Our world is full of peculiar things that nobody can figure out what and how they happen. In most cases, the mysteries become objects of fascination by scientists, investigators, journalists, and the public.

With some dedicated research led by determined qualified individuals, some secrets have been solved with great success. Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said to the following cases of missing people.

The lack of evidence hinders the investigation. The authorities’ efforts are often sprinkled with speculations and conspiracies, which do nothing but bring more confusion to the already challenging police work.

As time goes on, many cases of missing persons fade from public view, but some still stand out and gain the attention of the media even after years of unsuccessful search.

Even after the missing persons were legally declared dead because their disappearances have been too lengthy, their loved ones still crave for closures to at least try to understand what happened.

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10 /10 Jimmy Hoffa

On July 30, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa went missing in Detroit, Michigan, and was never found.

He rose to popularity among the working class in the city for organizing a labor strike, an event that earned him the attention of the Teamsters union.

During his tenure as the president of Teamsters, Hoffa developed relationships with high-ranking mobsters and was convicted of attempted bribery and obstruction of justice.

He served 13 years in prison. Several years after his release, Hoffa disappeared. In 1982, he was declared legally dead.

State Archives of North Carolina

9 /10 The Lost Colony

More than 100 English men, women, and children landed on Roanoke Island to establish a colony in July 1587.

About a month later, the settlers welcomed Virginia Dare’s birth, the first English baby born on American soil.

It was around the time when local tribes and the settlers had some rough relationships. Virginia’s grandfather, who also was the town’s governor, John White, sailed back to England to seek help.

When White returned three years later, the entire town had been abandoned. What happened to Virginia Dare and the rest of the settlers remains a mystery.






FBI

8 /10 D.B. Cooper

A man who identified himself as Dan Cooper was later known as D.B. Cooper, hijacked a plane on November 24, 1971.

He claimed to have concealed a bomb in his briefcase and demanded the following: $200,000 cash, four parachutes, and no funny stuff. 

The plane landed safely at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where the authorities handed over the demanded items.

Most passengers were evacuated, and the remaining crew entered the cockpit. Cooper ordered the pilot to fly at low altitude towards Mexico City, during which he jumped out and never to be seen again.

YouTube

7 /10 Joseph Force Crater

For a time, the phrase “pulling a Crater” was quite famous in public vernacular as a reference for going AWOL. The whole thing started from the disappearance of New York Supreme Court Judge Joseph Force Crater.

On August 6, 1930, Judge Crater went for dinner with an acquaintance at a Manhattan chophouse. He was last seen walking down the street outside the restaurant.

In the days leading to his disappearance, the judge reportedly received a mysterious phone call and cashed two personal checks of a substantial amount. He was legally declared dead in 1939.

YouTube

6 /10 Sodder Children Of Fayetteville, West Virginia

On the night before Christmas 1945, George and Jennie Sodder, along with their nine of 10 children, went to sleep. Their other son was in the army back then.

The fire broke out around 1 AM The parents and four of their children survived. The other five children: Maurice (14), Martha (12), Louis (9), Jennie (8), and Betty (5), disappeared and were never found.

George died in 1968, and his wife Jennie died in 1989 without knowing the whereabouts of their missing children. There have been speculations and clues, but none have led to anything conclusive.

YouTube

5 /10 Brandon Lawson

A 26-year-old father of four from Texas made a 911 call in the early morning of August 9, 2013. He identified himself as Brandon Lawson and was running out of gas near Bronte, Texas.

In the call in which he said some inaudible words, Lawson sounded chased by someone into the woods.

One could confidently guess that Lawson was panicked and distressed, but nobody could be 100% certain what happened to him that morning.

He just disappeared, and from that moment on, there has been no cellphone or bank activity in his accounts.

Reddit

4 /10 Juan Martinez

A Volvo truck carrying pure sulfuric acid was seen in the direction towards the Somosierra Mountain Pass in Madrid, Spain, on June 25, 1986, at around 6 AM.

Moments later, the Volvo crashed into an oncoming truck and overturned. Its dangerous cargo spilled all over the road.

Rescue workers were able to recover the corpses of truck owner Andres Martinez and his wife, Carmen Gomez.

In the notification call to Carmen’s mother, the officer was shocked to hear that another passenger inside the truck was named Juan Martinez. He was never found.

YouTube

3 /10 Iwona Wieczorek

On July 16, 2010, Iwona went to a club in Sopot, Poland, with her friend Adria and three boys she had only known for about a month. In the middle of the party at the club, Iwona was seen rushing out of the club.

The surveillance camera confirmed that she was seen walking near Adria’s apartment and presumably on her way home. That was around 4 AM. Iwona most likely reached the area where she lived, but she never returned home.

The police have since interrogated more than 100 people and offered a reward of $270,000 for information leading to her whereabouts, which until today remain unknown.

YouTube

2 /10 Owen Parfitt

Although Owen Parfit seemed to realize that most people were skeptical about his stories of great battles and courtships with numerous women in his youth, he kept telling his tales anyway.

Parfitt had paralysis in his old days, forcing him to stay seated almost all the time. Then one day in the 1760s, he suddenly disappeared.

He couldn’t have walked off, but even farmworkers across the porch from where Parfitt had just been spotted sitting didn’t see anyone picking him up. He was there one moment and gone the next.

YouTube

1 /10 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

More than 200 people onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 seemed to vanish mid-air on March 8, 2004. The flight began, as usual, departing from Kuala Lumpur with 12 crew members and 227 passengers.

However, soon after the takeoff, the plane headed back across the Malaysian Peninsula, not to Beijing where it was initially scheduled.

Then the flight vanished. Years of investigation by air and sea still have not revealed what happened to the flight and the fate of all 239 passengers on board.

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