Patrick McDermott
The popular celebrity Olivia Newton-John briefly dated Patrick McDermott, a former Hollywood cameraman, which increased his notoriety. Unfortunately, McDermott disappeared after going fishing with 22 other guests and three staff members in June 2005. Surprisingly, no one really took note until a full month after his disappearance, when McDermott did not appear at a family gathering. This shocking event garnered widespread attention and was even highlighted on America's Most Wanted and Dateline NBC.
Many people thought McDermott was evading the thousands of dollars in debt he was in at the time, but investigations found in 2009 that he was still alive somewhere in Mexico. Could the theories be true?
Andrew Koenig
Andrew Koening decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and pursued a career in acting. Growing Pains' Richard Stabone is the younger Koenig's most well-known recurring role, which boosted his notoriety massively. Surprisingly, Koenig moved to Vancouver in February 2010 after selling all he owned in Los Angeles without telling his family at the time. After their son failed to catch a flight back to Los Angeles, Walter Koenig and his wife filed a missing person's report after receiving a concerning letter from him.
In a very unfortunate turn of events, the unresponsive body of Andrew Koenig was eventually discovered in a park. To explain this tragedy, his depression was later disclosed by his family.
Richard Stanley
In 1996, director Richard Stanley was dismissed from The Island of Doctor Moreau's set. Stanley was supposed to be escorted back to Los Angeles from Australia, but he was not there when the plane landed at LAX. A month later, Stanley was apparently discovered "living rough in the jungle: he'd fled from the airport to a fruit plantation, where he'd been subsiding on yams, cassava, and coconuts, along with his substantial personal stash of marijuana," according to a report in The Telegraph.
At one point, he even disguised himself as a mutant dog to sneak back onto the film set. So, in reality, the director simply chose to lead a new life, and (thankfully) nothing sinister had happened to him.
Jason Mewes
The vocal half of Jay and Silent Bob, Jason Mewes, vanished for a few years in the early 2000s. After being arrested for possession in 1999, Mewes was given a sentence that included community work, substance treatment, and frequent court appearances. When Mewes did not appear in court in 2001, a second arrest warrant was issued. For a few years, no one heard from him or knew where he was. So, not only for the sake of the court, his family grew worried and started a search to find Mewes.
However, Mewes finally gave up and turned himself in in 2003. It turns out he was avoiding his sentencing. Because of this, he had to start a six-month treatment program. Thankfully, Mewes has been sober since 2010 after battling his addiction for a number of years.
Margot Kidder
In 1978, Margot Kidder gained popularity for her role as Lois Lane in Christopher Reeve's Superman. However, three days after she was reported as a missing person in 1996, she was discovered hidden in the bushes of a stranger's yard in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Kidder was discovered injured and unkempt, but it seems that this was because she had been living in the bushes for a few days and was apparently entirely unaware of the search for her.
Later on, it was discovered that Kidder had experienced a mental breakdown and had bipolar disorder. She was on the run because she thought the CIA and her first husband were "trying to kill" her. Thankfully, she was able to recover.
Katherine Jackson
When Katherine Jackson, the matriarch of the Jackson family, went missing in 2012, it made national news. Her nephew Trent Jackson filed a missing person's report when Michael Jackson's children Prince, Paris, and Blanket tried to reach their grandmother for ten days without receiving a response. She was discovered alive and well at an Arizona spa shortly after that. According to reports, she had planned to ride to New Mexico to witness the Jackson's Unity event, but a doctor advised her to take a plane instead.
When she arrived at the spa, they cut off all of her communication channels, and the jet she boarded brought her to Arizona rather than New Mexico. With this in mind, it's understandable why it was difficult to contact her.
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain was missing for a few days in 1994 before being discovered unresponsive in his Seattle home with a goodbye note and a firearm next to him. On March 30, 1994, Cobain, who was known to battle substance abuse, was admitted to a rehab center in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, he flew to Seattle after breaking out of the facility the same night. In an unsuccessful attempt to locate Cobain up there, wife Courtney Love engaged a private investigator with the hope of bringing her husband home.
Even with an extensive search by Cobain’s wife, an electrician didn't discover Cobain unresponsive in his house until April 8. Shockingly, before he was discovered, he had reportedly been dead for a few days.
Chelsea O’Donnell
When Rosie O'Donnell's daughter Chelsea vanished for a week in August of 2015, she experienced a panic and grew worried quickly. The former TV anchor said on Twitter that her 6-month-old therapy puppy and her daughter, who was 17 at the time, had vanished from their New York home. To a huge relief to her mother, Chelsea O'Donnell was discovered hiding out with a 25-year-old dealer she had previously met on Tinder in Barnegat, New Jersey, one week later.
Although she was unharmed when she got home, she later stated in a paid interview with the Daily Mail that her mother had actually kicked her out of the house because she smoked.
Joe Pichler
As a young actor, Joe Pichler aspired to become a major famous actor in Hollywood. He had a stable career portraying Brandon Newton in the Beethoven films and made little appearances on television. Pichler's parents encouraged him to complete his high school education in Washington state in 2003. He agreed to this but decided that after he graduated, he’d move back to Los Angeles. However, while in LA, Pichler couldn’t be contacted, and his friends reported him missing.
A few days later, his automobile was discovered at an intersection after being reported missing. Since his disappearance, Pichler has not been seen or heard from. There have been many theories about his whereabouts, but we’re likely never to know.
Sinead O’Connor
Sinéad O'Connor vanished in the Wilmette, Illinois, area in 2016. On the morning of May 15th, she went for a bike ride and never came home. She had shared a heartfelt Facebook post about her baby a few days earlier, which brewed concern among her family and friends. The singer of "Nothing Compares 2 U" had previously struggled with depression and even made an attempt at taking her own life. Her family suspected the worst when they reported her missing.
However, when authorities discovered O'Connor in a hotel, alive and well after twenty-four hours, the alert was canceled. She resisted the claims that she was considering death.
Scott Smith
Many people think Canadian musician Scott Smith perished in a boating accident when he vanished in the year 2000. Smith played bass for the band Loverboy, whose 1980s hits "Working for the Weekend" and "This Could Be the Night" went viral. Smith set sail from Vancouver to Mexico with his buddies in November 2000. It is a general consensus that Smith disappeared when a huge wave overtook the boat close to San Francisco.
Although the U.S. Coast Guard’s searches for his body or remains were unsuccessful, it seems likely that he was thrown overboard. It is still unknown why his body was never located.
Lord Lucan
In the United Kingdom, John Bingham was referred to as Lord Lucan, a British nobleman and a socialite with high-end tastes, holding the title of 7th Earl of Lucan. Lucan became fixated on reclaiming his children following the breakdown of his marriage and a fruitless custody dispute. Sandra Rivett, the children's nanny, was bludgeoned to death in the Lucan home on November 7, 1974.
It is generally accepted that Lord Lucan was the one who killed Rivett, and Lady Lucan was the original target. Police issued an arrest warrant for Lord Lucan, but he was nowhere to be found after his car was discovered abandoned in Newhaven.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart's disappearance has conjured hundreds of theories and discussions, as she was a beloved explorer. Earhart was a trailblazer for women as the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She founded an association for female pilots called The Ninety-Nines and wrote best-selling books about her flying adventures. She infamously vanished in 1937 while attempting to fly across the world.
Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, seemed to have vanished in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Extensive searches unfortunately never located their bodies or the wreckage of their plane.
Ambrose Bierce
Many people consider Ambrose Bierce to be one of the greatest writers in American history. For many years after his disappearance, Bierce's writings, including Tales of Soldiers and Civilians and The Devil's Dictionary, have been essential reading in American literature. Bierce, a Civil War soldier, managed to enter Mexico and served as an observer in Pancho Villa's army during the Mexican Revolution.
However, in a turn of events, he wrote to a close friend on December 26, 1913, saying, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination." Bierce never appeared or was heard from again.
Jim Thompson
When Jim Thompson vanished in 1967, he was the most well-known American residing in Asia. Previously employed at the Office of Strategic Services (which later became the CIA), Thompson was a businessman. Thompson entered the private sector following World War II and gained popularity for reviving Thailand's silk industry. Surprisingly, this popular businessman one day just disappeared from society.
Thompson was last seen in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia on March 26, 1967. Strangely, Thompson's body was never located despite an unsuccessful eleven-day search by Malaysian officials.
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a passionate writer (who wrote “The Little Prince”) and pilot. He once crashed in the midst of the Libyan desert and was discovered after a week of wandering. The author became a pilot, although a dangerous one who would make many blunders on his flights. He left on a mission over the Mediterranean on July 31, 1944.
This was the last time anyone ever heard from him. His plane's wreckage was discovered in 2000, but his body was never discovered.
Sean Flynn
The swashbuckling Hollywood actor Errol Flynn and his first wife, actress Lili Damita, had an only son named Sean. The younger Flynn initially appeared on television as a teenager on The Errol Flynn Theatre, his father's program. Following in his father's footsteps, Sean Flynn became an actor after graduating from Duke, but he was constantly in his shadow. In 1966, he headed to Vietnam to capture the war after retiring from acting to pursue a career as a photojournalist.
Despite his relative success in this new profession, Flynn vanished from the workplace in 1970. His mother declared him dead in absentia in 1984, as he was never seen or heard from again.
Bison Dele
He was Brian Williams, an NBA player who won a championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1997 before he became Bison Dele. One of the more unusual players in the NBA, Williams gave up basketball and retired during his best playing years. He continued to travel to new places and take up new interests, like sailing. He intended to go from Tahiti to Hawaii in the early 2000s. Dele embarked on his catamaran on July 6, 2002, accompanied by his older brother, girlfriend, and the captain of the ship.
The captain, girlfriend, and Dele vanished from sight. It is believed that Dele's older brother killed the other travelers, as he was later discovered unresponsive in Mexico.
Richey Edwards
Richey Edwards played guitar and wrote lyrics for the Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers in the mid-1990s. The Guardian described Edwards as "a lightning rod of sorts for adolescent angst.” With this, he was unfortunately well-known for his struggle with depression. Since he was scheduled to tour the United States with the band, many thought his initial disappearance in February 1995 was just another of his wild antics.
However, Edwards never came back, and the last sighting of his vehicle was at the Severn Bridge, which separates England and Wales. Although his body has not been located, he was officially pronounced deceased in 2008.
Oscar Zeta Acosta
Oscar Zeta Acosta was a well-known lawyer, author, and Chicano Movement leader. Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, published in 1972, and The Revolt of the Cockroach People, published the following year, are his best-known works. His acquaintance with author Hunter S. Thompson also helped him gain popularity. With his multiple aspects of fame, it was a huge shock when he went missing.
Acosta vanished while touring Mazatlán, Mexico, in May 1974, and no one ever heard from him again. It’s assumed he was the victim of either a cartel or a political coup, as he never actually reached his destination.
Sasha Mitchell
The most well-known role that Sasha Mitchell has played is that of the cheese-headed Cody Lambert in the sitcom Step by Step. After Mitchell broke his probation and fled the Los Angeles region, a warrant for his arrest was issued in 1996. Before his disappearance, he first caught the attention of the authorities as a result of allegations of domestic violence against his wife. But don’t worry, his story didn’t end here!
Mitchell eventually appeared and stated that he was charged because he was attempting to shield his children from their mother. Following the resolution of all issues, Mitchell remarried in 2010 and eventually obtained full custody of his kids.
James Allen
In 2009, the Scottish band Glasvegas, led by guitarist and singer James Allan, had the privilege of going on tour with Kings of Leon. However, concern grew when James Allen did not appear for a performance at the Mercury Prize awards ceremony. Of course, Allan's abrupt disappearance that year frightened his band, friends, and family. After word spread, he called his management to let them know he was well and getting ready for the tour.
Even though the band still didn't know where he was, there was now less concern surrounding his safety. As it turned out, it was simply a misunderstanding resulting from Allan's apparent lack of a cell phone at the time.
Jesse Camp
When Jesse Camp won MTV's "Wanna Be a VJ" competition in 1998, he became a super well-known person and gathered a following of dedicated fans. He was a member of the band Jesse & the 8th Street Kidz that year, but he later vanished from the public eye just a couple of months after releasing an album. In July 2018, his sister reported him missing after claiming it was odd that she hadn't spoken to him for a week. However, it luckily turned out that he had just gone off the grid.
When he was eventually discovered alive and well, he told DailyMail.com that it was simply a matter of bad phone service and communication. Of course, this was a huge relief for his family, friends, and fans.
Mark Sanford
Mark Sanford, the former governor of South Carolina, went missing in June 2009, sparking national attention and serious concern within his family. From June 18 to June 24, Sanford was entirely absent, and absolutely no one knew where he was. His wife, Jenny, stated that it was the longest he had ever been silent. But, surprisingly, she seemed unconcerned about the situation. Sanford's representatives said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when it made national headlines, but this was eventually proven to be a complete fabrication.
Sanford's wife apparently didn't care because he had traveled to Argentina to be with his mistress. According to reports, she had already begun trial separation when she learned of the affair earlier that year.
Casey Kasem
For many years, Casey Kasem was the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo and America's favorite presenter of American Top 40. However, in a shocking turn of events, the TV personality disappeared for a short time in 2014. After Kasem vanished from his house in May 2014, his daughter Kerri became very concerned and filed a missing person's report. Kasem had Parkinson's disease at the time, which prevented him from speaking and made it even harder to find him. Eventually, Kasem was discovered in Washington state a few hours after the report was sent.
Jean, Kasem's wife, apparently brought him to see acquaintances in the north. Although the matter was resolved, Kasem tragically died a month later from difficulties brought on by Lewy Body dementia.
J-Kwon
Rapper J-Kwon may not be as well-known to you as other famous rappers, but you’re definitely likely to have heard his adored 2004 single "Tipsy." After the rapper vanished in 2010, Gracie Productions, his record label, decided to investigate his whereabouts and try to find out what happened. People became especially worried when they didn't hear from him for a month, and Gracie Productions even created the Twitter account @WhereIsJKwon. There was even a time when J-Kwon's team was knocking on people's doors to get tips.
However, once the news spread on social media, J-Kwon called his friends and family to let them know he was alright. He was apparently enjoying some “alone time” and believed that his absence wouldn’t cause a huge deal. He thought wrong.
Nick Stahl
Child actor Nick Stahl, rose to fame in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face. Because of his role as John Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Stahl was able to carry on performing into adulthood. Unfortunately, he developed an addiction as a result of stress from his celebrity status. After TMZ reported that the actor had vanished in May 2012, Stahl thankfully emailed his buddies to inform them that he was enrolling in rehab.
However, when he left treatment against the advice of his doctor, his location raised concerns once more. His wife chose not to search for him, but fortunately, he found himself, and they made amends.
Ozzy Osbourne
In May 2016, Ozzy Osbourne, a former member of the Black Sabbath, was reported missing. According to reports, Osborne's wife, Sharon, expelled him from the home because of his adultery. According to reports, their marriage was in trouble at the time, and Sharon told The Talk, "I can't keep living like this." Osbourne's kids became worried that he could have strayed from his path after trying to reach him for days without receiving a response.
However, a few hours after Osbourne was listed as missing by Page Six, another tabloid said he was still alive and well in Los Angeles, which was a huge relief for his children.
Dorothy Arnold
Early in the 20th century, Dorothy Arnold, a socialite in New York City, attempted to succeed as a writer. However, her family never allowed her to move forward from her initial rejection from McClure's magazine, which diminished her ambitions. Arnold requested her own apartment from her father, Francis Arnold, a perfume importer, but he refused, saying that "a good writer can write from anywhere." Arnold left home to go shopping on December 12, 1910, but she would never come back.
Her disappearance was all the more intriguing because friends and store employees who encountered her that day did not note any strange behavior. Dorothy Arnold was unfortunately never found.
Ylenia Maria Sole Carrisi
The well-known Italian actors and artists Albano Carrisi and Romina Power are the parents of Ylenia Maria Sole Carrisi. Carrisi traveled alone, first to Belize and then to New Orleans. However, she was nowhere to be found when her brother chose to give her a surprise Christmas visit. Soon after, he was informed that she had taken a bus to Mexico.
On January 6, 2004, it was reported that an “unknown” female yelled, "I belong in the water," before jumping into the Mississippi River, according to a security guard in the vicinity where she vanished.
Theodosia Burr Alston
Although "Dear Theodosia" from the highly regarded musical Hamilton may have introduced you to her as a happy-go-lucky woman, Aaron Burr's real daughter had a very sad life story. After her father, Thomas Jefferson's vice president at the time, murdered Alexander Hamilton in a duel, Theodosia Burr Alston gained even more popularity. The elder Burr was never put on trial, and after being found not guilty of treason, his daughter Theodosia would finally assist him in leaving the nation.
By 1812, Burr had decided to travel to Europe with her father. At the end of that year, she boarded the boat, but she was never heard from again and never returned to her home country.
Glenn Miller
During the 1940s swing era, Glenn Miller led a big band and played the trombone. However, Miller decided to fulfill his civic obligation by joining the Air Force at the start of World War II. Miller received an order to fly to Paris on December 15, 1944, where he was scheduled to perform with his band. Miller and two other passengers boarded a single-engine UC-64 Norseman, but they would never land in Europe.
If they crashed, their bodies and the wreckage were never discovered, and Miller and the other two passengers were never heard from again.
Harold Holt
Harold Holt served as Australia's prime minister in the late 1960s. Holt considered himself an outdoor enthusiast with a special fondness for spearfishing. Although he was better at treading water than surface swimming, Holt loved swimming and had no fear of the water. Holt proposed to his friends that they take a swim at Cheviot Beach on December 17, 1967, while they were sailing back to land. Holt never came back after swimming far out.
He was pronounced dead in absentia following a thorough search, and it is generally accepted that he drowned. There was no body discovered, and this notion has never been validated.