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Mystery: From boats to
planes and people |
The rescue effort to find missing
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is
well into its third day but it's not
the first mystery disappearance to
grip the globe.
The flight disappeared off the radar
on Saturday and was presumed to have
crashed off the Vietnamese coast
after losing contact with air
traffic controllers.
Initial fears were that terrorists
could have been responsible for the
incident, as it emerged two
passengers were using stolen
passports.
But there was a glimmer of hope on
Sunday lunchtime as one family
received a dial tone when trying to
contact a passenger on the plane.
This was described by Malaysia's
Civil Aviation Authority Azharuddin
Abdul Rahman as an "unprecedented
aviation mystery", and it is just
the latest in a long line of strange
disappearances.
Here are some more:
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Crew of Mary Celeste |
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Wikipedia
Lost at sea: The 100-foot Mary
Celeste was discovered drifting
without a crew
This Canadian-built merchant
brigantine was discovered in
December, 1872, in the Atlantic
Ocean.
The vessel was discovered
unmanned and apparently
abandoned, despite weather
conditions being good at the
time.
A lifeboat was also missing,
along with the boat's captain,
his family and the crew.
Captain Benjamin Briggs had
reportedly taken his wife,
Sarah, and the couple's
two-year-old daughter, Sophia,
aboard, and none of them have
been seen since.
The ship was found to be in good
condition and they had even
reportedly left behind
belongings including boots and
pipes.
The ship's last log entry on
November 25 confirmed it had
reached the island of St Mary in
the Azores.
Verdict: Missing
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Amelia Earhart |
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Getty Amelia
Amelia Earhart: Glamorous
aviation expert went missing
over the Pacific Ocean in1937
Glamorous Amelia Earhart – one
of the first female aviators in
history – vanished on July 2,
1937, while attempting to fly
around the globe.
Her disappearance somewhere over
the South Pacific during the
last 7,000 miles of her epic
journey captivated the world and
devastated devoted fans.
After the huge search was
finally called off and she was
pronounced dead, her mysterious
end has continued to fascinate –
and spark many conspiracy
theories.
A blurry black and white photo
taken by a British military
surveyor two months after Amelia
disappeared, claimed to hold the
key to where she ended up.
It appeared to show the landing
gear of an aircraft protruding
from the waters off Gardner
Island, near Australia.
Women’s clothes and other
artefacts from the 1930s were
found on the atoll, now called
Nikumaroro and part of the
Micronesian nation of Kiribati.
The discoveries raise the
possibility that Amelia reached
land where she may have survived
for weeks before starving to
death.
But it was never confirmed.
Verdict: Unsolved
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Lord Lucan |
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PA
Lord Lucan: Richard John Bingham
disappeared in 1974 after his
children's nanny was found
murdered
Richard John Bingham - aka Lord
Lucan - disappeared on November
8, 1974 after his children's
nanny was found murdered.
Lucan is alleged to have
brutally bludgeoned to death
Sandra Rivett in the family home
in London.
It’s thought the Earl mistook
Sandra for his wife Veronica,
whom he blamed for the collapse
of their marriage.
He has not been seen since and
over the next four decades,
hundreds of sightings of the
elusive Earl have been reported,
but his whereabouts remain
unknown.
He was later declared legally
dead in October 1999.
In February 2012, it was claimed
Lucan had fled to Africa after
the murder.
Verdict: Declared dead but
unsolved
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Planes in Bermuda
Triangle |
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Getty
Legendary: Lost Squadron & plane
Flight 19 supposedly vanished in
Bermuda Triangle
There is a long list of aircraft
which appear to have disappeared
over the extensive patch of water,
also named the Devil's Triangle, in
the western part of the North
Atlantic Ocean.
But most notably, on the afternoon
of December 5, 1945, five planes
disappeared into thin air - and
started the legend of the Triangle.
A training mission of five Navy
Avenger planes, named Flight 19, led
by experienced flight instructor
Charles Taylor, took off from Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
An hour and a half into the mission,
pilots reported that they had become
disorientated and couldn't recognise
landmarks below them.
In radio transmissions, Taylor told
the Naval Air Station at Fort
Lauderdale both of his compasses
were out of action.
Despite the efforts of the Air
Station controllers, the team were
unable to find their bearings. As
the weather deteriorated, they
couldn't find landfall and ditched
into the sea, with the deaths of all
14 airmen and crew.
Weirder still, one of the planes
sent out to look for the lost
training mission also disappeared.
The aircraft, a PBM Mariner sea
plane, which took off at 7.30pm and
was never heard from again. All 13
crew were presumed dead.
Verdict: Unsolved
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Henry Hudson |
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Getty
Explorer: Henry Hudson, discoverer
of the Hudson river in 1609,
disappeared in the early 17th
century
Sea explorer Henry Hudson made
several attempts to find a northern
passage to the Orient from the US.
In May, 1607, he made it as far as
the Great Barrier Reef, but couldn't
get past it, and more voyages ended
in much the same way.
The final expedition was on a boat
called Discovery, setting out in
1610.
Hudson and his crew made it to
Hudson Bay where they were trapped
in icy conditions and became
stranded for months.
When the ice cleared there was a
mutiny, with several reports it was
sparked because Hudson refused to
turn home without exploring further.
He is said to have been left with a
small crew and his teenage son John,
and set adrift in a small open boat.
Verdict: Unsolved
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Madeleine McCann |
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PA
Madeleine McCann: She disappeared in
2007, sparking a worldwide appeal to
find her but she's still missing
Maddie McCann disappeared without a
trace in May 2007, while she was on
holiday with her family in Praia da
Luz, Portugal.
Her parents Kate and Gerry had left
Madeline and her twin siblings in
the room while they went for dinner
in a nearby restaurant with a group
of friends.
They then allegedly took turns to
check on them, before Kate
discovered her eldest daughter was
missing at around 10pm.
It was first treated as an abduction
by local police, before theories she
may have died in the apartment arose
and her parents became suspects.
That line of enquiry eventually ran
cold, and several theories over who
could have snatched the then
three-year-old have surfaced ever
since.
It became one of the most reported
missing persons cases in the world,
capturing millions' of people's
hearts.
British detectives launched a fresh
investigation into the youngster's
disappearance in July last year -
two years into a review of the case
- and made renewed appeals on
television in the UK, the
Netherlands and Germany.
After shelving their inquiry into
Madeleine's disappearance Portuguese
authorities said last October that a
review had uncovered enough new
information to justify reopening it.
Verdict: Missing
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The Fort Worth Three |
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National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children
Fort Worth Three: Julie Ann Moseley,
Rachel Trlica and Lisa Renee Wilson
went missing in 1974
In December 1974, three girls from
three separate families set out on a
shopping trip to the Seminary South
Shopping Center in Fort Worth, US.
Rachel Trlica, 17, 14-year-old Renee
Wilson and nine-year-old Julie Ann
Moseley were never seen again.
Rachel is reported to have picked
her friend Renee up and they took
the youngest, Julie, along with
them, who lived nearby.
They were spotted in the mall by
witnesses throughout the day, and
their car was later found with their
shopping inside, but with no sign of
any of the girls.
The mystery sparked a widespread
search as friends, family, and local
residents scoured country roads
looking for the trio.
Despite chasing many empty leads,
police failed to find anyone who
knew where the girls could be and
the trail eventually went cold.
Verdict: Unsolved
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The Crew of the Sarah
Joe |
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Missing: The five fishermen
disappeared without a trace
A case of five lost fishermen from
Hana Bay, Maui, still baffles people
across the world.
Benjamin Kalama, 38, Scott Moorman,
27, Patrick Woessner, 26, Peter
Hanchett, 31, and Ralph Malaiakini,
27, all disappeared in 1979 while
out on their boat the Sarah Joe.
The friends had reportedly been
helping to build a house when they
decided to take a day off and have a
trip out to sea on the 17-foot
Boston whaler.
Severe weather meant swell and winds
were high and they weren't found.
But, 10 years later, a marine
biologist reportedly found a small
boat in the Marshall Islands next to
a small grave with a jaw bone
buried.
Dental records showed it belonged to
Scott Moorman, but none of the other
men were found, according to
reports.
It is unclear whether they made it
to land alive.
Verdict: Unsolved
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The Sodder Children |
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SODDER children Sodders: Maurice
Antonio, Martha Lee, Louis Erico,
Jennie Irene and Betty Dolly
Sodder all went missing in 1945
Maurice Antonio, Martha Lee,
Louis Erico, Jennie Irene and
Betty Dolly Sodder all
disappeared on Christmas Eve in
1945.
The siblings, from West
Virginia, US, were never found
after their home burned down due
to what was reported as wiring
problems.
The eldest three children, and
the youngest daughter, survived,
but the five middle children's
remains were never found.
Parents George and Jennie Sodder
reportedly believed the fire was
a cover up for an abduction so
hired detectives to find their
children, but they were
unsuccessful.
They were later declared legally
dead, but police continued to
pursue several leads, including
a photo sent to the family in
1968 of an unknown man.
They were never seen again.
Verdict: Unsolved
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D.B. Cooper |
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Getty
FBI sketch: Hijacker D.B. Cooper
commandeered a Northwest
Airlines jet, parachuted out,
and disappeared
Plane hijacker D.B. Cooper, who
has never been formally
identified but named D.B. by the
media, boarded a Northwest
Orient flight in Portland,
Oregon on 24 November 1971,
under the name Dan Cooper.
Once mid-air, he demanded
$200,000 from the crew and a
parachute.
They landed in Seattle, where he
was handed the money, and he
later demanded the pilot take
off again and head to Mexico.
Cooper is thought to have jumped
from the back stairway of the
plane over Washington state.
Despite several planes
following, no one saw him leap
to the ground.
It is thought he may have died
during the jump, but a body has
never been found.
Verdict: Unsolved
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Irish Crown Jewels |
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Royal: The Irish
Crown Jewels were stolen in 1907
from Dublin Castle
The Irish Crown Jewels comprised
of a jewelled star and badge and
were the regalia of the Order of
St Patrick.
They were entrusted to the care
of Ulster King of Arms,
Ireland’s chief herald and
genealogist.
The jewels and the collars and
badges of the members of the
Order were locked in a steel
safe together.
They were stolen from Dublin
Castle in 1907 and the thieves
left no trace of who they were,
so the jewels were never found.
It caused uproar and distrust in
the Government, and King Edward
VII had reportedly been due to
visit Ireland a few days later
to invest a knight of the Order,
but had to abandon his plans.
Verdict: Unsolved
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B-47 disappearance |
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Getty
Missing: A Boeing B-47 Statojet
airplane disappeared mid-air
after stopping for fuel in
Morocco in 1956
A Boeing B-47 Stratojet
disappeared, carrying nuclear
weapons, in 1956 over the
Mediterranean Sea.
The jet took off from MacDill
Air Force Base, Florida, on
March 10 on a heading for
Morocco.
It completed one aerial
refueling without incident but
after descending through cloud
for more fuel, it never made
contact with the tanker and
disappeared.
It had been carrying two
capsules of nuclear weapons
material in carrying cases but a
detonation reportedly wouldn't
have been possible.
No debris was ever found and the
crew were later pronounced dead.
Verdict: Unsolved
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USS Cyclops |
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Getty
Loast at sea: The USS Cyclops
disappeared in Bermuda in March
1918
Navy carrier USS Cyclops
disappeared in 1918 in the
Bermuda Triangle.
The ship, plus 306 crew and
passengers, were never found
again.
It had been travelling with a
heavy load of bulk cargo and
passengers from Brazil, to
Baltimore, Maryland, in
February, but rather than
heading straight to its
destination, it reportedly
deviated to Barbados for a final
stop.
Cyclops departed again for the
last leg of the journey in March
but was never seen again.
Despite it being reported as the
largest loss of life in US Naval
history not involving combat,
there was speculation it may
have been captured or sunk by
German troops as it was in the
First World War.
There are also theories heavy
winds and storms between Cape
Hatteras and Cape Charles may
have sunk the boat without
anyone knowing.
No debris was ever found, nor
any of the passengers ever
traced again.
Verdict: Unsolved
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Lost Colony |
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Getty
Lost Colony: An engraving of the
Capture of Roanoke Island, in
1862
The Roanoke Colony, nicknamed
the Lost Colony, was set up by
Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter
Raleigh to create a permanent
English settlement on Roanoke
Island in Dare County, US.
The 120 settlers, who arrived in
1587, disappeared in 1590,
sparking several theories as to
what happened.
According to some reports, they
may have died from disease,
while others say local Native
American tribes could have
killed them in a violent
rampage.
The group comprised families
with women and children
attempting to make their homes
there, but none of them were
seen again.
An investigation into what
happened was sparked again in
2012 when a map was discovered
which appeared to show where the
colony attempted to set up home.
A satellite survey began and
scientists used ground
penetrating radar (GPR) to try
and find clues to what happened,
but it still hasn't been solved.
Verdict: Unsolved
