There are some of the biggest mysteries in history to go along with some of the most famous disappearances. Famous writers, masters of the sea, great explorers, and wealthy people all disappeared without leaving any answers as to what happened to them.
Others were lost on perilous journeys or had their last sighting in a known location and then were never found again. Even after years of investigation, rescue efforts and public interest, some cases are still unexplainable. Amelia Earhart's missing flight and Percy Fawcett's expedition into the Amazon still leaves questions unanswered. All this baffling activity serves as a reminder that there are still some historical disappearances which remain unexplained.
Famous Disappearances That Still Leave the World Searching for Answers
A high-profile disappearance can appear to be a mystery that someone will crack. But not even giant search parties and a worldwide audience glued to every new lead have always been enough to find the person missing. Some people made their way back, some left crash debris and belongings in their wake, some had eyesores that their loved ones could never get closure on.
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Amelia Earhart's Final Radio Call Came from Nowhere Near Howland Island
Amelia Earhart, the renowned American pilot, and her co-pilot Fred Noonan took off from Lae, New Guinea in 1937 with the intention to circumnavigate the earth on the equator and head toward the tiny Howland Island.
Earhart then radioed the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Itasca that she was losing sight of the island, and that she was out of fuel. That was the last anyone heard of Earhart and Noonan. An extensive search by both the navy and Coast Guard failed to locate any debris. Authorities declared her legally dead a couple of years later.
Agatha Christie Resurfaced After 11 Days Under a Stranger's Name
In December 1926, a mystery entirely of her own making unfolded as Britain's most beloved crime author, Agatha Christie, disappeared from her Berkshire home a few weeks after her husband, Archie, had asked for a divorce.
Someone discovered her car abandoned by a chalk pit, with her coat still hanging inside. After 11 days of police, bloodhounds, and volunteers (some of them authors Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers) scouring the country, authorities located her at a hotel in Harrogate listed under her husband's mistress's surname. Doctors said she had amnesia. Yet Christie never talked about it.
Judge Joseph Crater Stepped into a Cab and Became a National Punchline
Crater emptied his office, stole all his files, and withdrew more than $5,000 from his bank account. He then dined at a New York City chophouse. When he departed that evening, he disappeared. Crater's disappearance exposed that certain city judges paid for their judgeships in the Tammany Hall political machine and gave America a classic phrase for missing persons: Calling Judge Crater. There was no crime scene, no corpse.
Mallory And Irvine's Summit Bid Ended Somewhere Above the Clouds
In 1924, Britain's best-known mountaineer, George Mallory, and his partner, Andrew "Sandy" Irvine, left their high camp on Everest to attempt the summit once more. A member of the team who was scouting with a telescope spotted two faint figures on a ridge further up the mountain, before bad weather intervened.
They never returned. Mallory's body was found in 1999 by which time he had suffered a fatal fall; Irvine and his camera have yet to be found so their whereabouts in the world of frozen mountains 90 years ago is still up for debate.
Percy Fawcett Chased a Lost City into The Amazon and Stayed There
For 20 years, British explorer-colonel Percy Fawcett searched for the lost city of gold, called Z, in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. Fawcett journeyed into the jungles with his son, Jack, and his son's friend, Raleigh Rimmell, in 1925.
He implored his wife in a letter from a campsite called Dead Horse Camp not to bother with search parties if they did not find him. No more was heard of him. The press later reported that more than 100 searchers died, but that was an exaggerated figure, although very few actual casualties occurred.
Saint-Exupéry's Last Flight Was Found Decades Later on the Seabed
Four decades earlier, in 1944, French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry flew reconnaissance missions for the Free French Air Force right before the Allies invaded the south of France.
He took off from Corsica that year in a plane without armaments, but never came back. In 2003, French undersea archaeologists located his plane on the ocean floor. They found no sign of bullet or shrapnel damage. No one has ever located his body.
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Dorothy Arnold's Walk Through Central Park Never Ended
On December 12, 1910, Dorothy Arnold, the 25-year-old Manhattan heiress of a perfume-importing fortune, left her family's property and went shopping for a dress. She bought a few chocolates and a book, ran into an acquaintance a little later that day and assured her friends she would head home, walking across Central Park.
She did not. Her father withheld police reports to avoid scandal and hired private investigators instead. But those were the days when a good old-fashioned search might have turned up something, and because it was more than a month before authorities got involved, no one ever located Dorothy Arnold.
Louis Le Prince's Train Ride Erased Him from Film History
In 1888, the 48-year-old French engineer Louis Le Prince shot the oldest film still alive in Leeds, England. He was on a train en route to New York, on his way to demonstrate his new process publicly, when he pulled over in Dijon, France, to visit his brother, before attempting to fly to Paris on September 16, 1890.
His baggage and camera prototypes never reached Paris; he and his equipment simply vanished. The U.S. Patent Office never approved his patents, and his competitors, Thomas Edison and the Lumière brothers, claimed the history of cinema.
FAQs
1. What are the most famous disappearances in history?
Some of the most famous disappearances include Amelia Earhart, Dorothy Arnold, Percy Fawcett, Judge Joseph Crater, and George Mallory and Andrew Irvine.
2. Why do some famous disappearances remain unsolved?
Many cases remain unsolved because of limited technology, missing evidence, poor communication systems, dangerous locations, and a lack of reliable witnesses.
3. Did Amelia Earhart's plane ever get found?
No confirmed wreckage of Amelia Earhart's aircraft has been identified. Her disappearance during her 1937 flight remains one of aviation history's biggest mysteries.
4. Did Agatha Christie really disappear?
Yes. Agatha Christie disappeared in December 1926 and was found 11 days later at a hotel in Harrogate, England, registered under another name.
5. What is the oldest famous disappearance in history?
There are many ancient missing-person mysteries, but Louis Le Prince's disappearance in 1890 is among the notable early modern cases involving a famous inventor.
