5 Inexplicable Cases

There are many theories about what could happen to a person who goes missing, but the truth is that we may never really know. Disappearing without a trace is a pretty eerie concept that has baffled law enforcement and the general public for years. It's fascinating to think about all the possibilities, but in the end, we might just have to accept that we'll never know for sure.

John Lansing: What Happened To The Man Who Went To Mail A Letter And Was Never Seen Again

On December 12, 1829, Lansing went to the docks near his hotel in New York to post a letter. His reasons for not posting the letter at his hotel are unknown. He was never seen again. The cause of his death is unknown - it's possible he had a seizure, suffered a heart attack, fell into the water, had another medical emergency, or was attacked and killed. His body was never recovered.

The 1882 publication of "The Life of Thurlow Weed," a New York politician's memoir held explosive secrets. In these memoirs, Weed alleges that he has documentation implicating Lansing was murdered. Weed declined to publish the documents for the sake of the families of the men responsible for the crime.

Nicholas Barclay missing since 1994

In 1994, Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old boy from Texas, disappeared after playing basketball with friends at a local park.

Nicholas Barclay's family didn't report him missing right away because he was a troubled kid. He was scheduled to have a court hearing the day after he disappeared that would decide if he would be sent to a home for juvenile delinquents. His family just assumed he had run away to avoid the hearing.

As Nicholas had only $5 to his name, the police opened a missing person investigation. Because he had little to no money, the most likely explanation was that he'd hitchhiked out of town. That is if he left on his own accord.

The tragic story of missing teen Nicholas Barclay takes an even stranger turn when, three years after he vanished from Texas, a French con man named Frédéric Bourdin assumed his identity and lived with his family as their long-lost son. Bourdin's actions were both tragic and psychotic. He managed to convince Barclay's family that he was their long-lost son for a period of time before he was eventually caught. Not only did he fool the authorities, but he also convinced Barclay's family that he was the missing teen from Texas.

Although he spoke with a French accent and was clearly much older than Barclay, Bourdin was so convincing that he managed to maintain the deception for months. Eventually, people started to become suspicious. Bourdin was incarcerated for pretending to be Barclay; however, the case of Barclay's whereabouts has never been resolved. technically, Barclay is still missing.

The fraudster who disappeared into thin air

It all began with a fire. One that at first appeared to be an accident. A tragedy that took the lives of a widow, Belle Gunness and her three children. After extinguishing the blaze, investigators found a headless body among the rubble. This body was thought to be that of Belle. After further inspection, more questions were raised. Why had they found eleven other bodies and partial remains among the ashes?

After a thorough investigation and forensics available at the time, the fire was deemed arson. More questions arose after looking into Belle's finances. It appeared that Belle had emptied the contents of her bank accounts shortly before the house went ablaze. This led them to the realization that the body found was most likely not the body of Belle, but a fake to detour the investigation and have more time to get away.

Like other killer women in her era, Belle killed for money. She'd advertise herself as looking for love and lure unlucky men then kill them to gain their wealth. As far as what is reportedly known from the time, none of Belle's victims ever left her farm after they arrived.

It took 7 months before the police made an arrest. Ray Lamphere, a hired hand at Belle's farm said that Belle had hired him to commit the arson on her house. The reason? A family member of a former victim was poking around in search of answers. Belle got skittish. She needed an out, especially before she got caught.

After their investigation, police concluded none of the remains found had died from the fire, so Lamphere was only charged with arson. Meanwhile, Belle's whereabouts remain a mystery she was never seen or heard from again.

The Missing Judge

Judge Crater was last seen exiting a restaurant in New York after a meal with friends. Taxi records indicate that he left the restaurant at 11:15 pm. His wife, who was expecting him to return from New York that evening, reported him missing after more than a week had elapsed.

On September 3, 1930, the New York police were notified that Crater had gone missing. This made headlines in the New York papers, as Crater's vanishing act was one of the most widely reported news items at the time. The investigation found that Crater had destroyed files in his office, emptied his safe deposit boxes, and cashed large checks right before he disappeared. This evidence suggests he was planning to leave.

The grand jury's investigation into Crater's activities and disappearance were inconclusive. They were unable to determine whether Crater was alive or dead, or if he had been involved in any criminal activity. Although some people claimed that Judge Crater was killed by a bodyguard for Abe Reles of Murder Incorporated, there was never any hard evidence to support this claim.

Theories still abound, however, especially after he was linked to a New York showgirl June Brice, an escort named Vivian Gordon, and a gangster Legs Diamond. Did the Judge purposely disappear? Or was he a victim of the company he carried?

The Author Who Vanished

Barbara Follett is a young author who achieved success at a very young age; her works were published when she was only twelve years old. The House Without Windows was published in 1927 and shortly after followed The Voyage of the Norman D. Both novels received high praise from American sage, H. L. Mencken as well as from literary critics at The New York Times.

At the young age of eighteen, Follett met her husband, Nickerson Rogers. At the time she'd been working as a secretary. After their marriage, the couple decided to settle in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Follett began to feel something off in the relationship. She feared that her husband was seeing someone else on the side.

It is reported that in December of 1939 Barbara and her husband fought. After the disagreement with $30 in her pocket, she stormed off from the home and was never seen again.

What is mind-boggling is that if she did leave on her own accord, then why did it take her husband two weeks before he reported her absence? On top of that being fishy, he didn't request a missing person's bulletin be issued for months after she'd gone.

The once-famous writer seemed to have disappeared that fateful night in December leaving behind nothing but questions with few answers. Did she leave her marriage and her writing career in the rearview in search of a new start? Or was she met with foul play? To this day her vanishing remains unsolved.

These are just a few of the many cases of people mysteriously disappearing into thin air. While the circumstances surrounding each case are different, they all share one eerie element: the sudden and unexplained disappearance of a person.