It’s really not easy to pull off a successful vanishing act. It’s one thing for someone out of the public eye to attempt to fly off the radar, which is difficult enough, but it’s another thing for a celebrity. Yet, it does happen.
Over the years, there have been a handful of actors, actresses, and even Prime Ministers who manage to disappear, never to be heard from or seen again.
Richey Edwards
The lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers disappeared on February 1st, 1995. That was the same day that the band was supposed to fly to the US.
His abandoned car was found in a parking lot with the battery dead. Fans said they had seen him a few times, and had no idea that he was missing. The car was found close to a bridge that people commit suicide on. Nothing has been confirmed, though.
Connie Converse
Connie Converse was a 1950s musician who is now coined as the first modern singer-songwriter. But in 1961, she quit music altogether. In her mind, she hadn’t made it big enough and she was convinced that she was a failure.
She disappeared in 1974. She wrote a letter to her friends that she was going to start fresh somewhere else and loaded up her car. No trace of her has ever surfaced.
Jim Sullivan
Jim Sullivan was a folk rocker in the 60s and 70s. He would head out to start a new life in Nashville, but would never make it. Somewhere between L.A. and Nashville, something went terribly wrong.
His car was abandoned in the desert outside of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Sullivan’s wallet, clothing and guitar were all found in a nearby motel, but no one ever saw or heard from him again.
Barbara Newhall Follett
Follett was a writing prodigy and that might even be an understatement. By the age of 13, she had already written a novel — by 18 she had four.
But, at just 26 years old, she vanished out of thin air. In 1939, she had an argument with her husband and left the house. She never returned and no trace was ever found of her. Her mom didn’t know she was missing for 15 years, and the press for nearly 25.
Bison Dele
Bison Dele was a former professional basketball player who is believed to have been murdered by his older brother in 2002 while out at sea, although no one knows for sure.
His brother was the only other person on the sailing trip with Dele, and he was the only one to return. His brother intentionally overdosed on insulin and died as a result. He was the only one who had information about the death.
Oscar Zeta Acosta
Oscar Zeta Acosta is a legendary Chicano activist. He was known for consuming lots of narcotics and alcohol and for his affiliation with Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. He even appeared as a character in Fear and Loathing.
In 1974, he visited an ancestral home and simply vanished. Many believe that he was probably assassinated by a political opponent. Some think that Acosta didn’t die but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Rico Harris
Rico Harris was a gentle giant and a talented basketball player and athlete. Harris was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters and a top one hundred NBA recruit. He has not been seen since October 10, 2014, spotted somewhere along Route 16 near Sacramento, California.
Investigators located his Nissan Maxima in a parking lot with no gas and a dead battery. They later located his backpack along a nearby creek, with a cell phone with selfies and video accidentally taken while driving through Yolo County, singing along to music.
Harold Holt
Harold Holt was nearly two years into his term as Australia’s 17th Prime Minister when he went missing. He decided to go swimming at a deserted beach in Victoria, and never returned to shore. They never found his body and in 2005 it was concluded that he had, in fact, drowned.
An impressive man, Holt had his own legal practice, served in the Australian Army, and was the nation’s Treasurer at one point.
Theodosia Burr Alston
For one second, imagine if today, the U.S. Vice President’s daughter just vanished without a trace. Well, that was a reality for America in 1813 when Vice President Aaron Burr’s daughter went missing.
Theodosia Burr Alston was married to Joseph Alston, Governor of South Carolina. Theodosia was only 29 years old when she went missing at sea while aboard the Patriot, a notoriously fast ship. In fact, all of its passengers went missing on the ship’s return to New York.
Sean Flynn
Actor and photojournalist Sean Flynn appeared in ten movies in his route to top his famous father, actor Errol Flynn. Flynn went to Vietnam to cover the war as a photojournalist, differentiating himself from his dad.
Flynn wasn’t timid- he sought out to take the best images possible. In April 1970, while traveling with special forces units in Cambodia, Flynn and another photojournalist, Dana Stone, were captured by communist guerrillas, and never heard from again.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Antoine de Saint-Exupery is best known as the author of a well-known children’s book called The Little Prince. The author also held a great interest in aviation, and was a recreational pilot. When France entered WWII, he volunteered for the air force.
During his tenth mission in 1944, he took off for the Mediterranean and was never seen again. Wreckage from his plane was recovered in 2000, but his body wasn’t.
Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson was a well-known American businessman who traveled to Thailand in the 1950s with plans to revitalize the silk industry. At the time, he was one of the most famous Americans living in Asia. It was a shock when he went missing while on a walk in Malaysia in 1967.
An extensive search was conducted but to no avail. A few years later, bones were found near the spot he was last seen, but the remains were missing a skull. The bones were never proven to be Thompson’s.
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce, an American satirical writer vanished in 1914 at the age of 71. Considered one of the most influential journalists in the U.S. at the time, there are many theories surrounding his disappearance. One of which is that he headed to the Mexican town of Ojinaga, traveling from Chihuahua.
The small town fell under siege because of the ongoing Mexican revolution, not long after he arrived, and he wanted to experience it firsthand. Many believe that he was captured and killed by the Mexican government.
Lord Lucan
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, also known as Lord Lucan, livid a lavish lifestyle, complete with power boats and Aston Martins. His beautiful life quickly collapsed with the downfall of his marriage to Veronica Duncan.
Veronica received custody of the kids, and Lord Lucan was furious. Living at a nearby property, one night he broke into the family home and attempted to murder Veronica. He first attacked the nanny, possibly by mistake, before going after her. Afterward, he disappeared. Although there have been hundreds of reported sightings, Lucan has not been found.
Dorothy Arnold
The daughter of fine goods importer Francis Arnold, Dorothy Arnold was a Manhattan socialite who disappeared in New York City on December 12, 1910. She was only twenty-five years old at the time. That morning, she had told her mother that she was going shopping.
However, she never returned from that shopping trip. Dorothy was last seen by a cashier on Fifth Avenue. Although her rich father hired private investigators and alert the New York City Police, she was never found.
Scott Smith
Scott Smith was a founding member of the Canadian rock group Loverboy, best known for their hits “Working for the Weekend” and “Turn MeLoose”. Smith, the bassist of the award winning band, set off for Mexico with a few friends on a 37-foot boat.
On November 30, 2000, Smith and his friends were sailing off the coast of California, near San Francisco, when they were hit by some bad weather. A large wave hit the boat, sending Smith into the water. Smith’s remains have never surfaced. He was pronounced missing at sea.
Fan Bingbing
She was an A-Lister in China and starred in her first American movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past. After it was leaked that she was evading taxes in China, she was not seen for four months. To give context, in China, Fan is like A Lady Gaga or Scarlett Johansson.
People were distraught while she was missing, but it was later revealed that Bingbing was being held under a special kind of house arrest while tax authorities scoured her financial records. She was spared from criminal charges. This is one of the only disappearances on the list that has been solved.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was a pilot, teacher, author, fashion designer, magazine editor, and so much more. An iconic woman today, Earhart decided to embark on a trip around the world in 1937. But, on July 2nd of that year, she sent out a radio message asking for help.
She was running low on fuel while flying over the Pacific Ocean. Neither her plane or body has ever been found. She is one of the most famous missing people in history.
Ylenia Maria Sole Carrisi
Ylenia Maria Sole Carrisi is the famous daughter of Albano Carrisi and Romina Power, both famed Italian actors and musicians. Carrisi went traveling solo, spending time in Belize before going to New Orleans. When her brother decided to surprise her for Christmas, she was missing. He was told that she had boarded a bus to Mexico.
The last time was seen was in the French Quarter of New Orleans on January 6, 1004. A security guard in the area that she went missing claims he saw a girl jump into the Mississippi River yelling “I belong in the water”.
Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller was a best-selling recording artist from the late 1930s to the 1940s. He was exceptionally gifted as a trombonist, arranger, bandleader, and composer during the swing era. He recorded 16 number-one records and 69 top ten hits in just four years – that’s more than Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
In 1942, Miller wrote the Army Brigadier and persuaded him to let him serve in the Army as a civilian, leading a modernized Army Band. In 1944, he was traveling to Paris to play a concert for the troops when his plane disappeared over the English Channel. No one on board has ever been found. His legacy is carried on with the U.S. Air Force Band.
Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer who was the first to reach the South Pole in 1914. A courageous individual and pioneer, Amudsen was also the first to lead an air expedition to the North Pole.
In 1928, he was taking part in a dangerous rescue mission for the airship Italia when the passenger plane he was navigating disappeared. Some parts of his aircraft were found, but no bodies have ever been recovered.
Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa was a union official presiding of the Teamster for over ten years. He was incredibly corrupt and known to be involved in organized crime, up until the day of his disappearance. Hoffa went to prison but was still the boss of the Teamsters.
After getting pardoned by President Nixon and released from jail, he was kidnapped, last seen on July 30, 1975. His capture and death is still a mystery to this day– he was declared legally dead in 1982.
Patrick McDermott
Patrick McDermott was famous for his relationship with Olivia Newton-John, but his death sprung him to new heights and fame. He disappeared off of a fishing boat in 2005 and wasn’t reported missing until about a week after.
The 20-plus passengers on the boat gave conflicting testimonies. Some say that he drowned, while other theories are that he faked his death to get his life insurance policy. His ex-wife Yvette Nipar believes he is dead.
Joe Pichler
Joe Pichler was a child actor best known for his roles in Beethoven films, and Varsity Blues. In early 2006, Pichler was out with friends playing cards. His friends reported that he left in his car to go home and was never seen again.
His car was found abandoned with all of Pichler’s belongings inside. Police found what they believe to be a suicide note but it was very vague.
Jean Spangler
The American model, dancer, and actress went missing under mysterious circumstances. Her case remains open to this day. She left her home in 1949 to meet her former husband to talk about custody.
She never returned, but the weird thing was that her ex-husband had no plans of meeting with her. He was with his new wife the entire time. Her purse was found with the straps broken at a nearby park.
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was a famous English explorer. While exploring, conditions aboard the ship were worsening by the day. Hudson’s crew was hungry, homesick, half-frozen, and irritated. They banded together and put Hudson, his son, and seven other men on a small boat and sent them off.
They were never seen again, while the other crew managed to make it back to England. They were arrested and sentenced for his disappearance.
Azaria Chamberlain
In 1980, Azaria Chamberlain was only nine weeks old when she disappeared while her parents were camping in the outback. Her mother was convicted of murdering her daughter and sentenced to life in prison.
After serving three years, she was released from custody when a piece of the baby’s clothing was found in a dingo lair. The charges against the parents were dropped because of this evidence and she was paid $1.3 million for false imprisonment.
Frank Morris
There have been 36 inmates who have tried to escape Alcatraz, and five are currently listed as “missing”. Frank Morris is the most famous one of them all.
Morris was presumed drowned but there is other evidence that proves that might not be the case. The San Francisco police received a letter from Morris’s brother saying that he survived and was going by a different name. No one will know.
Soloman Northup
Soloman Northup was born into a family that was free in the 1800s. While his dad had been a slave previously, he wasn’t by the time he had Soloman.
He married a girl named Anne Hampton in the late 1820s, and had been offered work in Washington DC. Well, it was a ruse. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He was released ten years later and made a memoir titled “Ten Years of Slave”. He was kidnapped a short time later and was never seen again.
Heinrich Muller
Heinrich Muller is considered to be one of the most disgraceful people of the twentieth century- that’s quite a reputation. He was the chief of the Gestapo, the secret state police of Nazi Germany.
He was tasked with advancing false information used to justify invading Poland and attended the Wannsee Conference in January 1942. Muller was last observed on May 1, 1945 and has not been seen or heard from since. Many believe he committed suicide.
Naya Rivera
Hollywood was shocked when Glee star Naya Rivera went missing at Lake Piru in Southern California on July 8, 2020. The star had rented a pontoon boat with her 4-year-old son, but never returned.
When an employee when out to recover the boat, they found Naya’s son in the boat alone. After search and rescue mission, authorities were able to recover the 31-year-old’s body and determined that she had rescued her son from the water but didn’t have enough strength left to save herself.
Hale Boggs
Hale Boggs was a famous politician, known for investigating JFK’s assassination and for becoming a House majority leader during Nixon’s presidency. On October 16, 1972, he boarded a small aircraft in Alaska to head to Juneau.
However, Hale never arrived in Juneau, and was never seen again. Some believe that the aircraft failed due to bad weather, but the massive search party was unable to find the plane at all.
Michael Rockefeller
Being that Michael Rockefeller was a member of the famous Rockefeller family, his 1961 disappearance shook the public. The heir and socialite went missing while boating around what was then called Netherlands New Guinea.
When his boat overturned near the Asmat region, Michael’s body was never recovered. Some believe he drowned, while others claim it was the local tribes who are responsible for Michael going missing. It still remains a mystery.
“Sweet Jimmy” Robinson
“Sweet Jimmy” Robinson was briefly famous for boxing against the great Muhammad Ali in 1961. News about Robinson’s disappearance emerged when ESPN sought to find every one of Muhammad’s opponents.
That’s when it was discovered that the last time Robinson was seen was back in 1979 when a photographer found him barely scraping by on veterans benefits. Writer Wright Thompson spent six years trying to locate Robinson, with no luck.
Daniel Lind Lagerlof
Swedish writer and director Daniel Lind Lagerlof was scouting locations for his upcoming horror flick when he went missing in 2011. He was venturing through Tjurpannan, an island off Sweden’s mainland.
Since the island is desolate, Daniels disappearance is all the more mysterious. His body was never uncovered, leading some to believe he drowned after being caught on slippery rocks in the large surf, with no way to escape along the steep cliffs.
Zahir Raihan
Novelist Zahir Raihan rose to fame for his 1971 documentary Stop Genocide, which shed light on Bangladeshi refugees. In January 1972, Zahir went missing just one month after Bangladesh declared independence.
What’s worse is that Zahir’s brother, a notable writer named Shahidullah Kaiser, had vanished a few days prior. Zahir was reportedly searching for his brother when he himself went missing. It’s believed that both brothers were killed by the Pakistan army and its collaborators.
Weldon Kees
In the 1950s, Weldon Kees was a San Francisco poet on the brink of making it big. Though he was friends with famous writers like Graham Greene, Weldon’s own dwindling success was pulling him into the depths of depression.
On July 19, 1955, Weldon disappeared. His car was uncovered at the Golden Gate Bridge, but his body was not. Also missing was Waldon’s wallet and saving account book, leading some to believe he fled.
Art Scholl
Art Scholl was once Hollywood’s most in-demand flyer. Before the days of CGI, Scholl would get phone calls to fly, dive, and dip in films such as The Right Stuff, The Great Waldo Pepper, and Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise
Sadly, it was a stunt for the latter film that led to Scholl’s disappearance in 1985. Performing an upside-down stunt, Scholl radioed, “I’ve got a problem here,” before crashing into the Pacific Ocean. Neither Scholl nor his Pitts Special plane was ever found.
Christina “Licorice” McKechnie
In the 1960s, Christina “Licorice” McKechnie was part of The Incredible String Band, alongside her boyfriend and two other friends. The folksy band saw modest success, thanks to McKechnie’s songwriting and haunting vocals.
Then, in 1986, she vanished while visiting family in Edinburgh, Scotland, and her whereabouts have been unknown since. While some people have said she was recovering from surgery, others say they’ve seen her hitchhiking in the desert. No one knows for sure.
Hart Crane
A leading figure in 20th century American Poetry, Hart Crane wrote in an intellectual yet tutored style. One of his more famous pieces of work is the long epic “The Bridge,” a poem to compete with T.S. Elliot’s “The Waste Land.”
In 1932, Crane boarded an ocean liner headed to New York from Mexico, where he was working on his next great poem. It isn’t clear if the poet jumped or fell into the Atlantic Ocean, but his body was never recovered.
Ian MacKintosh
Ian MacKintosh left the Royal Navy and became a best-selling thriller author before moving into onscreen entertainment. He is responsible for creating the dramas Thundercloud, Battleship, and Sandbaggers.
On a trip to Alaska in 1979, MacKintosh and two of his friends were flying a single-engine Rally 235 airplane. After calling in a distress signal, the coast guard went to find the three passengers. Mysteriously, when they arrived at the coordinates, there was no crash in sight. MacKintosh has disappeared.
Pierre Bianconi
A professional soccer player in France throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Pierre Bianconi, was unfortunately known for his rough behavior on the field. People aren’t sure if he had enemies, and that is what led to his disappearance in 1993.
Even so, he was spotted in the port city of Bastia. It was the last time anyone saw the soccer player. While his car was found, he never was.
Ylenia Carrisi
Ylenia Carrisi was born into a famous family. Her father, Albano Carrisi, was a popular Italian singer, and his wife, Romina Power, was an American songwriter. It didn’t take long for Ylenia to break into the entertainment business, making her debut in the movie Champagne in Paradiso.
Taking a sabbatical from the University of London in 1994, Ylenia made her way stateside to Florida and the French Quarter of New Orleans. There, she left behind her luggage and passport, never to be seen again.
Forrest Schab
Vancouver-based musician Forrest Schab broke into the industry in 2009, succeeding as a singer for the next year.
In 2010, a “Happy Birthday” social media post appeared on one of his friend’s timelines. It was the last anyone heard from the young musician. Many news outlets believe his disappearance is linked to organized crime.
Zelim Bakaev
Zelim Bakaev made a name for himself with pop songs such as “Without You” and “Nana” before appearing on a Russian version of Star Academy. According to NewNowNext, the 25-year-old singer was set to arrive at the studio to audition for the show in 2017.
He never arrived, having, supposedly, been captured by local authorities. This was never proven, and Bakaev’s body has never been found.
John Brisker
Basketball player John Brisker was a star athlete in the ABA in the 1970s, soon moving to the NBA, signing with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1972. Sadly, his playing wasn’t up to par with the rest of the NBA, and he was cut in 1975.
Looking for business ventures outside of basketball, Brisker moved to Uganda in 1978. It was the last anyone heard from the former NBA player. He was never heard from or found.
Urgel “Slim” Wintermute
In 1939, the NCAA decided to host its first-ever college basketball tournament. A leading star in the game was the towering center Urgel “Slim” Wintermute. After his college ball days, Wintermute worked at a plane manufacturing company.
It wasn’t until he was 60 years old that he went missing. While out on a boat in Lake Washington, Wintermute vanished. His friend said he went to sleep, woke up, and Wintermute was gone. It isn’t clear if he fell into the lake but his body was never found.
Natalee Holloway
While Natalee Holloway wasn’t a celebrity before she went missing in 2005, her circumstances made her a famous name. On a class trip to Aruba, Holloway was out one evening and was never seen again.
Years later, in 2012, Holloway’s father, judge Alan King, requested to pronounce his daughter as dead legally.
Solomon Northup
Solomon Northup was an American author who wrote the novel “12 Years Slave,” a book that was turned into an Academy Award-winning motion picture. The story is a biography, a harrowing tale of Northup’s life that ended in tragedy.
In 1857, Northup just disappeared. While some people say to have seen him alive in 1863, there is no clear evidence.
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry was a French writer best known for his novel “The Little Prince.” Along with his writing, Antoine was an accomplished pilot and signed up to help fly during World War II.
It was during the war that Antoine disappeared. In July of 1944, he was scheduled to fly over the Mediterranean Sea. He crashed, and only his boat was recovered.
