The Most Mysterious Disappearances That Are Hard to Believe (14 photos)

When a person or group of people disappears without a trace, all sorts of theories, sometimes supernatural, begin to emerge. The people in this collection vanished forever, and their stories have already become surrounded by legends and rumors.





When a person, or even worse, a group of people, disappears, it always raises questions. It also gives rise to a ton of rumors. Sometimes this is how urban legends and other incredible stories begin. Most of the people on this list disappeared for unknown reasons, and their whereabouts—dead or alive—have never been revealed. But if the disappearance of ships in the Bermuda Triangle can still be explained logically, then how could a man in a wheelchair, who had suffered a stroke, vanish, leaving behind only a coat?



1. Intrepid explorer Percy Fawcett was last seen in 1925, when he and his son Jack were leading a search for an ancient lost city in the Brazilian jungle. Many suspected they were killed by locals or torn to pieces by animals. Even more absurd theories were also put forward, such as that Fawcett had become the leader of a tribe. His image partially inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create the literary character Professor Challenger.





2. In the late 16th century, a group of English colonists founded a settlement on Roanoke Island, in present-day Carolina. John White, an artist and friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, was appointed governor. In 1587, White sailed home to England for a short time, then returned to Roanoke three years later. Upon arriving on the island, he found the colony deserted. Everyone had vanished without a trace, including the first English child born in the New World, Virginia Dare. To this day, no one knows what happened to the "lost colony."



3. In 1809, Benjamin Bathurst, a British diplomat, mysteriously disappeared while staying at a hotel in Germany. The press speculated on various theories about his disappearance: it could have been murder, kidnapping by the French government, or suicide.



4. In 1763, a scandal erupted in the quiet village of Shepton Mallet. Sixty-year-old Owen Parfitt, who had suffered a stroke and was barely able to walk, disappeared while sitting in a chair at the entrance to his sister's house. All that remained was his coat. The investigation into the incident led nowhere, and the mystery remained unsolved.



5. Royal Navy diver Lionel "Buster" Crabb disappeared mysteriously in 1956 after being sent to spy on a Soviet ship. Someone later claimed to have killed Crabb when he discovered him planting a magnetic mine on the ship's hull. Some believe he was captured and taken to the Soviet Union.



6. One of Britain's greatest unsolved mysteries is the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on the Scottish island of Flannan in December 1900. Theories for their disappearance ranged from alien abduction to murder. But most likely, they were simply washed out to sea during a storm.



7. British explorer George Bass became famous for his explorations of Australia. In February 1803, he set out on a voyage to Tahiti and the Spanish colonies on the coast of Chile and never returned. Some historians speculate that he may have been involved in smuggling to Chile and killed there. In this photo, you can see his image on a postage stamp.



8. On November 8, 1974, the day after his children's nanny was found bludgeoned to death in his ex-wife's home, British Lord Lucan disappeared. Although reports of him came in from all corners of the planet, he was never found. In 1999, he was officially declared dead.



9. When Edward IV died unexpectedly in 1483, his brother Richard III succeeded to the throne, declaring Edward's two young sons illegitimate. They were placed in the Tower of London and disappeared shortly thereafter. Popular legend holds that Richard murdered the children, but the mystery persists to this day.



10. In 1948, a British plane with 31 passengers on board disappeared in the infamous Bermuda Triangle. The investigation found no wreckage or bodies. Investigators involved in the case admitted they had never encountered a more difficult problem. A year later, another British plane vanished in mid-air somewhere between Bermuda and Jamaica.



11. Agatha Christie's mysterious 11-day disappearance in 1926 is as much of a mystery as those found in her detective novels. The writer, who was eventually discovered at the Harrogate Hotel, never explained why she disappeared. Popular theories include a nervous breakdown and a desire to embarrass or worry her husband (who had then announced his desire for a divorce). Others believe it was simply a publicity stunt.



12. Victor Grayson, the first socialist elected to the British Parliament, mysteriously disappeared one evening in 1920, telling friends he needed to stop by the Queen Hotel in Leicester Square for a quick visit. Rumors circulated that the MP had made numerous enemies in high places. It is believed he was murdered to stop the investigation he was conducting into government corruption.



13. In 1845, British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew of 128 men disappeared after setting out in search of the Northwest Passage. What happened to the crew remains unknown. Analysis of human remains found on Beechey and King William Islands in the 1980s suggests that after their ships became trapped in ice, many of the men died from disease, starvation, and lead poisoning. There were also cases of cannibalism.