1. Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart wasn’t just the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic—she was a true icon of her time. But in 1937, during an ambitious attempt to circumnavigate the globe, she vanished somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, along with her navigator Fred Noonan. Despite a massive search effort and decades of theories, no confirmed trace of their Lockheed Electra was ever found. Some think they crashed and sank, others believe they landed on an uninhabited island and survived for a time shares the New Yorker.
What makes her story so haunting is how close she was to finishing her journey. She had already completed about 22,000 of the 29,000-mile trip. And with her disappearance came a mountain of speculation, including talk of spies, secret missions, and even being taken prisoner. Yet no one has ever found the answers. Her legacy as a fearless pioneer remains, but the mystery around her fate has never truly faded adds HowStuffWorks.
2. Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce was a Civil War veteran turned journalist, best known for his biting wit and darkly clever writing. In 1913, at the age of 71, he left the U.S. to observe the Mexican Revolution up close. He wrote a few letters from the frontlines, then, as suddenly as a plot twist in one of his own stories, he was gone. No one ever heard from him again says the National Park Service.
Some believe he died during the Battle of Ojinaga, while others think he may have faked his own death. Theories swirl around murder, suicide, or simply getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. But without a body or any final word, the truth is lost to time. It’s eerie how fitting his disappearance seems for a man who lived by the pen and reveled in the macabre shares Literary Hub.
3. Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen was the kind of explorer you’d read about in adventure novels—only he was real. He was the first to reach the South Pole and had a string of polar triumphs behind him. But in 1928, when an Italian airship crashed during a polar expedition, Amundsen jumped into action to help with the rescue. He boarded a small plane and took off toward the Arctic.
He never came back. Pieces of the aircraft were eventually found, but no sign of Amundsen or his crew. For a man who had braved some of the harshest places on Earth, it felt tragically ironic. He’d survived so many deadly missions, only to disappear trying to save someone else. His body was never found, and his final act remains as much a mystery as it is a testament to his courage.
4. Edward V of England
When King Edward IV died in 1483, his 12-year-old son Edward V was next in line for the throne. But before he could be crowned, he and his younger brother Richard were taken to the Tower of London by their uncle, Richard III. That summer, the two boys vanished. No public explanation was given, and they were never seen again.
It’s one of England’s oldest cold cases. Most historians believe they were murdered to clear the way for Richard III’s rule, but no conclusive proof has surfaced. Skeletons found in the Tower centuries later might be theirs, but no DNA testing has ever confirmed it. For centuries, their story has symbolized the dark underbelly of royal politics.
5. Jean Spangler
Jean Spangler was a rising Hollywood actress with a small but promising career in the late 1940s. In 1949, she left her Los Angeles home saying she had a meeting with her ex-husband. She never came home. Her purse was later found in Griffith Park with a cryptic note that mentioned someone named “Kirk” and said “Can’t wait any longer.”
That led to all kinds of speculation. Some pointed to Kirk Douglas, who denied knowing her well. Others thought she might’ve been pregnant and planning to get an abortion, which was illegal at the time. There were even rumors of mafia involvement. The police chased every lead, but Jean Spangler simply vanished, leaving behind more questions than answers.
6. Theodosia Burr Alston
The daughter of Aaron Burr, Theodosia Burr Alston was a well-educated and deeply admired woman in early 1800s America. In 1812, she boarded a schooner called the Patriot to visit family but was never seen again. The ship vanished somewhere off the coast, and despite searches and reports of wreckage, nothing concrete was found.
Over the years, legends cropped up about pirates, shipwrecks, and even an old painting supposedly depicting her. Some believed she died in a storm, while others imagined more dramatic ends. Her father, already disgraced from his infamous duel with Alexander Hamilton, never recovered from the loss. Her disappearance remains one of the earliest maritime mysteries in American history.
7. Bison Dele
Bison Dele was an NBA player who walked away from fame and fortune in the prime of his career. He traveled the world, seeking meaning beyond basketball. In 2002, he set sail in the South Pacific with his girlfriend, brother, and the boat’s captain. A few weeks later, only his brother returned—and then vanished too.
The boat was found, but Dele and the others were gone. Authorities believe his brother may have killed them all during a dispute, then tried to cover it up. Before he could be arrested, the brother died of an apparent overdose. With no one left to explain what happened, Dele’s story has remained an eerie mystery drifting in the waves.
8. Judge Joseph Crater
“Missing since 1930” doesn’t usually sound like a punchline, but Judge Crater’s name became almost comedic shorthand for disappearing acts. He was a New York Supreme Court judge, well-connected and seemingly successful. But one night in August 1930, after dinner and a cab ride, he simply vanished.
His disappearance sparked headlines and investigations, and countless theories followed. Some blamed political corruption, others pointed to romantic entanglements. Every so often, a tip would surface—a buried body here, a secret note there—but nothing ever stuck. Judge Crater’s vanishing act became one of the most talked-about mysteries of his time, and it’s never been solved.
9. Harold Holt
Harold Holt was Australia’s Prime Minister when he went for a swim off Cheviot Beach in 1967 and never came back. It was a sunny day, and he was with friends, but he swam out into rough waters and disappeared beneath the waves. No body was ever recovered.
Theories bloomed like wildflowers. Some claimed he was taken by a Chinese submarine. Others thought he faked his death to escape political pressures. The government insisted he drowned, but the lack of a body kept conspiracy theories alive. Australians even built a memorial swimming pool in his name, a darkly ironic tribute to a leader who vanished into the sea.
10. Ettore Majorana
Ettore Majorana was a brilliant Italian physicist working on quantum mechanics in the early 20th century. He was often compared to geniuses like Einstein and Fermi. In 1938, he boarded a boat from Palermo to Naples and was never seen again. No one knows if he got off the boat or what happened next.
Some think he took his own life, overwhelmed by the moral implications of his research. Others believe he fled to a monastery or South America. Even decades later, rumors would surface about sightings. Despite his fame and the global scientific community searching for him, Majorana’s disappearance has remained one of science’s strangest mysteries.
11. Solomon Northup
You may know Solomon Northup from the memoir Twelve Years a Slave, which was later turned into an award-winning film. After gaining his freedom from slavery and touring to speak about his experiences, he disappeared from public records. No one knows how or when he died.
Some say he may have been kidnapped again. Others believe he lived quietly under the radar or passed away in obscurity. Given how famous his story became, it’s odd how little is known about his final years. His story had already defied the odds, but the way it ended remains frustratingly incomplete.
12. Percy Fawcett
Percy Fawcett was a British explorer obsessed with the idea of a lost city in the Amazon. In 1925, he headed deep into the jungle with his son and a small team, chasing what he called the City of Z. Then, nothing. No messages. No sightings. Just silence.
Despite numerous search parties and wild tales of jungle tribes, no verified trace of Fawcett was ever recovered. Some believe he was killed by indigenous people, others think he succumbed to the elements. His story inspired books and movies, including The Lost City of Z, but the truth is still buried somewhere beneath the Amazon’s thick canopy.