Among many mysterious things that have occurred in human history, certain events stay stuck in our memories, eventually leaving an undeniable mark of curiosity and perplexity. Among these stories are when humans mysteriously disappear, a lot like what happened to Amelia Earheart.
After combing through human history, these nine inexplicable disappearances that occurred during different eras and geographical locations have caught our attention. Their disappearance has left people with so many unanswered questions and various speculations. Join us as we journey through the mysterious disappearance of these important figures.
1) Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa is one of the most famous figures whose disappearance still baffles the whole of America. Hoffa was born to a coal miner father who died when he was just seven. This tragedy exposed him to a lot of childhood trauma. He left school at the age of 14, worked as a warehouseman, and soon after started his union-organizing activities.
Hoffa joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the 1930s and by 1958, he was already president of the largest labor union in the US. Sadly the union was said to be corrupt and soon enough the Teamsters were wanted by the authorities. Hoofer was only able to evade them for a while but eventually got caught in 1964.
Jimmy Hoffa’s Disappearance
Jimmy was arrested for a lot of things but tampering with the jury was the icing on the cake. After serving time, Hoffa was released in 1971 under one condition, if he stayed clear of all union activities. But he was true to his brothers and he allegedly had to do the one thing they asked him not to.
After Hoffa’s release, in 1975, he had a meeting with some of the Teamsters’ bosses at a suburban Detroit restaurant. It’s said that his meeting with these top people led to his disappearance. Hoffa was legally declared dead in 1982. His disappearance remains one of the oldest crime mysteries in the US.
2) Wallace D. Fard
The disappearance of Wallace Fard Muhammad also known as Wallace D. Fard is still one of the most unique disappearances of all time. Fard was born in Mecca but moved down to the United States a few years before 1930. Upon his immigration, he sought to continue his Islamic mission and this led him to establish the Temple of Islam in Detroit.
Fard didn’t stop there, he also established a school for the temple which he named the University of Islam. He also created what he referred to as the Fruit of Islam, a corps of just male guards. Fard’s preaching was not only for people like him, his main aim was to win the souls of the Black Americans.
The Disappearance Of Wallace D. Fard
Fard’s way of winning the soul of black Americans involved preaching that as “blacks” they must not allow anyone to refer to them as Negroes. He also tried to prepare them for what he believed was an unavoidable race war with their oppressors and slave owners. Another part of Fard’s preaching was that Christianity was the religion of slave owners.
After winning their souls, Fard gave his followers Arabic names as name replacements for those who were once slaves. Fard taught them the principles of right and wrong and gave them some sense of cultural superiority over their white oppressors. Fard disappeared without a trace in 1934. His members believed his disappearance was significant and declared his birthday “Saviors Day”.
3) Raoul Wallenberg
No one can deny that Wallenberg was a great man of courage, his humility was admired despite being from a well-connected and upstanding Swedish family. Because of his great individual courage, by the end of the Second World War Wallenberg was able to save as many as 100,000 people and even more.
Because of his family’s connections all over Europe, Wallenberg was recruited as a special envoy to help during a rescue operation of the Hungarian Jews in 1944. As a means of saving lives, Wallenberg distributed protective passports (Schutzpass) which saved at least 15,000 Jews.
The Disappearance Of Raoul Wallenberg
Wallenberg was a man of wisdom who always came up with great ideas. And just like every other day, Wallenberg headed out, his final destination was the Soviet Military Headquarters. He had his post-war reconstruction and employment plan for deportees in his briefcase, but the reconstruction plan never saw the light of the day. He was detained by the Soviet forces.
Wallenberg was arrested and detained in 1945. There were a few speculation but no one knew why he got arrested in the first place. The Soviet troops claimed that Wallenberg died in custody, his death was caused by a heart attack. No one knows the truth about Wallnbergs death and the truth is we might never know.
4) Solomon Northup
Solomon’s story will forever be remembered as one filled with perseverance, even with all the ill luck he had. Solomon was born as a free person in New York in 1808 but, was unfortunately sold into slavery in 1841. Just like every other slave Solomon met with erratic and sadistic masters and his life was filled with thorns and sorrows.
Luckily for Solomon in 1952, he was able to get across to his family in New York and was legally released in 1853. Solomon went ahead to co-write a memoir about his tough life as a slave titled “Twelve Years a Slave” which sold out fast. After a few years, Northup disappeared without a trace and people believe he died.
5) George Mallory
Goerge Mallory was a schoolmaster in England. As a side job, Mallory was also a professional mountain climber. He had gone through extensive training which helped him qualify for the first climbing expedition up Mount Everest in 1921 which failed.
His first attempt was hindered by high winds, a second attempt was made but that failed too and it eleven involved an avalanche that claimed the lives of seven porters. Mallory wasn’t content with the constant failure and decided to try out another expedition.
The Disappearance Of Goerge Mallory
Finally, in 1924 Mallory set out for his third expedition with another climber Andrew Irvine. Sadly both of them were never seen nor heard from ever again. Their disappearance has left people wondering if they ever made it to the top or not.
That was until Irvine’s axe was found in 1933 at about 27,750 feet and Mallory’s body was found in 1999 at about 26,760 feet. Although Irvine’s body was never found, these remains indicated that Mallory and his partner never made it to the top and lost their lives while trying.
6) Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose was a writer, he preferred to focus more on writing newspapers and short stories. He was well known and served during the American Civil War and also survived the war. Ambrose soon got married and gave birth to three children. Ambrose wrote a lot of novels and short stories and one of them was “The Devil’s Dictionary”.
This book contained a lot of social commentary but Ambrose masked it as a collection of witty definitions for well-known terms. Ambrose decided to leave the US during the Mexican Revolution in 1913 and headed to Mexico. And around December of that year, Ambrose disappeared without a trace leaving the world with different stories about his mysterious disappearance.
7) Edward V. Of England
King Edward IV was in Holland when his wife Elizabeth Woodville gave birth to his eldest son. After he returned from his trip, he decided to name his son the Prince of Wales. Everything turned sour when the king died and a dispute concerning the legitimacy of King Edward IV and Elizabeth’s marriage was challenged by their paternal and maternal uncles.
This dispute ultimately resulted in the incarceration of the two brothers, Edward V. and Richard. They were both locked in the Tower of London. In 1647, some skeletons were found in the tower and people were quick to point out that Edward V and his brother Richard were murdered and those skeletons belonged to them.
8) Al-Hakim
Al-Hakim ruled over the Fatimid Dynasty during the 10th – 11th century. The king was known for his bipolar personality and contradictory leadership. He ruled over Fatimid for 25 years and he was only 36 years at 1021. Al-Hakim would openly advocate for the rights of the poor only to turn around and make the most difficult orders.
Al-Hakim made laws restricting women from leaving the house and also forbade cobblers from making or selling female shoes. One night in February 1021 Al-Hakim rode himself out of Cairo and no one ever heard from him again nor did anyone find his body.
9) The Lost Colony Of Roanoke
This last mysterious disappearance is a real head-scratcher. It’s none other than the disappearance of about 100 settlers from their colony on Roanoke island during 1580. This colony was established by Gov. John White. He set out to get some essential supplies for the 100 settlers, but when he returned, they had all disappeared.
The only thing that was left was the word “CROATOAN”. It was carved on a fence post and “CRO” was on a tree. This was the name of the Native American tribe that lived in Roanoke. Croatoan has also been adopted by the present-day Hatteras Island. Several theories have been developed concerning their disappearance but nothing definite has come up.
Conclusion
As we try to walk through the shadowy corners of these nine mysterious disappearances we find ourselves standing on the hill of the unknown. Each tale screams uncertainty and leaves us with more questions than answers. Our curiosity persists and these disappearances are beyond our understanding.
Perhaps one day, we might be able to unfold the secrets hidden within the folds of these mystifying disappearances. Until then the mystery continues and our unanswered questions might forever stay unanswered.
