From legendary big band leader Glenn Miller to infamous union boss Jimmy Hoffa, we take a look at 10 famous people that mysteriously vanished.
10. Glenn Miller
Big band leader, Glenn Miller was pronounced missing in action on December 15th, 1944 when his plane disappeared en route to France. Miller, who was 38 at the time was the best selling recording artist from 1939 to 1943. He persuaded the United States Army to ‘draft’ him into service to lead a band on tour to boost the morale of the serving troops in World War 2. Miller was on his way to Paris, France when his plane vanished in bad weather. Several theories attempted to explain his mysterious disappearance including a faulty carburetor and even the idea that a returning allied bomber may have hit Miller’s aircraft with a jettisoned bomb unused from a failed German bombing raid.
9. Harold Holt
Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt mysteriously disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, Australia. Holt was with several others including his neighbour and rumoured lover Marjorie Gillespie to sea the British Yachtsman Alec Rose sail through the Port Phillip Heads when he decided to go for a swim in choppy conditions. Shortly after entering the water, Holt disappeared from view prompting his companions to call for help. The consequent search, which included the Royal Australian Navy, Air Force and local volunteers was one of the largest search operations in Australia’s history. The fact that Holt was a very experienced swimmer lead some to suggested that Holt’s disappearance was an elaborate cover-up. One theory surfaced claiming that Holt was a Russian spy and that he was picked up off the coast by a Soviet submarine. To this day Holt’s disappearance remains a mystery.
8. D.B. Cooper
At 2:50 pm on the 24th November, 1971, a man using the alias Dan (D.B.) Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 en route to Seattle, Washington from Portland, Oregon. Cooper passed a note to a flight attendant declaring he had a bomb and was indeed hijacking the aircraft. His note detailed his demands which included $200 000 in U.S. currency, 4 parachutes and a refuelling truck awaiting their arrival in Seattle. The airline authorized the ransom which was delivered to the plane upon landing in Seattle. All passengers and non-essential crew were released before D.B. Cooper instructed the plane to take off and fly south, towards Mexico City. Shortly after takeoff, the crew, who were instructed to remain in the cockpit with the door closed, noticed a change in cabin pressure, indicating that one of the aircraft’s doors may have been opened. The aircraft landed in Reno, Nevada for refuelling where an armed search by authorities revealed Cooper was no longer on board.
It is believed that Cooper jumped out of the aircraft with the ransom and while F.B.I. authorities initially thought there was no way he could have survived the jump, no conclusive evidence that he died has ever been found. In 1981 a young boy vacationing with his family near Vancouver, Washington found 3 packets of money washed along the riverbank that was later confirmed to have been given to Cooper. The rest of the ransom was never recovered leading to speculation that Cooper may have successfully parachuted to the ground safely. Despite an exhausting manhunt the incident remains the only unsolved case of air piracy in American history. The case still remains open to this day.
7. Richey Edwards
Richey Edwards, member of the rock band Manic Street Preachers disappeared on the 1st February 1995 shortly before he was due to head to the US on a promotional tour. The circumstances of his disappearance were certainly mysterious with several strange details uncovered in the subsequent police investigation. Firstly, Edwards was found to have withdrawn 200 pounds a day every day in the 2 weeks prior to his disappearance. On the 1st February he checked out of the Embassy Hotel in London and drove to his apartment in Cardiff, Wales. Some days later he was spotted in the Newport passport office and the Newport bus station. On the 7th February, a taxi driver reported picking up Edwards from outside the Kings hotel in Newport and then drove him to Blackwood which was Edwards’ home as a child. On the 14th February, Edwards’ car, a Vauxhall Cavalier was discovered abandoned at the Severn View service station. The battery was flat and there was evidence that the car had been lived in. Initially it was thought that the rockstar may have taken his own life as the car was discovered in close proximity to the Severn Bridge, a well known suicide location.
In the years following his disappearance, Edwards was reportedly spotted in the Canary Islands and even in a marketplace in Goa, India. Despite several sightings, Edwards was officially declared missing presumed dead on the 23rd November 2008 even though his body was never found.
6. Jimmy Hoffa
Perhaps the most well known missing person in history is Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa was the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union from 1958 to 1971 and was heavily implicated in organised crime and affiliation with the mob. Convicted of jury tampering, fraud and attempted bribery, Hoffa served 4 of a 13 year sentence after agreeing to resign as president of the union which was part of a pardon agreement with President Nixon.
Jimmy Hoffa vanished in July, 1975 after last being seen outside the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Detroit, Michigan. Since his mysterious disappearance, several mob hitmen have come forward claiming to have killed him but no one has ever been charged. His remains were even rumoured to have been buried under tonnes of concrete during construction at Giant’s Stadium in New Jersey.
Continue Reading On Next Page:
