM on July 27, 2004, walking along railroad tracks. It is reported that he put his finger to his lips as if to make a “shh” gesture before walking into the woods and disappearing forever. Over 500 interviews have since been conducted with countless searches and no leads or evidence has ever surfaced.

7Timmothy Pitzen

Amy Fry-Pitzen took her 6 year-old son, Timmothy, out of Greenman Elementary School on May 11, 2011 for a ‘family emergency’. Three days later, his mother’s body was found in a hotel room in Illinois, dead from apparent suicide. With her body, a note was found stating that Timmothy was safe with people who would care for him and that “you’ll never find him”. Timmothy was never seen or heard from again. His father, Jim Pitzen, has no idea where Timmothy could be, but hopes that he is safe. Amy had suffered from depression and previous suicide attempts, but nothing had ever indicated that she was going to disappear and take Timmothy with her. Records show that she made several short phone calls from an unknown location. One call was to her mother who spoke with both Amy and Timmothy, neither appearing to be in any distress. Surveillance video and receipts chronicled what the two had done in the three days before Amy’s suicide. They were seen having fun and visiting zoos and waterparks. On Friday, may 13th, the day before Amy was found dead, however, she was seen visiting a grocery store in Winnebago, Illinois without Timmothy. His location is still unknown.

6Iwona Wieczorek

In 2010, Iwona Wieczorek was a recent high school graduate planning to take a vacation to Spain while waiting to hear back from the university she had applied to. On the night of July 16th, 2010, she went to a party with her friends at one of their places. Later that night, she went to a club in Sopot with her friend Adria and three boys she had gotten to know only the month prior. She was supposed to stay at the first party, but decided to go to the club instead. While at the party, there was an argument between the five, though no one knows what the argument was about. Iwona was seen running out of the club, visibly upset, and going towards the Seaside Promenade. She did not have any money with her and her phone battery was running low.

Once sunrise began, around 4:00AM, she began the 4-mile journey home through Seaside Boulevard; barefoot because her feet hurt from her new heels. On her way home, she texted Adria saying that she was angry that Adria didn’t follow her out of the club. Adria later said that Iwona called her and that they settled the argument. A few minutes after 4:00 she called Adria for the last time to tell her that her phone battery was dying, where she was at (which is consistent with the CCTV footage), that she was a bit drunk, and that she was headed to Adria’s house. She said that she didn’t want to meet Adria’s mom drunk, but Adria said her parents weren’t home and that she would leave the keys outside for Iwona to come in. Adria had almost made it back to her house when talking to Iwona and was walking past Iwona’s apartment.

It was reported that Iwona’s stepfather heard Adria and Iwona speaking because she had the phone on speaker. Surveillance footage at the Jelitkowo beach shows Iwona walking and an unidentified man in a plaid shirt walking behind her with a towel on his shoulder. Investigators are now convinced that he did not have anything to do with her disappearance. It is most likely that Iwona made it to the area she lived, but she never reached Adria or her house. That morning, her mother thought she was at Adria’s, but Adria thought she went home because the keys were untouched. By 5:00pm on July 17th, Adria and Iwona’s family came to the terrifying conclusion that Iwona had disappeared. The police have since questioned over 100 people and offered a 1,000,000 polish zloty award ($270K), but nothing from Iwona has ever been found.

5 Brandon Lawson

Brandon Lawson was a 26-year-old father of four from Texas who made a chilling 911 call in the early morning hours of August 9, 2013. He had apparently run out of gas near Bronte, Texas and began walking in the fields along Highway 277. In the 911 call, he can be heard saying, “Yes I’m in the middle of a field (inaudible) pushed some guys over, right here going towards Abilene, on both sides. My truck ran out of gas, there’s one car here, the guy’s chasing (inaudible) to the woods, please hurry!” The operator then asks him if he needs an ambulance and his final words were, “No I need the cops.” During the call he is clearly distressed and panicked, but no one is sure exactly what happened to him that night. Since the night he disappeared, there has been no cellphone or bank activity in any of his accounts.

4Robert Hourihan

Robert Hourihan is a 33-year-old man from Virginia who left his house at 6:00AM on April 8, 2011, to his job as an electrician for the state. Two hours later, his wife’s coworker said she had seen Hourihan’s white Chevy Cavalier with the license plate “TARAMAE” heading north on the SR53, completely out of the way. Worried, his wife, Tara, called his phone, but repeatedly got his voicemail. He never returned her call; out of character because he would always alert her when he had a scheduling issue.

He never returned home and has not been seen since. Former coworkers did see him eating breakfast at the EW Thomas grocery store in Palmyra around 8:00AM, but that was the last time he was seen. What is even more odd is that Hourihan was not even scheduled to work that day, but left his house in his full uniform. Seven weeks later, his Chevy Cavalier was found in a Target parking lot in La Plata, Maryland, with all of his expensive tools still in the car. Police learned that he planned to meet someone in Palmyra that day, but never arrived. Hourihan was diagnosed with a heart condition, which he took daily medication for. He had missed his dose, and there is no indication that the prescription was ever refilled, but his doctor said he would’ve died in a week without it. To this day, the police are no closer to solving the case than they were in 2011 and Hourihan has yet to be seen or heard from.

3 Kayelyn Louder

Kayelyn Louder was a 30-year-old social worker from Utah who was planning to spend her September 2014 weekend updating her resume and cleaning her condo. In the afternoon, Kayelyn was caught on surveillance taking her pug, Phyllis, for a walk. The next time she was seen on surveillance footage, Louder is seen sprinting out of her home in the rain completely barefoot and without any belongings. This was the last time anyone heard from her. The previous night it was reported that Louder had made an odd 911 call stating that there was a brutal fight going on in the clubhouse at her condo that involved guns, but when police arrived, it was a calm wedding reception.

An hour later she called 911 and abruptly hung up. When dispatchers called back, she told them that her friend had said she was being delusional and paranoid. The morning of her disappearance, she had made another 911 call to say that there was an intruder in her home and she could hear two people talking, even though her roommate said that the door was dead bolted and no one else was there. Weeks after disappearing, a body was found floating in the Jordan River that was identified as Kayelyn Louder. Unfortunately, the autopsy was inconclusive.

2 Lars Mittank

July 2014 started out like any other summer break for 28-year-old Lars Mittank of Germany as he went to spend time with his friend at Golden Sands in Bulgaria. Golden Sands was known as a popular party spot for young people from Germany and England. Partying on the beach, he got into a fistfight over football with some of the other tourists. Mittank sustained a ruptured eardrum and was advised by his doctor not to fly until it healed. During that time, Mittank got a room in a hostel located in the poorer part of town and told his friends to go back to Germany without him. After spending a night in the hostel, Mittank became extremely scared and paranoid. His mother received a panicked text from him stating that he didn’t feel safe, she should cancel his credit card, and that four mysterious men were following him.

The doctor confirmed that Lars had gone to his office the next day, but when he arrived, Lars immediately jumped up and ran out. He soon went to the airport and is seen on surveillance walking through the airport with his luggage. Suddenly, he walks off screen then is seen sprinting the other direction out of the airport without his bags, jumping over the fence, and disappearing into the forest. He was never seen again. He family confirmed that he didn’t suffer from any mental illness and they have no idea why their son would begin acting in such a bizarre and erratic manner. A massive search was launched to find Lars, but was unsuccessful.

1 Juan Martinez

It was June 25, 1986, at 6:00AM as a Volvo F12 truck carrying pure sulfuric acid came barreling down the Somosierra Mountain Pass in Madrid, Spain. The truck began passing other trucks, so close that he knocked the mirror off of one. Suddenly, he reached a third truck and instead of passing it, he pushed it from behind until it was forced off the road. It becomes apparent to the other drivers that the Volvo’s brakes were not working. Suddenly, the Volvo smashed into an oncoming truck going close to 87 mph, causing it to overturn and spill its sulfuric acid contents out all over the road. Rescue working come to find a man and woman in the cabin of the first truck dead and covered in the acid. They immediately begin rescuing the other drivers and pouring sand and lime on the acid to neutralize it. After three hours of work, they able to identify the bodies of Andres Martinez, the owner of the vehicle, and his wife Carmen Gomez, who frequently accompanied him on his trips, as the couple that were covered in acid. That afternoon a call is placed to Carmen’s mother in Murcia informing her of the tragedy. To everyone’s surprise, she replies with, “And the boy? Please tell me the boy is alright!”

Juan Pedro Martinez was the 10-year-old only child of Andres and Carmen. He had accompanied his father on his trips before, but never one this long. His father had promised to bring him on his trip to Basque if he got good grades, and Juan did just that. Andres had his wife come with him on the trip to watch Juan as he unloaded the truck then they would vacation in Basque for a few days. At 7:00PM on June 24, the three left for Cartagena with the truck loaded.

Examination of the cabin after the horrific accident did show child-oriented cassettes and boy clothes in the back, but absolutely no trace of Juan. Many people from the community banded together to search for Juan, digging through the sand and lime that was put down as well as searching through the rubble and surrounding area, but found nothing. While some believed that Juan was completely dissolved by the sulfuric acid, chemists maintain that there is no way that the acid could have dissolved his body that quickly and left no trace. Many tests were done and it was found that even if his body had landed in a ditch that acted as a tub, it would take 24 hours for the soft tissue to be lost and 5 days for bones to be damaged, but the hair, nails, teeth, and some clothing should still be found.

The trucks tachometer was intact and showed that they had reached their scheduled stops including a stop at a gas station and the Aragon inn. A waiter recalled the family and said that they came and went without incident. It was also found, however, that following the inn, the truck made 12 extremely short stops during the ascension of the pass with the shortest lasting less than one second and the longest one near the peak lasting twenty seconds. Truckers that usually drive that route say that they usually make one stop at most and two is a waste of time. Furthermore, there was no traffic jam that would explain the odd stops. Examination of the truck showed that the brakes were not damaged, which means Andre’s speed was voluntary.

The trucker that was run off the road stated that he saw a white Nissan van stop by his vehicle immediately after the accident. At that time, a man with a mustache and foreign accent got out with a blonde woman. He was told not to worry and that she was a nurse. She checked his injuries then moved on to the vehicle that hit the Volvo head on and was never seen again. It was also said that two shepherds saw the white van stop by the Volvo, a Nordic-looking man and women stepped out dressed in doctor clothing. They picked a package up from the wreckage and disappeared. The police attempted to locate these shepherds, but found none in the area that saw the accident. To this day, there has been no trace of Juan Pedro ever found. There are countless theories, but none have proven true.

2020 brings with it the start of not only a new year but a brand-new decade. There is a whisper of better things to come and a hint of hope. However, for some, it just means another year and possibly another decade stuck with an unsolved mystery that keeps them from finding closure.

See Also: 10 Truly Bizarre And Chilling Cases Of Mass Disappearances

Many have lost loved ones in inexplicable ways, while others wait for word on missing family members that never comes. On this list are 10 disappearances to be debated and mulled over. But all the while, we should not forget those left behind who are praying for their missing loved ones to return unharmed.

10 Boris Weisfeiler

Forty-three-year-old Boris Weisfeiler had just about had it with all the snow in Pennsylvania in December 1984. Craving sunshine, he booked a trip to Chile and was looking forward to hiking several trails in the Andes Mountains.

It is believed that Weisfeiler tried to cross a river at one point during a hike. The only sign that he was ever there was a backpack found on the riverbank. Weisfeiler never returned home and was never seen again. Authorities in Chile concluded that he had drowned while trying to cross the river, but his body was never recovered.^[1]

Fast-forward 16 years, and Boris Weisfeiler’s mysterious disappearance takes a sinister turn. Declassified US documents reveal that the Penn State University professor may have been murdered in Chile. The documents allege that a witness saw Weisfeiler being interrogated at an agricultural commune before being shot point-blank.

This revelation led to a new investigation. In 2012, eight men, including police and military officers, were charged with the kidnapping of Weisfeiler. However, the case was closed in 2016 and the men were all freed.

Boris Weisfeiler’s sister was devastated at this turn of events. To date, a body has not been recovered in Chile and Boris Weisfeiler’s ultimate fate remains a mystery.

9 Patricia Meehan

On April 20, 1989, 37-year-old Patricia Meehan was driving on the wrong side of the road on Montana Highway 200 when she crashed into another vehicle. The driver of the other car was Carol Heitz, an off-duty police dispatcher.

After Heitz exited her car, Meehan walked up to Heitz and stared silently at her. After a few seconds, Meehan turned around, climbed over a nearby fence, stared again at the scene, and then walked away. She was never heard from again.^[2]

After the incident, thousands of sightings of Meehan were reported: She was either hitching rides or having low-key meals at diners. These sightings all allegedly took place in the states of Montana and Washington. It was revealed that Meehan had suffered from depression and worked odd jobs at a ranch in Montana before her disappearance.

In conjunction with police efforts, Meehan’s family launched a personal search for Patricia. The family distributed 2,000 missing person flyers and made use of horses and a helicopter to search rough terrain. Despite this huge effort, Patricia Meehan remains missing.

8 Mayumi Arashi

Twenty-seven-year-old Mayumi Arashi left her home in Tokyo on September 2, 1994, after telling her sister, Yoko, that she was going out to meet a friend. When Mayumi failed to return by September 3, Yoko phoned that friend to find out where her sister was. The friend said that she hadn’t had plans to meet Mayumi the previous day.

Later the same day, a note was found in Yoko’s wardrobe. The note read: “I was going out with A but was betrayed. [ . . . ] I’m sorry.” A’s phone number was written at the bottom of the note.

Yoko dialed the number and spoke with “A.” He said that he had met with Mayumi the previous day. If Mayumi was dead, he hoped that the punishment would be prison. Yoko got hold of a private detective who tracked the movements of “A” for months. But the detective could only come back with the information that “A” had gone into the woods on March 9, 1995, carrying two drinks. A police investigation of the area turned up nothing.

Years went by with no news of Mayumi. Yoko and her father eventually did an TV interview about Mayumi’s disappearance. On a shelf behind the father was a piece of paper stuck to the wood that read: “Don’t believe what Yoko says.”^[3]

This sent viewers into a frenzy. But despite this weird turn of events, Mayumi Arashi remains missing. There are no new clues as to what may have happened to her.

7 Hannah Upp

It is not often that you hear of a person disappearing multiple times. However, this is exactly the case with Hannah Upp. She disappeared for the first time on August 28, 2008, after going for a jog on Riverside Drive near Hamilton Heights where she lived.

Nearly three weeks later, she was found floating in New York Harbor. She could not recall how she got to the harbor or what happened in the weeks she had been missing. While undergoing tests in a hospital, Upp was diagnosed with dissociative fugue, which is a rare form of amnesia. This disorder causes sufferers to forget their own identities and can last for years.

Upp disappeared again for two days in September 2013 and then again on September 14, 2017, a week after Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean. She was working at a school in the Virgin Islands at the time.^[4]

On September 16, 2017, construction workers found her car at a beach. The vehicle contained clothes and her keys. The same day, Hurricane Maria was forming in the Atlantic and brought more devastation across the northeastern Caribbean.

Unfortunately, Hannah wasn’t found and remains missing to this day.

6 Patrick Warren And David Spencer

After celebrating a great Christmas Day with their families in 1996, best friends Patrick Warren, 11, and David Spencer, 13, spent Boxing Day lazing about in their homes in Chelmsley Wood. In the afternoon, they played with a group of children in Meriden Park. When the two boys finally returned home, they asked their parents if they could visit one of Patrick’s brothers that evening.

Patrick set off on the new bicycle he had received for Christmas, and David walked beside him. They made it as far as the local gas station where an attendant saw them head toward a shopping center.

The next day, another of Patrick’s brothers went looking for the boys when it was learned that they had never arrived at their destination the previous day. Much later, Patrick’s bicycle was found behind the gas station. The boys’ faces were plastered on milk cartons in an effort to find them.^[5]

It was only in 2003 that a suspect was arrested. However, the man was released without being charged. Child killer Brian Field was also a suspect because he had killed and raped a child in 1968 and imprisoned two teens in 1986.

In 2006, the area where Field used to dump waste was searched in the hopes that the remains of the boys would be found. The search was unsuccessful.

Patrick and David remain missing in early 2020. There is little hope that the case will ever be solved.

5 Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle

On March 26, 1993, 26-year-old native New Yorker Annie McCarrick went missing from Sandymount. She was last seen outside a post office in Enniskerry. Her parents arrived after being contacted by their daughter’s friends. The parents stayed in Ireland for six months while searching unsuccessfully for their daughter.

On July 25, 1993, 39-year-old Eva Brennan left her parents’ house in Rathgar but never made it back to her apartment. After two days of not hearing from his daughter, her father went to investigate. Inside Eva’s apartment, he found the jacket she’d been wearing the day she disappeared. Eva was never seen again.

On January 3, 1994, 22-year-old Imelda Keenan told her boyfriend that she was going to the post office. She left their apartment in Waterford City at 1:30 PM. The local doctor’s secretary was the last person to see Keenan as she crossed a road in town and seemingly vanished into thin air.

On November 9, 1995, 21-year-old Josephine Dollard was spotted using a pay phone in the Moone area of Kildare. After she ended the call, she was seen getting into a car with an unknown person. Dollard never made it back home.

On August 23, 1996, 25-year-old Fiona Pender vanished after leaving her apartment in Tullamore. On February 13, 1997, 17-year-old Ciara Breen disappeared from her home in Dundalk. On February 8, 1998, 19-year-old Fiona Sinnott went missing after leaving a pub in Broadway. On July 28, 1998, 18-year-old Deirdre Jacob went missing mere meters from her parents’ home.

None of these young women have ever been found.^[6]

The tie that binds them together? They all disappeared in what has come to be known as Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle within the boundaries of Leinster. Police decided that the missing women were most likely murdered and focused their investigation on convicted rapist Larry Murphy. He was charged with an unrelated rape and attempted murder case in 2000.

With Murphy in prison, the vanishings abruptly stopped, giving authorities even more reason to suspect him. Unfortunately, a lack of evidence and staunch denials on Murphy’s part mean that he was never charged for any of the disappearances. The fate of those who vanished remains unknown.

4 Lauren Spierer

On June 3, 2011, 20-year-old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer was enjoying an evening out at a bar with a bunch of friends. Her boyfriend, Jesse Wolff, hadn’t joined her. But he texted back and forth with her before eventually heading to bed.

Surveillance footage captured Spierer leaving the Bloomington bar just before 2:30 AM. She was accompanied by a friend named Cory Rossman. Several witnesses who had seen Spierer at the bar claimed that both she and Rossman were very intoxicated when they left.

Rossman and Spierer reached her apartment complex but left again shortly afterward. They walked through an alley just before 3:00 AM. They arrived at Rossman’s apartment, and his roommate, Michael Beth, escorted the young man to his room.

Spierer refused to stay and said that she wanted to return to her own home. She ended up at the apartment of Beth’s neighbor, Jay Rosenbaum. He claimed that Spierer left at 4:30 AM and that he saw her for the last time as she was heading south on College Avenue.

Boyfriend Jesse Wolff sent Spierer a text several hours later. But he received a reply from a bar employee indicating that Spierer had forgotten her phone at the establishment. Lauren Spierer was never seen again.^[7]

In 2015, 22-year-old Hannah Wilson was found murdered and dumped in a vacant lot 10 miles from the Bloomington campus after being reported missing. Daniel Messel was charged and convicted for the crime. Police investigated any possible links between the Spierer disappearance and the Wilson murder, but nothing came of their efforts. To date, no suspects have been named and no new clues have emerged.

3 Ben McDaniel

Thirty-year-old scuba diver Ben McDaniel was diving in the underwater cave at Vortex Springs on August 18, 2010. He tried to access a dangerous part of the cave by tampering with the gate that barred uncertified divers. Two employees of Vortex Springs were diving at the same time and noticed what McDaniel was doing. One of the men decided to let McDaniel into the cave to minimize the risk of him hurting himself or accidentally drowning by getting himself stuck inside the gate.

It took two days for the same employee to realize that McDaniel’s truck had never left his parking spot on the day he went diving. Fearing that McDaniel had drowned, the employee immediately called the police. Recovery divers searched every possible corner of the cave but came up empty-handed. A veteran diver came back with the news that Ben’s stature made it impossible for him to have become confined deeper in the cave.^[8]

McDaniel’s parents offered a $30,000 reward for any diver who would risk his own life to go even further into the depths of the cave to try to find their son. One diver may have taken up the challenge, though no one is sure. That diver was found dead in the cavern.

Conspiracy theories began flying. One claimed that McDaniel had faked his own death to escape personal troubles. Another maintained that someone had murdered McDaniel and hidden his body where it would be impossible to find. According to other theories, McDaniel had drowned and his body was covered with sand or he had committed suicide and squeezed himself into a tight space beforehand, making sure that no one could get him out.

Ben McDaniel remains missing, and the truth of his disappearance still evades his loved ones.

2 Anthonette Cayedito

On April 6, 1986, Penny Cayedito arrived at her apartment in Gallup, New Mexico, after a hard day’s work. Her three daughters were sound asleep, and the babysitter left as soon as Penny got there. Penny still had a few things to do around the house and only got to bed around 3:00 AM.

She had barely fallen asleep when a knock sounded at the door. Penny didn’t hear it. But her eldest daughter, Anthonette, did and went to answer the door. Penny’s two youngest daughters didn’t think anything of this and went right back to sleep. When the family awoke later that morning, nine-year-old Anthonette was gone.^[9]

Penny immediately called the police and reported her daughter missing. One of Anthonette’s sisters believed that their uncle may have been the one who had knocked on the door. But he was soon ruled out as a suspect due to a lack of evidence.

Neighbors reported seeing a brown van outside the Cayedito residence and a man walking toward the house. Police never found this van. A whole year had gone by without any leads when police received a phone call out of the blue from a young girl.

She told police that her name was Anthonette. She claimed to have been abducted and held in Albuquerque. In the background, a male voice could be heard asking, “Who said you could use the phone?” After that, the line went dead. Police were unable to trace the call.

A few years later, a waitress in Carson City, Nevada, contacted police after a teenager left a note under her plate that read, “Help me! Call police.” Despite this, the police never found Anthonette. Penny Cayedito died in 1999 without seeing her daughter again. The case remains open.

1 Mikelle Biggs

On January 2, 1999, nine-year-old Kimber Biggs and 11-year-old Mikelle Biggs were impatiently waiting outside their house in Mesa, Arizona, for an ice cream truck to arrive. Mikelle was riding her younger sister’s bike. Kimber was feeling very cold, so she told Mikelle that she was going inside. Kimber came back outside 90 seconds later and saw her bike lying in the road with the front wheel spinning. There was no sign of Mikelle.

Within 30 minutes, more than 1,000 people were walking the streets looking for Mikelle. But with no witnesses and no leads, the case quickly ran cold. The only people questioned were neighbors of the Biggses and Mikelle’s own father, who was quickly cleared of any suspicion.

Years passed without any sign of Mikelle. Then on March 14, 2018, a reporter phoned the police in Mesa. He told an officer that a man had handed in a dollar bill with writing on it that read: “My name is Mikel Biggs. Kidnapped from Mesa. I’m alive.”^[10]

Kimber Biggs was not convinced that the note was authentic because her sister’s name had been misspelled. This, too, was a dead end.

As of early 2020, Mikelle Biggs remains missing. Her sister now has her own son, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t hope and pray for Mikelle’s safe return.

Famous landmarks and other locations around the world draw millions of tourists every year. Even now after lockdown, many of these places can still be toured virtually, cementing their overwhelming popularity.

Every so often, however, a landmark also becomes infamous as the location where someone was spotted or encountered for the very last time before they seemingly disappeared into thin air.

10 Truly Bizarre And Chilling Cases Of Mass Disappearances

10 George Penca Jr.
Last Seen: Upper Yosemite Falls Trail

On a beautiful June day in 2011, 30-year-old George Penca Jr. went hiking with around 20 members of his 80-strong church group. They decided to hike the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. But when they trekked back down, George was no longer with the group.

Assuming that he’d hiked back to the Yosemite Valley floor, his friends only reported George missing at 9:00 PM when it became apparent that he was nowhere to be found. At the time of his disappearance, George was dressed casually in sweatpants, a T-shirt, and running shoes. He was carrying a bag containing minimal food and water.

A full-scale search and rescue operation got underway first thing the next morning. Approximately 105 people, several helicopters, and six search and rescue dogs scoured the area for about a week without finding any clues or trace of Penca.^[1]

In 2020, there is still no information as to what may have happened to Penca. His remains, clothing, and bag have never been located.

9 Carla Valpeoz
Last Seen: Machu Picchu

In December 2018, 35-year-old Carla Valpeoz, who is legally blind, traveled from her home in Detroit to Peru to attend a wedding. While there, she tried to tour Machu Picchu. But she was denied entry due to her low vision.

A tour group offered to help her explore the site. Carla and members of the group stayed together the whole day and then went dancing at a club. They returned to the Pariwana Hostel, where they were all staying, at around 4:00 AM on December 12.

Later, Carla texted a new friend from the tour group that she was going to explore the city that morning. Then she disappeared.

According to her brother, Carlos Valpeoz Jr., a female member of the tour group said that she had awakened around 9:30 AM and noticed that Carla and all her belongings were gone. Around this time, security officers and a receptionist had seen Carla getting into a taxi.

The taxi driver was located, and he told police that he had dropped Carla off at a Cusco bus terminal as she wanted to further explore the city. The last information that Carla’s family and friends received is that a man working at the entrance to Machu Picchu saw Carla there and she looked well.^[2]

Shortly after Carla’s disappearance, her father and brother started traveling Peru looking for her. To date, no evidence about Carla’s fate has been found.

In 2019, police investigating her disappearance expressed doubt that Carla ever made it to Machu Picchu on December 12, 2018, despite the park employee claiming that he saw her on that day.

It is believed that the case is still open. However, there is some speculation that she was victimized by criminals but has now been found and quietly returned to her parents.

8 Tinashe Chitambo
Last Seen: Victoria Falls Rain Forest

In March 2012, 25-year-old Tinashe Chitambo visited Victoria Falls with his sister. The duo decided to have lunch at Shearwater Restaurant. Afterward, Tinashe told his sister that he was going back to the falls for another tour.

Shortly after Tinashe left, a tourist approached a security ranger and said that he had spotted a man loitering around the falls. A team was sent out to investigate but didn’t find the man, who was later suspected to have been Tinashe.^[3]

He never returned to the restaurant where his sister was waiting for him. A police spokesperson explained that they couldn’t eliminate explanations such as suicide and Tinashe’s “[possession] by evil spirits.”

The suicide ruling has yet to be confirmed as Tinashe’s body was never found.

7 Gavin Cusi Octaviano
Last Seen: Golden Gate Bridge

On November 21, 2018, 22-year-old Gavin Octaviano traveled to San Francisco to spend Thanksgiving Day with his family and celebrate his birthday. On November 23, Gavin took a family member’s car and drove to the Golden Gate Bridge. He parked the vehicle in the northern parking lot at 5:20 PM.^[4]

Just over four hours later, a motorist almost hit Gavin, who was walking near the Golden Gate Bridge tunnel. According to the driver, Gavin seemed to be under the influence.

Gavin was never seen again.

On November 28, after seeing Gavin’s photograph on a missing person’s poster, the motorist contacted the young man’s family to tell them about the encounter. Devastated family members spent several days searching on and around the bridge to find clues as to what may have happened to Gavin. He is still missing in 2020.

6 Mujuet Bales
Last Seen: Central Park

In April 1994, Joseph Bales took his two-month-old baby girl, Mujuet, to Central Park and promptly fell asleep on a park bench for a few minutes while the baby lay beside him. His wife and other daughter, four-year-old Priscilla, were exploring the west side of the park.

When Joseph awoke, Mujuet was gone. Her carrier stood around 305 meters (1,000 ft) away from the bench. For some reason, Joseph and his wife, Helena, who were French-Canadian tourists, didn’t report Mujuet’s disappearance for 20 hours. Until then, they returned to their Manhattan hotel and waited. Later, the couple told police that they had delayed for so long because neither of them spoke English.^[5]

As the police investigated the suspicious story, they learned that the couple had crossed into the US from Canada with only one child, Priscilla. When confronted with this information, Joseph and Helena decided to come clean.

Ten days earlier, Mujuet had been found dead in her crib in Canada. Due to earlier allegations of child abuse about a foster child at their home, Joseph and Helena wanted to avoid any further allegations of abuse. So they threw the baby’s body in a nearby woods in Quebec and traveled to the US to pretend that the child had disappeared in Central Park.

Mujuet’s body was recovered, but the cause of death was unclear according to newspaper accounts at the time.

Top 10 Extremely Unsettling Disappearances

5 Tylee Ryan And J.J. Vallow
Last Seen: Yellowstone National Park (Ryan) And Kennedy Elementary School (Vallow)

In what has turned out to be an incredibly confusing and tragic missing persons case, siblings Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow disappeared without a trace in September 2019.^[6]

Seventeen-year-old Tylee was seen for the last time with her family at Yellowstone National Park on September 8, 2019. Seven-year-old J.J. was last seen at Kennedy Elementary School on September 23, 2019. Despite all this, their mother, Lori Vallow, got married on November 5, 2019, to Chad Daybell (whose late wife had died in October 2019).

When Idaho police tried to conduct a welfare check on J.J. on November 26, Lori told them that J.J. was with other family members in Arizona. That story unraveled fast as the police investigated. By the time officers returned on November 27, Lori’s home in Idaho had been abandoned. Days later, Lori and Chad quietly slipped away to Hawaii where they lived in a rental townhome.

The investigations into the disappearances of Tylee and J.J. were made public on December 20, 2019. Lori missed a court-ordered deadline to produce the children on January 30, 2020. On February 10, it was reported that police had found Tylee’s cell phone with Lori’s belongings in Hawaii.

On February 20, Lori Vallow was arrested by Kauai police and ultimately charged with multiple counts related to these disappearances. Shortly before her arrest, it became known that Lori and her husband were convinced that Tylee and J.J. were possessed and had become zombies as a result.

On June 9, 2020, police discovered the remains of Tylee and J.J. in the backyard of Chad Daybell’s home in Salem, Idaho. J.J.’s body was wrapped in plastic and duct tape. Tylee’s body had been dismembered and set on fire.

Daybell is also facing charges in connection with the deaths of these two children.

4 Karl-Erivan Haub
Last Seen: Klein Matterhorn, Swiss Alps

In April 2018, German billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub went skiing on the Klein Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. An experienced skier, Haub was by himself at the time of his disappearance. He was training for an upcoming race. When he didn’t return from the glacier-shrouded peak, he was reported missing.^[7]

A full-scale search operation was launched but to no avail. Over two years later, what happened to Haub is still unclear as no trace of him has ever been found.

The last sighting of the billionaire was at the mountain station of the gondola lift. There is no active search at this point. According to the general consensus, Haub probably fell into a crevasse. So it is unlikely that his body will be recovered.

The full truth behind his disappearance remains to be discovered.

3 Floyd Roberts III
Last Seen: The Grand Canyon

On June 17, 2016, Floyd Roberts III, 52, set off to the western part of the Grand Canyon with his friend Ned Bryant and Ned’s daughter Madeleine. After splitting from Ned and his daughter and using a different route to climb a hill, Floyd became one of the many missing hikers at the Grand Canyon.

Floyd and Ned had been friends since childhood and had gone on regular hikes together for over 20 years. The hiking party had planned a nine-day trip, which started with them camping by a river.

When they reached the fateful hill on the first day, Ned and Madeleine opted to climb over it. But Floyd decided to go around it. They arranged to meet at a point on the other side of the hill.^[8]

As Ned and Madeleine waited for Floyd, they became anxious when he didn’t turn up. They camped for the night and then walked to an area where they had cell phone reception. There, they reported Floyd missing on June 18 at 3:00 PM. The initial search lasted for six days but was scaled back on June 24.

Searchers found no clues or evidence that Floyd had somehow fallen, and there was no trace of him or his backpack. The case went cold very quickly but remains open.

2 Ben Trommels
Last Seen: Niagara Falls, Ontario

Twenty-four-year-old Ben Trommels lived alone in an apartment in the north end of Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 2016. The young man was troubled and had been struggling with mental health issues for at least three years at that point.

On February 11, 2016, Ben went grocery shopping with his mother. While they were talking, Ben said something that would haunt his mother for years to come.

As they were walking in the store, Ben said, “I’m tired of it all.” This occurred after conversations in which Ben had declared that he wanted to jump down the falls and never be found as he felt that he was a burden to his mother.^[9]

In the early hours of February 12, 2016, Ben Trommels left his Niagara Falls apartment and vanished into the night. His mother, Monique Smith, only realized four days later that her son was missing. Volunteers searched the falls, but no sign of Ben was found.

More than four years later, Monique is none the wiser when it comes to Ben’s fate. However, she believes that he made good on his promise to take his own life.

1 Prabhdeep Srawn
Last Seen: Kosciuszko National Park

Bushwalker Prabhdeep “Prabh” Srawn, 25, rented a van in Sydney on May 13, 2013, and signed an agreement that obligated him to return the vehicle in Melbourne two days later. Security footage showed him entering a convenience store near Jindabyne later that day.

Prabh drove to and parked near the Charlotte Pass Ski Resort staff quarters on May 14, 2013. He was seen heading toward the Main Range Trail carrying some food and a cell phone.^[10]

The day started out bright and sunny. However, around noon, the temperature dropped significantly and snow started falling hard and fast. Other bushwalkers reported that the trail was difficult to see in spots because of the deep snow.

The first sign that Prabh was likely in trouble on the trail came when a caretaker at the resort noticed that the rental van was still parked in the same spot on May 18, 2013. A search and rescue operation lasted about two weeks. Then Prabh’s family launched extensive private searches in a desperate attempt to find him.

Employees and a skier in the Little Austria area reported that they heard what sounded like a human voice calling out on May 22, 2013. A helicopter search was commenced in the area, but nothing was found.

Even after the snow melted, there was still no sign of Prabh. After spending over $200,000 on private searches, Prabh’s family was forced to call off their efforts in October 2013.

Prabh was declared dead in June 2015 despite no trace of him having ever been found. His family still hopes for a miracle.

10 Baffling Disappearances That Remain Unsolved

There is always some truth in the most mysterious and terrifying stories out there. And the best of these stories leave you with the chills. Even for people who love spooky stuff, there are still some genuinely bizarre occurrences that give them the creeps.

Every year, authorities record cases of individuals who simply vanish in thin air. In all of these instances, families and authorities are thrust into a state of limbo, trying to figure out what happened. We will explore 10 of the creepiest disappearances throughout history that still baffle historians and researchers alike.

10 The Mary Celeste Crew

The Mary Celeste set sail on November 5, 1872, bound for Genoa from the New York Harbor. Onboard the ship was a cargo of industrial ethanol. Almost a month later, David Morehouse was sailing his ship when he and his crew spotted the Mary Celeste drifting about 400 miles east of the Azores. Morehouse claimed he had noticed something rather strange about the way the ship was sailing. The captain sent his chief mate and several other of his crew members to investigate the ship. When they arrived aboard Mary Celeste, they found no single soul on board, yet the vessel was under full sail.

The lifeboat was not there, but a six-month food supply was still intact. There was not even the tiniest sign of a struggle, and the cargo was untouched. Morehouse’s crew sailed the deserted ship to Gibraltar. Investigators generated several theories as to how the crew of the vessel had disappeared. Some of these theories involved a giant squid, ghosts, pirates, while others were settled on Morehouse when he claimed the ship’s salvage rights.

9 Percy Harrison Fawcett

Fawcett was an explorer and had served in the army earlier in life. He later went down in history after disappearing during his search for an ancient city called “z” in the Amazon jungle. Tales of an ancient civilization with mysterious towers that emitted a strange light fascinated him. After making some promising finds during preliminary investigations, Fawcett, his son Jack and Jack’s close friend Raleigh Rimell set off north towards their hometown Cuiaba. When they were about 400 miles away from where they started, Fawcett instructed his Brazilian assistants to head back home and take a letter to his wife. In the letter, Fawcett advised his wife not to fear failure.

Nothing was ever heard of Fawcett, his son, or Raleigh again. A few years later, a Swiss man reported to have encountered Fawcett, then an old man. Stefan Rattin gathered some reporters, and they went out to find Fawcett where they had previously met. Nothing more was ever heard of the Swiss man nor the reporters. Investigators have sent many more expeditions to look for Fawcett and the others but found nothing.

8 Disappearance Of Australian Prime Minister

On December 17, 1967, Australia was baffled by Harold Holt’s disappearance, then prime minister of the country. Holt had gone out for a swim on Cheviot beach near Melbourne and never came back. The Australian authorities mounted one of the biggest search and rescue operations in modern history. They have, however, never been able to find his corpse to this day. At the time of Holt’s disappearance, he was 59 years of age and was generally fit mentally and physically. He had, however, collapsed during a parliamentary proceeding earlier in the year. People close to him also reported that Holt had been suffering a shoulder injury.

Some theories suggest that Holt had fallen victim to the riptides of Cheviot Beach. Others claim that the prime minister had been suffering depression and chose to end his life. Other conspiracy theories claim Holt was abducted by the Soviet Union or Chinese submarine because he supported the Vietnam war. Or maybe he was abducted by aliens, who knows.

7 Amelia Earhart

Perhaps the most famous disappearance in history, Amelia Earhart, vanished from the face of the earth on July 2, 1937. Earhart was already a legend as the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She and navigator Fred Noonan had embarked on a mission to complete the first flight around the world. To date, explorers and historians are still trying to solve their vexing disappearance. The pioneering pilot and her navigator had set off for Howland Island, a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, from Lae in New Guinea.

Earhart and Noonan vanished somewhere on the Pacific Ocean. A search-and-rescue team searched for the two for over two weeks. No remains or clues to their disappearance ever emerged. Two years later, a court order officially declared the two dead. Her disappearance has sparked many conspiracy theories, thus becoming a topic of debate.

6 Angela Hammond

On April 4, 1991, Angela Hammond vanished while talking with her boyfriend from a Clinton, Missouri payphone. The boyfriend, Rob Shaffer, recalls that Angela had described to him a suspicious man circling the neighborhood in a green pickup truck. He then stopped near the payphone, and since then, the 20-year-old girl disappeared. Shafer told the police that he quickly jumped into his car and drove to where Angela was. As he was heading there, the green pickup drove past him. He slammed the car into reverse gear and blew its transmission. Shaffer helplessly watched as the abductor took his girlfriend away.

The police initially suspected Shaffer, but they soon cleared him due to witnesses and his alibi. What makes this case rather creepy is that it could be linked to two other Missouri disappearances earlier that year. Angela Hammock has never found. Detectives categorized the case as a random crime since she was not doing anything wrong or suspicious. Her abductor just happened to spot her talking to her boyfriend. Why the police were not able to find the conspicuous green truck with a big decal on the window is still a mystery.

5 James Edward Tedford

56-year-old James E Tedford and his 28-year-old wife Pearl Tedford had moved back to Vermont at the end of World War II. At the end of his second spell of military service, Tedford returned to their rented property in Fletcher town, Franklin, VT, to find his wife missing. His close family claimed they had no clue as to where his wife had vanished to. The only detail they had was that they last saw her walking to the Amoco Store when she disappeared. Around 1947, a lonely James Tedford checked into a soldier’s home after searching for his missing wife.

Two years later, James also vanished. On December 1, 1949, James was returning to the retirement home from Vermont when he disappeared mysteriously. The route to Bennington passed through the Green Mountain Forest. At the time, the area was renowned for creepy events such as disappearances. All 14 passengers who boarded the bus testified to seeing him there, sleeping. However, when the bus arrived at its destination, James was gone. No one had seen the old man get off the bus at any point of the journey. His luggage remained tucked on the luggage rack of the bus.

4 Frieder Langer

Between the 1940s and 1950s, Bennington had become notorious for the disappearance of more than half a dozen people. One of the creepiest cases was that of 53-year-old Frieder Langer on October 28, 1950. Langer had gone hiking with her cousin Herbert Elsner when she disappeared. The family had set up a campsite near Somerset Reservoir. The pair had left the campsite to go on a hike in the nearby mountain. On their trip, Langer slipped into a stream. She requested Herbert to wait as she rushed back to the campsite and change her wet clothes. She never returned.

Herbert headed back to the campsite and discovered Langer had not gone back to the campsite. They mounted a search operation for the next two weeks. The searches used a helicopter and an aircraft in the search operation but couldn’t find any trace of her. A year later, Langer’s body mysteriously appeared near the same Reservoir that the searchers had extensively combed. Due to the conditions of her remains, it became difficult to determine the cause of her death.

3 The Sodder Children

The disappearance of the five Sodder children is by far the eeriest case on this list. Five out of 10 siblings disappeared under unclear circumstances from their home on a Christmas Eve night. Rather than head off to bed, the five kids asked their parents if they could stay up and play with their toys. The parents agreed and went to bed. Then a strange series of events began. The phone rang, and when the kids’ mother answered, the voice on the other end asked for someone unknown to the mother. When she said she didn’t know the person in question, the voice laughed and immediately hung up. As she heads back to bed, she noticed that someone had drawn up all the shades and unlocked all the doors, and the lights were on.

The family was later woken up by sound on the roof, only to realize that the house was in flames. Luckily, the parents and five of their children managed to escape the inferno. None of the kids that had asked to stay up were in sight. The Sodders never stopped believing that their children were still alive, even when the official conclusion was that they had succumbed to the inferno. This sliver of hope was backed by a photo of one of their sons as a grown adult, mailed anonymously in the ’60s.

2 America’s Lost Colony

We have all heard of individuals like Jimmy Hoffa and DB Cooper who disappeared, leaving no trace of their whereabouts. However, it is weirder and creepier when a group of people, especially a larger one, disappears all at once. This is exactly what happened in July 1587. About 115 English families landed on an island, now Dare County. As tensions grew between the local tribes and the newly arrived colonists, John White, the town’s governor, sailed to England to seek supplies and help. When he returned three years later, there wasn’t a single soul in the town. It was completely deserted, and all the town inhabitants had vanished.

The only clue left behind was a wooden post inscribed with the word Croatoan. It is not certain whether the Croatoan native tribe killed or assimilated the settlers. Scholars also believe that the Spanish army may have wiped out the whole settlement. Historians can only speculate what happened to the colony since no concrete evidence is available.

1 The Sarah Joe

Maritime tragedies are not something new. However, things got weird when five friends failed to return from a fun fishing day in the Hawaiian waters. They had departed in February 1979 from the coast of Maui on a small fishing boat dubbed Sarah Joe. Family, friends, and authorities mounted massive search and rescue operations to no avail. A decade later, authorities received information of Sarah Joe’s sighting on the coast of the marshal islands. Next to the wreck, they discovered a grave of one of the five missing persons. How the boat got there, who buried him, and where the rest of them were, are questions that have continued to baffle researchers and historians.

Whistleblowers are seen in a variety of ways, depending on your perspective. A whistleblower is a person who gives information about illegal or immoral activities that they may have witnessed or are aware of. Throughout history, there have been many important whistleblowers. Frank Serpico, a New York City police officer, exposed several officers and his department for acts of bribery and corruption. The movie Serpico (1973) is based on his experience as a whistleblower.

While Serpico went down as a hero, other whistleblowers have received very different treatments, and many whistleblowers throughout history have mysteriously disappeared. Below, explore 10 weird disappearances and deaths of whistleblowers.

Related: Top 10 Historical Disappearances With Modern Developments

10 Ross Alderson – B.C. Casino Whistleblower

The first whistleblower on our list is an Australian living in British Columbia, Canada, named Ross Alderson. Alderson was previously a director of anti-money laundering investigations at the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC). He was one of the people responsible for monitoring and stopping money laundering schemes in the Canadian province.

Alderson worked for the BCLC as an investigator for seven years, from 2008 to 2015. He then became the director and worked in that position until he resigned two years later, in October 2017. Documentation shows that Alderson had repeated concerns about laundering in casinos. As Alderson became a more senior member and eventually became the director of the BCLC, he began to experience health issues.

Despite these health issues, Alderson seemed willing to help with a Commission of Inquiry in British Columbia in late 2019, even calling it “necessary” and saying he was “willing to help.” However, Alderson has not responded to a summons to attend the Commission. He spoke with the media in February 2019, was summoned to attend the Commission of Inquiry, and has not responded.

Alderson’s failing health was certainly a concern with such a stressful job. Some colleagues even suspected that he might be suffering through some mental health concerns. The fact remains that Alderson cannot be found. Whether he moved back to Australia, dodged the Commission, or something more sinister happened, we may never know.

9 Alberto Nisman – Argentine Lawyer

Former lawyer Alberto Nisman is another whistleblower who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Nisman was an Argentine attorney who specialized in international terrorism. He was reported dead in January 2015. He died of a gunshot wound, and authorities ruled his death a murder. However, Nisman was already well known throughout Argentina before his death.

The largest bombing in Argentina’s history, the AMIA bombing, happened in 1994. From the blast, 86 people were reported dead, and more than 300 were injured. The Argentine government investigated the AMIA bombing itself for ten years with no clear conclusion. Then, in 2004, Alberto Nisman was placed in charge as the prosecutor. So began contentious litigation between the attorney and the Argentine government. Nisman was certain that there was a cover-up.

One day before Nisman’s death, he filed a complaint accusing many top Argentine officials of concealing information. The officials included the president and the Minister of Foreign Relations, among other important government employees. According to the complaint, Nisman believed that the president, Cristina Fernandez, had intentionally silenced witnesses and avoided investigating locals who may have been responsible in some way for the attacks. Nisma intoned that the Argentine government had deliberately obstructed the investigation to maintain diplomatic relations with Iran and Syria. The following day, Alberto Nisman was found dead in his home.

8 Fang Bin – COVID-19 Whistleblower

Fang Bin is an example of a modern whistleblower. Bin was a reporter and whistleblower based in Wuhan, China, who filmed and broadcast images and videos on social media showing the first stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As a citizen of Wuhan, Fang Bin saw the early infections and how quickly the virus was spreading. He also saw the number of deaths. Apparently, he also noticed that the Chinese government was not transparent about the situation.

It seems that Bin’s first video upload was in late January 2020. His videos were uploaded and viewed with interest around the globe. About a week later, on February 1, 2020, Fang Bin was arrested for the first time. This was after he shared a new video. This video showed soldiers piling corpses into a van in front of a hospital in Wuhan. Police arrested Bin that same evening.

Bin was later released late on February 1, 2020. However, this was not the end of his troubles with the Wuhan police. Bin released more videos, including one showing the police coming to his door. His final video shows a piece of paper with the words “Resist all citizens, hand the power of the government back to the people,” according to Wikipedia. This was his last public appearance, and he has been missing since then.

7 Serena Shim – ISIS Whistleblower

The next whistleblower was a Lebanese-American journalist reporting in Turkey near the border with Syria. Serena Shim was working for Press TV at the time. Shim had reported that ISIS agents were being taken across the border into Syria from Turkey.

The political implications of this report were huge for Turkey. This made Turkey look like they were harboring terrorists and secretly supporting ISIS. Following her report, the Turkish government claimed that she was a foreign spy. Shim denied these reports and said, “I am very surprised at this accusation. I’ve even thought of actually approaching Turkish intelligence, and because I have nothing to hide, I’ve never done anything aside from my job, and I’d like to make that apparent to them. However, I am a bit worried because, as you know, and as the viewers know, Turkey has been labeled by Reporters Without Borders as the largest prison for journalists. So I am a bit frightened about what they might use against me.” According to Wikipedia, she made these comments on October 17, 2014.

Shim was killed in a car crash two days later under suspicious circumstances. Shim was only 29 years old at the time of her death.

6 Val Broeksmit – Deutsche Bank Executive

Val Broeksmit is the son of a former executive of Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank is an international bank based in Germany. Upon the unexpected death of his stepfather (Bill Broeksmit) via suicide in 2014, Val Broeksmit received documentation and emails from Deutsche Bank.

Broeksmit shared much of this documentation. He was contacted by the federal authorities, including the House Intelligence Committee, to investigate Deutsche Bank, which they suspected of money laundering connected to Russia. Through Broeksmit’s cooperation and investigation, Forensic news reported that Deutsche Bank America received a deposit of $330 million from a bank connected to the Russian intelligence service. That is a bit suspicious.

Broeksmit was last seen in April of 2021. Authorities found his car running with the keys in the ignition in South Los Angeles the next day. While we do not know that his disappearance is due to his whistleblowing activities, it is certainly a weird disappearance.

5 Haywin Strydom – 28s Gang Whistleblower

Gangs in Cape Town, South Africa, are extremely dangerous. The 28s Gang is one of the most well-known and lethal in the country and was led by George “Gewald” Thomas.

When authorities arrested Thomas, he was charged fifty-two times, including attempted murder, weapon charges, murder, and more. The trial lasted over four years. Many witnesses in these cases are frightened to speak out, worried that they may face the consequences. One witness, however, Harwin Strydom, was willing to speak.

Unfortunately, before Strydom could come to trial, he was gunned down in November 2008. Before his untimely death, with almost his last breath, Strydom spoke out and identified his killers as “Geweld’s Henchmen.”

Unfortunately, this was not the first time Thomas had silenced potential witnesses. Strydom’s bravery allowed the South African government to convict the gang leader, and Thomas is currently serving seven life sentences and another 175 years in prison, according to EWN.com.

4 Frederick Valentich – UFO Whistleblower?

The next whistleblower on our list is less traditional. Australian pilot Frederick Valentich was only twenty years old and still learning to fly. On Saturday, October 21, 1978, he was flying over Australia. While flying, Valentich reported to Air Traffic Control several disturbing things. He first said that an unidentified craft was following him. After being told there were no aircraft in the area, he described the aircraft. He reported seeing green lights and thought the other aircraft might have deliberately played with him.

The last thing that Valentich said was, “It’s not an aircraft.” Following this, he and the aircraft disappeared. Search and rescue efforts continued until October 25, when authorities abandoned the search.

Many potential explanations for what happened to the young pilot abound, but none have been proven. Some suspect Valentich lost control of the plane and flew upside down without realizing it. Others suspect that he staged his disappearance for media attention. However, there is little evidence to support either theory. Still, others think that extraterrestrials actually abducted Valentich.

3 Charles Horman – Chilean Coup Whistleblower

Charles Horman, an American journalist and documentarian who was reporting on the political climate in Chile. He reported on an attempted coup involving the United States government in the early 1970s.

Eventually, the military coup did occur. Horman was detained and arrested by soldiers from the Chilean army six days later. Many suspect that Horman faced torture and interrogation during this time. Eventually, it came to light that he was executed on September 19, three days after his arrest.

Horman’s case has generated much interest and is still being investigated today. Some people suspect that the United States government knew of his arrest and allowed his execution to occur. Hormantruth.org is still investigating his mysterious death and seeking justice.

2 Dr. David Kelly – WMD Whistleblower

Dr. David Kelly was employed as a weapons inspector and expert for the British government in 2003. In the interview with BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, Kelly revealed that the British government had found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. According to Gilligan, Dr. Kelly was an anonymous source, and Gilligan never revealed his identity.

Due to pressure, Kelly revealed himself as the source of the leak to his superiors, though he thought he was not the only one. Shortly after, someone leaked Kelly’s name to the media, and he received unwanted media attention. Two days later, on July 17, 2003, Dr. Kelly’s body was found in his home. His left wrist had been cut, and his autopsy revealed that he had taken 29 Coproxamol tablets (a painkiller). Authorities ruled his death a suicide, but the circumstances are certainly suspicious.

1 William Morgan – The Freemason Whistleblower

William Morgan was born in Virginia in the 1770s. There is no complete record of his younger life, but Morgan married in 1819. He and his wife moved to Canada with their two children, and Morgan started a brewery. After a fire destroyed the brewery, the family returned to the United States.

Upon returning to the States, Morgan attempted to access the Freemason society. He claimed to have been a part of the secret society in Canada. However, local Freemason lodges were not willing to allow him to join. After many attempts to join up with the Freemasons, William Morgan announced he would publish a book detailing the secrets of the Freemason society, to be named Illustrations of Masonry.

Following this announcement, Morgan faced the consequences. The Freemasons are a secret society that does not want their secrets revealed. Police arrested Morgan on theft charges, and there was an arson attempt on his newspaper business. Eventually, Morgan disappeared.

He was never seen after this disappearance. There are theories, including that he was tossed into the Niagara River, Freemasons paid him to leave the country, or he committed suicide. William Morgan is an early example of a whistleblower who disappeared under weird and mysterious circumstances.

Alaska, America’s 49th state, is home to 17 of the country’s 20 highest peaks, more than 100,000 glaciers, and over half of the nation’s wilderness. But this state isn’t just holding some impressive stats. It hides a dark secret: it’s home to more than 16,000 disappearances within the Alaska Triangle.

Located between Utqiagvik, Anchorage, and Juneau, the region famous for Bigfoot sightings, vanishing airplanes, paranormal phenomena, and alien abduction continues to give experts sleepless nights. Even though it gets considerably less attention and publicity than its counterpart, the Bermuda Triangle, the Alaska Triangle has a far higher rate of unexplained disappearances.

Here, of the many cases, we discuss the top ten mysterious disappearances associated with the Alaska Triangle.

Related: 10 Best Theories That Explain The Bermuda Triangle

10 Richard Lyman Griffiths

Richard Lyman Griffiths is famous for inventing a wilderness survival cocoon that he so desperately wanted to test its viability. The summer of 2006 seemed the perfect time for him to do so. Nobody questioned his motives when he left for the wilderness of southeast Alaska. It took over a year for anyone to report him missing.

Upon investigation, the authorities figured that a bus had dropped him along the Alaska Highway, where he checked into a lodge near the White River. Here, he left some of his gear and informed some people that he was planning to go camping in McCarthy, a small town near the St. Elias National Park. However, when Richard took to the hills, he never returned.

While most people believed he was testing his wilderness cocoon, no one bothered to check whether he was okay until several months after. To date, Richard’s body or cocoon traces have never been found. Given that he disappeared in a region within the Alaska Triangle, he joined the list of the over 16,000 people that have never made it back.

9 Alan Foster

Alan Foster might not be a popular figure, but he, too, makes the list of the people who have mysteriously disappeared in the Alaska Triangle. On September 9, 2013, Alan flew a Piper PA-32-260, which was later reported missing while traveling over the Alaska Triangle region.

The National Transport Safety Board reports that Alan had been flying under a visual flight rules flight plan, fueled at Yakutat, and continued flying around 3:30 p.m. He even contacted Juneau flight service, indicating that he would stop at Cordova if the conditions dictated. However, 18 minutes after takeoff, somewhere between Malaspina Glacier and the Gulf of Alaska, the radar showed Alan’s aircraft descending to about 1,100 feet before disappearing.

No one ever heard from Alan Foster again, and no remains of his body nor the aircraft have since been found at the time of writing. Alan’s disappearance is bizarre because he was experienced. He had over 9,700 flight hours in various aircraft, he kept asking for key details before and during his flight, and he never reported any problems before disappearing. The only suspicious factor is where he disappeared: the Alaska Triangle.

8 Frank Minano

A traditional educator and mentor on subsistence living, hunting, and culture, Frank Minano was reported missing from Nenana on August 17, 2020. He joins the thousands of people who have succumbed to the wrath of the deadly Alaska Triangle.

There is very little information available about Minano’s disappearance. The police only know that he took shelter in a nearby cabin on the first day that he was reported missing. Several years later, there is no trace of his remains whatsoever. Sadly, this mysterious disappearance is typical for most victims of the Alaska Triangle—very little information is available, but people keep going missing.

7 Leonard Lane

Leonard Lane was a 73-year-old World War II veteran at the time of his disappearance. On the evening of July 4, 1995, Leonard was reported missing after a parade in Fairbanks. He vanished in the Alaska Triangle, where he had taken a walk. Those who had seen him moments before he went missing say that he was limping, probably because of the injuries sustained during the war.

Typical to the other cases where people have gone missing mysteriously at the Alaska Triangle, police have no leads as to what might have happened to Leonard. Two years later, in 1997, he was declared legally dead, but his case remains unsolved.

6 Thomas Anthony Nuzzi

Thomas Anthony Nuzzi was a well-known nurse who traveled throughout Alaska, picking up different shifts in various locations. He had a well-paying job and a perfect mode of transport but obviously no permanent residence address.

For someone who is always on the go, it’s tough to know their whereabouts unless they want you to know. Given that this was 2001, the task was even harder. However, it wouldn’t be challenging for an employer to notice a missing employee, which is precisely what happened.

While staying at a Super 8 motel in Anchorage, Nuzzi was reported missing after failing to show up for work in Bethel, Alaska, a short flight from where he was staying. Investigators’ reports indicate that Nuzzi was spotted buying a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, chips, and soda at a gas station the night before he was reported missing. The reports also show that he was in the company of a woman. Upon questioning the staff of the Super 8 motel, some said that a different man was spotted in Nuzzi’s room on that same night that he went missing. While his bicycle and Jeep were later found, no one really knows where Nuzzi vanished to date.

5 Shanna Oman

On June 3, 2019, Shanna Oman vanished after leaving her friend’s house in Fairbanks, Alaska, around noon. Following her visit, Shanna’s friend dropped her at Nico River, close to where she lived. When Shanna was entirely out of sight, her friend concluded she was okay. However, several hours later, Shanna’s roommate called the friend that Shanna had visited earlier, indicating that she had not arrived home.

After filing a missing person’s case, the authorities combed the area. Even though it sounds repetitive, Shanna was never seen again. To date, no one really knows what happened to her as soon as “she walked away” from her friend’s house. Either way, she joins the list of mysterious disappearances in the Alaska Triangle.

4 Paul Michael Lemaitre

Paul Michael Lemaitre, a 65-year-old marathoner, was competing for the first time in the 85th edition of the Mount Marathon Race when he suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. Usually, participants have to run up the thick-forested mountain and navigate through creeks for about three and a half miles.

Like any other competition, the Mount Marathon Race has its fair share of trouble, but none that involves sudden disappearance, which was the case for Lemaitre. The last person to see Lemaitre was a race steward. He remembered seeing him ascend to the turnaround point about 200 feet from the finish line.

Even though the weather conditions were foggy, the steward says he saw no problem for the runner. If anything, when asked his bib number, Lemaitre replied “548,” indicating that he was still conscious. However, this was Lemaitre’s last time ever seen or heard of. All the efforts by mountain rescue experts, state troopers, and search dogs proved futile. Was the fog part of Alaska’s Triangle evil doings to get its man? No one knows for sure.

3 Jael Tiara Hamblen

Last seen in the trailside loop area in southern anchorage, Alaska, a lady identified as Jael Tiara Hamblen was reported missing on October 11, 2014, in what appears to be a mixture of homicide and unexplained dark forces of the Alaska Triangle.

After having dinner with her roommate, Kendra Vincent Estrada, Hamblen thought of going out again, but her roommate opted to sleep since it was already 10 p.m. It is said that Hamblen was feeling upset on the said night because of relationship issues that she was having with an unnamed man. She opted to text another man asking if they could go out, to which he seemingly agreed.

Tragedy struck when Estrada couldn’t connect with Hamblen on the phone. It is unknown what happened on the night when the two left, but given that this is the Alaska Triangle we are talking about, anything could have happened. Apart from her purse and vehicle that were later recovered, there is no trace of Hamblen’s remains or whereabouts.

2 1950 Douglas C-54D

On the morning of January 26, 1950, Robert Espe, a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, waved goodbye to his wife, not knowing it was the last time they would see each other alive. As Robert and the other 43 passengers boarded the Douglas C-54D Skymaster, all was set for the journey to Montana to begin. Usually, all airborne aircraft must be in constant communication with the operators at the airport. However, this Skymaster cut off all communications moments after takeoff.

With friends and relatives waiting in Minnesota, their loved ones never arrived as fate would have. Very few cases of disappearances around the Alaska Triangle had been reported at the time. Over 75 Canadian and U.S. aircraft were assigned to look for the missing plane to no avail. The aircraft and the passengers’ remains have never been recovered.

1 The Disappearance of U.S. Reps. Nick Begich and Hale Boggs

If you thought only the Alaska Triangle only targets the “small fish,” you are wrong. In fact, one of the earliest victims was the country’s top powerful men in the form of Hale Boggs, the House majority leader from Louisiana, and Nick Begich, a freshman congressman from Alaska.

Together with their aides, the two had embarked on a journey that involved passing over Anchorage and Juneau in Alaska. However, their small plane vanished mid-air, prompting the government to call all hands on deck in a bid to locate the aircraft.

Several months later, no bodies or plane wreckage was recovered, ending the mission. Nobody really knows what happened to the famous figures, but we can all say with certainty that the Alaska Triangle must have played a part.