These stories may sound like a thriller script or creepy pasta, but they really happened. At different times and under different circumstances, people have disappeared without a trace. Only some of the cases have been resolved. Here are mysterious disappearances, the explanation of which remains unclear to this day.
When one man disappears, one can always suspect an accident, kidnapping or even a voluntary change of identity. Cases of mass disappearances remain the most mysterious. Ghost villages and ghost ships have been breeding grounds for horror and science fiction writers for centuries.
The lost colony of Roanoke
An English ship with the necessary meals reached Roaroke Island. It was 1590 and a colonial settlement had been established here a few years earlier. John White, cartographer and colony governor, saw smoke from the ship. On this basis, he concluded that he was coming out of the chimneys, so everything was fine. However, when the crew arrived, they did not find a single inhabitant. The only clue that could lead the newcomers to any trail was the word "CRO" engraved on the tree. "CROATOAN" is engraved on another tree.
White wasn't entirely surprised. When he was leaving the island three years earlier, he made an appointment with those who stayed in the settlement that if they had to move, they should carve the name of the place of relocation on the tree. "CROATOAN" was the name of an Algonquian tribe inhabiting a neighboring island. It was also the name of the island itself. Since these Indians were allies of the colonists, White did not suspect their threat. He was about to make it to the island, but a storm struck and damaged two of his ship's three anchors. White couldn't risk breaking the third anchor, supplies were running out and it was time to go back to England. The mystery of the disappearance of the colony's inhabitants remains unsolved to this day.
The mystery of Mary Celeste
On land, people can always move. Before the world was under the watchful eye of cameras and satellites, there was a possibility that a group would move unnoticed from place to place. The real mystery is the so-called ghost ships. If the ship itself did not sink, where were the crew? One of the most famous cases is "Mary Celeste".
On December 4, 1872, the crew of the ship "Dei Gratia" was on the high seas, 600 miles off the coast of Portugal. Suddenly, the captain spotted another ship he recognized as an American merchant ship - the Mary Celeste. When they approached, they did not see anyone on board or at the helm, and some of the sails were damaged. When there was no answer to the cries, the captain sent three men to investigate the situation. They did not find a single man on the entire ship. Even so, the Mary Celeste itself was in fairly good condition, and the goods lay quietly beneath the deck.
Everything indicated that the crew left the ship suddenly, in a great hurry. The logbook and most of the clothes and equipment were left in place. Even food and tobacco were not taken. Some documents and a few navigational instruments were missing. The crew used the small sailboat that was provided as a lifeboat.
Pirates? Rebellion on the ship? Storm? There was nothing to indicate any of the threats and it is still unknown what happened.
In 1979, a group of young people took the Sarah Joe boat to fish from the Hawaiian island of Maui. When they were at sea they were met by an exceptionally heavy storm. They never came home.
Such disappearances were not uncommon. Given the circumstances, the family concluded that they drowned. The real mystery, however, begins nine years later, when parts of the Sarah Joe's boat were found on a small island 3,200 kilometers from Maui. The boat wreckage alone would not be all that amazing. If they did not go to the bottom, they must have swam somewhere. It turned out, however, that there is also the grave of one crew member. What happened to the rest? Who dug the grave? These questions have never been answered satisfactorily.
Whoever messes with the broadly understood power may find himself in a real trouble. The secret services of totalitarian states, mafias, and even corporations' militias are known for kidnappings and killings. Where human life matters little, many such killings are committed overtly - even ostentatiously, to scare others away. An example is the murder of Leon Trotsky in Mexico, the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London and the murders of Colombian trade unionists. However, there are cases that are not entirely clear. An uncomfortable political stance is believed to have caused them, but there is no clear evidence of whether or how these people were disposed of.
Raoul Wallenberg
Wallenberg's case is not entirely mysterious. We know that the Soviet Union contributed to his disappearance. It is not known what exactly was done with it.
Born into an influential Swedish family, however, he was somewhat different from his siblings and cousins. Quiet, modest, ordinary. He turned out to be a hero when he saved at least 100,000 people during World War II. Budapest Jews. Since he managed to outsmart the Nazis and avoid death, he had to feel safe when the liberating Red Army occupied Hungary. On January 13, 1945, he revealed his identity to the Soviet patrol and asked to be brought to the local headquarters in order to establish contact with the new authorities. The Soviet Union hoped to force him to assume the role of a double agent. As it failed, he was probably murdered. However, there were witnesses who saw him in the 60's and 80's in a Soviet prison. To this day, his case has not been fully explained.
General Włodzimierz Zagórski
The case of the disappearance of a Polish general casts a shadow on the history of the Second Polish Republic. Włodzimierz Zagórski was a well-educated military man from a noble family. He participated in the formation of the Polish Legions during World War I. He was Piłsudski's superior, which led to a sharp conflict between them. During the oath crisis, he opted for serving alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, which further aggravated the mutual aversion.
After the war, he was removed from military service, although he took part in the Polish-Bolshevik war. Later he was engaged in business for some time. Restored to favor by General Sikorski, he took up the expansion of Polish aviation. There are different views on the fairness and meaningfulness of his actions at this time. We are not going to judge what is true or analyze the correctness of Zagórski's political decision. Nothing explains what happened next.
After the May coup he was accused of personal bombing of Piłsudski's troops during the clash in Warsaw, then he was interned and imprisoned. On August 6, 1927, he was released from prison and taken to Warsaw for a personal meeting with Piłsudski. Apparently, near Krakowskie Przedmieście, he got off and entered the Fajansa bathhouse. From that moment on, the trail breaks off. The then press from Piłsudski accused him of desertion and escape due to debts. Supposedly, he was supposed to flee Poland and develop a business in Egypt. Another version says that he was murdered that day or shortly thereafter on Piłsudski's orders. To this day, the truth has not been discovered.
Missing children
Many of the stories about disappearances in national parks are about children. At least some of these events turned out to be the result of confusion and confusion. Some of the children were found after one or several days of wandering in the wild, others were unfortunately found dead. Many cases remain unresolved to this day.
For many centuries, the disappearances of children were associated not only with the momentary inattention of their parents, an unfortunate coincidence or kidnappers. Children from poorer families were forced to work, to travel long distances, e.g. to school (if they had a chance to go there). Even a trip to the family could end up disappearing in the forest.
To conclude on a positive note, I recall the strange story of a boy who was found alive and well. In January 2019, three-year-old Casey Hathaway from North Carolina (USA) was playing in front of his grandmother's house when she suddenly realized that the boy was not around. The child was searched for three days. As it was the middle of winter in a place surrounded by forests, with each passing day hope to save the boy was lost. Three days later, the rescue team found him in the bushes, crying and cold, but otherwise healthy. The boy told the police and the family that he had been helped by a bear that kept him warm for three days. The story has become famous all over the world. Animal lovers pointed out the unusual behavior of a wild animal. Nature experts were more skeptical. They assumed that the child had either made up the whole story or made it more colorful. Casey returned home safe and sound, but what happened to him during the three days in the forest remains a mystery to this day.
Stories about disappearances in various circumstances allow us to better understand possible threats, but also reveal a completely different face of history. It is a world of dirty politics, mafia accounts, overwhelming forces of nature, and sometimes a world of complete secrets that are still waiting to be discovered today.
Bibliography:
- Tom Schouweiler, he lost colony of Roanoke: opposing viewpoints, San Diego 1991
- Simon Seymour, Strange mysteries from around the world, New York 1997
- Katie Dicker, Missing !, London 2015
- Kati Marton, Wallenberg: missing hero, New York 1995
- Piotr Stawecki, Biographical Dictionary of Generals of the Polish Army, 1918-1939, Warsaw 1994
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