One of the scariest things that can happen to someone you know is for them to gomissing. One minute, they’re in your life. The next—they’regone. Sometimes, without the faintest trace. And you don’t know whether they’re okay or badly hurt. The brutal reality is that huge numbers of people disappear every single day.User u/cbebr sparked an enthralling discussion on r/AskReddit when they asked everyone to sharetheir storiesabout the people who went missing in their lives. We’ve collected some of their most hard-hitting posts. Scroll down to read them. But be warned, some of these stories are utterly terrifying.This post may includeaffiliate links.
One of the scariest things that can happen to someone you know is for them to gomissing. One minute, they’re in your life. The next—they’regone. Sometimes, without the faintest trace. And you don’t know whether they’re okay or badly hurt. The brutal reality is that huge numbers of people disappear every single day.User u/cbebr sparked an enthralling discussion on r/AskReddit when they asked everyone to sharetheir storiesabout the people who went missing in their lives. We’ve collected some of their most hard-hitting posts. Scroll down to read them. But be warned, some of these stories are utterly terrifying.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
Girl from my middle school class. This was when we were all older, in college. I heard about it through the grapevine from other folks, and there were news stories about it, too, far as memory serves. I’ll call her Jen.Jen had been clubbing with friends. I don’t remember exactly why she left the club alone—there was some reason—but, drunk and disoriented, she ended up wandering down the road alone in the middle of the night. She was missing for a couple of days, but it was worse when they found her. Dismembered, body parts shoved into trash bags, in a dumpster.A famous conservative talk show host did a hit piece about it. Saying the way she was dressed, she deserved it. This will probably allow people to find her, but it was Bill O’Reilly back in the days of his radio show. I don’t think I’ve ever truly, viscerally hated anyone like I hate that man.I knew Jen because she was the first person to invite me to her birthday party after I transferred into her school. I was a weird, dorky kid with no friends and she included me. I had so much fun that day, it’s one of my happiest memories. And she gave that to me. Boils my blood to this day, what happened to her, the media spin around it. She deserved so much better. Rest in peace, Jen.
I had a friend go missing at 17 years old. She took a walk with her dog and her dog made it home but she vanished seemingly without a trace. There was a massive search for weeks, her picture made it to national news channels with video of her parents crying and begging for information.The dark truth was that her parents were quiverful fundamental Christians in the worst way and she was the oldest daughter. She couldn’t live as a parentified slave anymore so she ran away. Her father was always extremely controlling and I don’t fault her at all for vanishing in the way she did. She got caught awhile later because she logged on to Facebook at a public library.As far as I know, she got emancipated and as she brought so much “public shame” to her parents, I expect they didn’t want her back. I never saw her again and I hope she’s out there living her best life.
Due to the size of the United States population, as well as the systems in place to report disappearances, the country has the highest number of missing person reports on the planet. In the US, 2.3k children are reported missing every single day.
Her name was Scarlet Jean Russo. She went missing in 1986 in Jacksonville, Florida. She was a sex worker and my best friend. Her car was found with the interior bloody. There wasn’t much of an investigation. Girls like her… you know the excuses. She has never been found to my knowledge.
Aside fromkidnapping(whether due to personal motives, for ransom, human trafficking, or due to political reasons), other reasons why someone might go missing include forced disappearance, going missing in action, voluntary disappearance, and involuntary disappearance.Forced disappearance is when criminals or corrupt government agents abduct you. Those who go missing in action are usually either in the military or disappear during civil unrest. Voluntary disappearance means that someone chooses to run away, whether to escape a bad situation at home, to get away from their overwhelming debts, or to hide from either law enforcement or criminals.Meanwhile, involuntary disappearance usually means that someone may go missing due to their poor mental health or when they suffer an accident alone and away from home.
Aside fromkidnapping(whether due to personal motives, for ransom, human trafficking, or due to political reasons), other reasons why someone might go missing include forced disappearance, going missing in action, voluntary disappearance, and involuntary disappearance.
Forced disappearance is when criminals or corrupt government agents abduct you. Those who go missing in action are usually either in the military or disappear during civil unrest. Voluntary disappearance means that someone chooses to run away, whether to escape a bad situation at home, to get away from their overwhelming debts, or to hide from either law enforcement or criminals.
Meanwhile, involuntary disappearance usually means that someone may go missing due to their poor mental health or when they suffer an accident alone and away from home.
A family friend went to a Metallica concert, during intermission she went out to have a cigarette and the venue wouldn’t let her back in. There’s footage of her walking through the parking lot and then she wasn’t seen again. The ended up finding her body a year or so later, and through DNA, connected it to another r*pe/murder. Because of that DNA they found the guy who did it. It was awful. Morgan was her name and she was beautiful and talented and had her whole life ahead of her.
In the US, over 521.7k people were reported missing in 2021. More than 93.7k of them were still actively missing at the start of 2022.On the other side of the globe in India, more than 2.1k people go missing every day. This amounts to around 88 women, children, and men missing every hour.In the United Kingdom, around 180k people disappear every year. However, the real number is thought to be significantly higher, as 353k missing person files are opened every year. 80% of these cases in the UK involvemissing children. Most are found within 24 hours of the report being filed.
In the US, over 521.7k people were reported missing in 2021. More than 93.7k of them were still actively missing at the start of 2022.
On the other side of the globe in India, more than 2.1k people go missing every day. This amounts to around 88 women, children, and men missing every hour.
In the United Kingdom, around 180k people disappear every year. However, the real number is thought to be significantly higher, as 353k missing person files are opened every year. 80% of these cases in the UK involvemissing children. Most are found within 24 hours of the report being filed.
My coworker, her sister and her niece went missing from a campground in the mountains for 12 days. They had left their campsite to go for a short day hike and got lost somewhere along the way. Both my coworker and her sister were found dead of exposure. Miraculously, her neice survived. Everyone at work was devastated. She was an incredibly kind and wonderful nurse.
My stepsister went missing about a year after my stepdad married my mom. We had just moved into our new house a couple states away from where I grew up and I didn’t know anybody. My stepsister was three years older and helped me make friends at school.We lived about a mile from school and walked there and back a couple days a week when my mom had to go to work early.One day I walked back home from school alone because my stepsister had basketball practice. There had been some robberies in the area so my mom had us carry pepper spray with us, and I remember feeling weird that day.I got home fine, and a few hours later, we hadn’t heard from my stepsister, so my stepdad called the basketball coach to see if practice went late (we didn’t have phones).The coach said my stepsister had left the school a couple hours before.A few months later, after a lot of searching, her body was found in the woods near the school. There was pepper spray residue all over her skin.They never caught the person who did it, but she was killed with the rock the police found near her body.
My mom was in the same Girl Scout troop as Amber Hagerman, the girl in which amber alert is named after. They spent the 4 days it took to find her putting up posters and searching nonstop, where she was eventually found in a ditch. Unfortunately, her abductor was never found.
A friend from high school. She was skiing and got separated from her party during the day. Sadly she was found deceased in a tree well. She died at 19.I still think of her often. She was such a bright light and had an amazing future.
My brother. He was 52 years old. He left his house one night and never came back. His car was found abandoned in the woods about a week later. That was four years ago. There have been terrible rumors about what happened to him, but nothing more.
I went to the same elementary school as Michael Dunahee. He was kidnapped off the playground and still not found to this day. I remember after it happened every parent showed up to walk the entire school of kids home. I also remember running ahead of the pack for whatever reason and all the parents were screaming at me to get back. They were terrified.
A friend of mine’s sister went missing in the early 80s. We always suspected she was a victim of Gary Ridgeway the Green River Killer. We found out a couple of years ago that she is in fact on his list of suspected victims.
My aunt went for a solo hike in 2001 while on holiday. She was never seen again and her body was never found. After 7 years she was declared legally dead. It devastated my grandpa and my dad until they died.
A family friend went for a hike on Thanksgiving day years ago. He was an experienced outdoorsman and wanted to get a quick hike in before dinner. An unexpected snowstorm rolled in that day and he became disoriented in the storm. He called 911 for help and was instructed to stay put for them to send search and rescue to try to find him. When they went out on the trail, he was nowhere to be found. The storm was so bad they suspended search efforts. They looked some after it ended but didn’t find him anywhere. The next spring, search and rescue was training cadaver dogs in a steep canyon and came across human remains which ended up being my friend. He had taken a tremendous fall from a cliff and perished.
A girl I knew in high school went missing in 2021 while we were in our 30s. The last known location of her was waist deep in a spring that is known to have alligators. She was in the background of random people’s video and they handed it over to the police during the search. She still hasn’t been found.
My great-grandfather disappeared when his youngest child (my grandfather) was a toddler. Records were finally found, decades later, showing he had moved across the county, changed his name, remarried, and had additional kids.
My brother’s middle school teacher. He just didn’t show up to school one day, which was very unusual. The school scrambled to find a substitute for him, because they had no notice. We had a whole-school meeting like two days later when he was officially missing where they told us all about it. He left the house that morning as usual, according to his wife later said. He was never seen again. Many search parties were organized, and people looked for months, but they never found him. He is still officially missing today.
Family we went camping with a lot, the dad went missing for weeks.Turns out he’d run off with his secretary. His male secretary. This was in the 80s, so it was a huge scandal for a small town. I don’t think he ever came back to the town again, and I’m not even sure if his kids have any contact with him. It kind of makes me sad to think maybe he was gay the whole time and felt like he just couldn’t. It’s a pity he had to wreck his whole family’s life to get away.
See Also on Bored Panda
When my cousin and her husband (and kids) went on a vacation to Curaçao (around 35C that time of year) a few years ago. The area is covered in thick jungle, and it was made clear to everyone who went there that you needed (or was required) to stay on the paths. He decided to go for an evening stroll while the rest stayed at their cabin. Took a one liter bottle of water and his phone with him (nearly no reception as soon as you walked into the bush), some gum and went off path anyway (because he probably got curious.) Search and rescue were busy doing their searches (along with volunteers) around a large area, and he was found five days after he went missing about two kilometers from where he went off path. He died from a heat induced heart attack, but was probably already completely unconscious before that happened due to dehydration. He was 47.
My cousin was kidnapped on her way to school. It was over 20 years ago and she’s not been found.
My friend went missing right after Christmas 2017 in FL and is still missing.He called me the week prior and sounded panicky. I was super busy at work and told him I’d call him back when I got home in an hour. Well, I got busy with kids, dinner and the normal family stuff and totally forgot to call him back. To this day I feel like he was calling for help and I let him down.
A friend and coworker, we went to a bar after work. Toward the end of the night, he met up with a cousin and left for a party with them. He didn’t show up for work the next day, then the next. Police showed up at work asking questions, as his girlfriend had reported him missing. Investigation revealed that he was last seen leaving the party after a small fight. His cellphone was found in a garbage truck that had been emptying dumpsters. His body was found a month and a half later in the river. It was ruled an accidental drowning. So many questions and not many answers…Miss you Bug.
My friend in college. We were athletes on the track team together. Her car was found crashed into a snow bank the next state over. That was 20 years ago and to this day I think I see her in random places on public transit etc… I still can’t accept that she’s most likely dead.
Continue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited contentAd-free browsingDark mode
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Considering the heartbreaking impact that a missing pet or person can have on their loved ones, there’s an element of relief when they are eventually found, as emphasized in the article about the remarkable return of a lost Border Collie.The lesson on the significance ofmicrochipping your beloved animalsis especially poignant here, as many missing cases in humans could benefit from technological tracking methods.
Considering the heartbreaking impact that a missing pet or person can have on their loved ones, there’s an element of relief when they are eventually found, as emphasized in the article about the remarkable return of a lost Border Collie.
The lesson on the significance ofmicrochipping your beloved animalsis especially poignant here, as many missing cases in humans could benefit from technological tracking methods.
My uncle drove my cousins all the way across the country to “visit” my grandma, but then just up and left - without his children - a couple days after arriving and then disappeared for several years. Come to find out, he had moved to the Phillipines and started a brand new family over there with his brand new Filipina wife. He still won’t talk to any of us, including his own children, even though we’ve tried contacting him several times throughout the years after he showed back up on Facebook… Douchebag.
Around July of 2022, an old high school classmate of mine went missing. She was a mother of 2 boys, one of them with special needs. The last known contact she had with anyone was when she told a friend of hers she was going to the store, but she never returned. The police were informed, and a missing persons report was filed. Her phone and wallet were found at her home. A boyfriend she was dating was questioned and released without any indication of foul play. She’s never been seen or heard from since.
My cousin was in a horrible car accident and the hospital miscommunicated with the police and his name was given incorrectly. He was missing for a week.
My friend and neighbor Nancy. One day she just disappeared. She had her nephew living with her and he was interrogated and found to be innocent, I found out through her sister that she was missing. I was worried because she was diabetic, she weighed about 98 pounds, tiny thing. This was in 2007, as far as I know she hasn’t been found. All the links to her news stories are dead links now. Idk if it’s the law or what, but my apartment complex kept her apartment waiting for her if she was to return for 4 months.I think about her from time to time.
A guy from my high school disappeared while hiking. His body wasn’t found until almost ten years later.
A guy in my town disappeared into thin air one day. We looked for him everywhere, the authorities were involved and he was later found 500kms from home, wandering aimlessly in a psychotic stupor. Poor guy had too much on his shoulders, he’s home now and he’s fine, but I haven’t seen him since.
A friend of my mother’s went on a camping trip alone with her (male) best friend. They were both retirees, both married to other people, so when they didn’t come back people thought they may have eloped. A few other people had gone missing in the area though, so a homeless guy called “the button man” was questioned. Turns out he hadn’t done anything, he was just a harmless bushie, and another man was arrested for their murder.
A guy I worked with went missing. Presumed drowned, but they never found a body. Did find his boat and fishing gear, but never a sign of him.
Friend of a friend in high school ran away one summer. (I want to say between 10th and 11th grade.) Hitchhiked to the west coast. Parents hired a private investigator, he eventually came home.He had to change schools and was on lock down for quite awhile after that. Last time I saw him was later on in high school when his 30 year old cousin bought us beer.
Modal closeAdd Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal close
Add Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add source
Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Upload
UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.
TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark
InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark
FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
ChangeSourceTitle
Social Issues
