One moment they're there. The next, they've vanished. Hundreds of thousands of people go missing in the United States every year. Sometimes, it's a case of the person deliberately disappearing but other times, there's something a lot more sinister at play.
Take Nancy Guthrie, for example. The mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie is believed to have been snatched from her bed in the middle of the night. Months later, her whereabouts are still unknown, and no arrests have yet been made. The mystery proves that none of us are ever 100% safe, even in our own homes. Someone asked, "What missing person case in America feels like a straight-up internet horror story?" and many of the responses read like the stuff nightmares are made of.
Bored Panda has put together a list of some of the most bone-chilling ones. There's the story of the woman who got abducted from a payphone booth while on a call with her fiancé, the 9-year-old girl who walked out of her house at 3am during a thunderstorm, and plenty of others that might have you sleeping with one eye open.
#41
Genette Tate 1978 - disappeared aged 13 in the middle of her newpaper delivery round and has never been found. Chatted to some friends then cycled off and they discovered her bike laying in the road about 5 mins later. It's suspected that she was grabbed by serial k**ler Robert Black - after he was caught about 15 years later.
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5points
#42
Not USA, but I will say it anyway. The children of Bacabal in Brazil, it happened early these year I think.
These 3 kids simply disappeared and only one of them was randomly found a few days later in the middle of the forest and literally no one has a clue of what happened. The one who was found was a kid with autism, and i can't help but to think they "let him go" simply because they wouldn't be able to make him comply.
No one knows what happened and this incident happened in a brazilian Quilombo. Quilombos are independent Brazilian communities that originated from enslaved people that were able to escape in colonial times.
They are still missing, we have no idea what happened. I do believe they are alive but I'm pretty sure these 2 black brazilian children are not okay and that breaks my heart. They were 6 and 4.
These 3 kids simply disappeared and only one of them was randomly found a few days later in the middle of the forest and literally no one has a clue of what happened. The one who was found was a kid with autism, and i can't help but to think they "let him go" simply because they wouldn't be able to make him comply.
No one knows what happened and this incident happened in a brazilian Quilombo. Quilombos are independent Brazilian communities that originated from enslaved people that were able to escape in colonial times.
They are still missing, we have no idea what happened. I do believe they are alive but I'm pretty sure these 2 black brazilian children are not okay and that breaks my heart. They were 6 and 4.
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5points
#43
Serenity Dennard. Little girl who went missing from a troubled girls home in the black hills in South Dakota. Very strange story. She roamed away and the people in charge there waited like an hour to search for her. Gone without a trace. I was friends were her biological parents (she was adopted by the time she was missing). So sad. And still no one knows what happened like at all.
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5points
#44
The disappearance of Brian Shaffer. It genuinely feels like an internet horror story. A med student walks into a crowded bar in Columbus, security cameras clearly capture him entering, but there's no footage of him ever leaving. Hundreds of people came and went that night, police searched extensively, and yet he was never found. Every explanation has a major hole in it, which is why people have been obsessing over it online for nearly two decades. It's one of those cases where the more you read, the stranger it gets.
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5points
#45
Gloria Ramirez. She went into the ER and her body gave off noxious fumes, that it poisoned quite a few staff on that day. If I remember correctly, she was trying to have chemo at home using over-the-counter products that were similar to chemo ingredients. Could you imagine?! Working in an ER and having no idea why you succumbed to noxious vapors?!
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5points
#46
Johnny Gosch. And with everything that's come out about epstein, Paul Bonacci's stories don't seem so far fetched anymore.
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4points
#47
**Sandra Johnsen Hughes. She went missing in Bass Lake, CA; a small lake town approx. 1 hour drive east of Yosemite NP.**
**On 07/2/2020, Sandra’s camp site was found thrown around by hikers; the hikers thought a bear attack occurred and report it to rangers. Rangers found Sandra’s wallet, birth certificate, and passport and then contacted her family. Her parents said they had not seen her since 06/29/2020, but reported she was supposed to be in bass lake/Yosemite area camping; she was an outdoor enthusiast.**
**On July 4, 2020, Sandra was reportedly sighted hiking on the** Chiquito Trail in the Serrias just above bass lake; hikers noted she had a blank look on her face but no signs of obvious distress. They asked is Sandra needed help but she denied.
On July 5, 2020, Sandra wrecked vehicle at the Chiquito trailhead near Yosemite NP Witness said it was a slow speed impact into a tree. Passersby attempted to help or see if she was hurt; Sandra denied all help and appeared be distance and seemed to ignore them. Witnesses stated Sandra hung around her car for awhile then just walked off into the woods.
A sleeping bag matching the description of Sandra’s sleeping bag was found 3 days after accident about 2.5 miles for the accident scene.
NP rangers and local authorities organized a mass search of the Serria park and Yosemite NP area; fearing Sandra suffered a head injury and was now lost. The search continued until massive Creek Fire burned throughout the search area. Search was suspended.
On August 9th Sandra was reportedly seen by two hunters driving on a remote fire road in the Serria’s, just above Bass Lake. The area had recently just been burnt down by the creek fire.
The hunters stated she didn’t attempt to wave them down for help or appeared to be in distress. Yet, The hunters noted Sandra was significantly thinner when they saw the pictures of her before she went missing.
One yeah later, in 2021, Sandra was seen by a young boy and his parents were camping near a meadow in the Bass Lake; not too far off from Sandra initial campsite. The boy told his mom that there’s a woman in the meadow that needs help. The boy said she was hurt and she need help. The mom and dad searched the meadow and did see anything. The parents initially wrote it off, but the boy would stop, adding the woman told him her body wasn’t far from there. That spooked the parents and they left.
Few weeks later the mom was on Facebook with her son over her shoulder when they randomly saw Sandra’s missing poster on community board. The boy yelled that was the lady from the meadow, saying she was the one that was hurt.
The mom reportedly freaked out because they have never seen or heard of Sandra before this time. The mom reported this to authorities.
Don’t remember what happened after that but still strange story. I’ve been in those mountains so many times and they can get eerie.
**On 07/2/2020, Sandra’s camp site was found thrown around by hikers; the hikers thought a bear attack occurred and report it to rangers. Rangers found Sandra’s wallet, birth certificate, and passport and then contacted her family. Her parents said they had not seen her since 06/29/2020, but reported she was supposed to be in bass lake/Yosemite area camping; she was an outdoor enthusiast.**
**On July 4, 2020, Sandra was reportedly sighted hiking on the** Chiquito Trail in the Serrias just above bass lake; hikers noted she had a blank look on her face but no signs of obvious distress. They asked is Sandra needed help but she denied.
On July 5, 2020, Sandra wrecked vehicle at the Chiquito trailhead near Yosemite NP Witness said it was a slow speed impact into a tree. Passersby attempted to help or see if she was hurt; Sandra denied all help and appeared be distance and seemed to ignore them. Witnesses stated Sandra hung around her car for awhile then just walked off into the woods.
A sleeping bag matching the description of Sandra’s sleeping bag was found 3 days after accident about 2.5 miles for the accident scene.
NP rangers and local authorities organized a mass search of the Serria park and Yosemite NP area; fearing Sandra suffered a head injury and was now lost. The search continued until massive Creek Fire burned throughout the search area. Search was suspended.
On August 9th Sandra was reportedly seen by two hunters driving on a remote fire road in the Serria’s, just above Bass Lake. The area had recently just been burnt down by the creek fire.
The hunters stated she didn’t attempt to wave them down for help or appeared to be in distress. Yet, The hunters noted Sandra was significantly thinner when they saw the pictures of her before she went missing.
One yeah later, in 2021, Sandra was seen by a young boy and his parents were camping near a meadow in the Bass Lake; not too far off from Sandra initial campsite. The boy told his mom that there’s a woman in the meadow that needs help. The boy said she was hurt and she need help. The mom and dad searched the meadow and did see anything. The parents initially wrote it off, but the boy would stop, adding the woman told him her body wasn’t far from there. That spooked the parents and they left.
Few weeks later the mom was on Facebook with her son over her shoulder when they randomly saw Sandra’s missing poster on community board. The boy yelled that was the lady from the meadow, saying she was the one that was hurt.
The mom reportedly freaked out because they have never seen or heard of Sandra before this time. The mom reported this to authorities.
Don’t remember what happened after that but still strange story. I’ve been in those mountains so many times and they can get eerie.
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4points
#48
My husband. Jon Ganz went missing April 5, 2025 in Thomasville, Missouri. He had been using Gemini for 13 days, suffered a psychotic break, and fled our Airbnb. Last time I ever saw him. I tried to get law enforcement to ping his phone and they refused, said they didn’t consider him endangered since he was eating and bathing. His car, along with all of his belongings inside - including cell, wallet, keys, etc) was found at the Thomasville Restaurant and Eleven Point River. After I recovered his car and gained access to his phone there were 39 chats. He believed he had found a cure for cancer, solved the Riemann Hypothesis, built an app to eradicate poverty, and was working on climate change. At the time we were constantly being pinged with flooding and tornado warning notifications. He said AI had told him the flooding was going to be catastrophic and we needed to leave to go rescue my stepmom in another state. I was still recovering from food poisoning acquired on our trip and told him to get my stepmom and bring her back to the Airbnb. To this day I wish I had let him take my car which had an AirTag inside. And I could have found him that way. Or if I had simply just left with him so I could have been present with him to talk with him regarding the paranoia that had developed so quickly.
I still wonder if he met with foul play. As was told by a LEO to a friend of mine, “Everyone has guns here.” Kinda an odd statement when we were trying to obtain an update on the case. A lot of things just don’t add up. He didn’t walk off into civilization. Ranch land, the Ozarks, and the Eleven Point River. Nothing of him has been found. And all the cadaver dog teams kept getting canceled. Odd, right?
I still wonder if he met with foul play. As was told by a LEO to a friend of mine, “Everyone has guns here.” Kinda an odd statement when we were trying to obtain an update on the case. A lot of things just don’t add up. He didn’t walk off into civilization. Ranch land, the Ozarks, and the Eleven Point River. Nothing of him has been found. And all the cadaver dog teams kept getting canceled. Odd, right?
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4points
#49
The disappearance of Jason Jolkowski.
He was a 19-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska who disappeared on June 13, 2001. That morning, his car was in the shop, so he was supposed to walk about 8 blocks (10-15 minute walk or 0.5mi) from his home to Benson High School. It was so that he can meet a coworker who would give him a ride to work. He was working at Fazolis at the time.
He was last seen at home helping his brother take out trash cans. After that, he left on foot in broad daylight through a normal residential neighborhood. This was around 10:45am.
Jason was supposed to meet his coworker at the school approximately around 11am. When his coworker tried calling his younger Brother around 11:15–11:30 AM to see where he was, Jason couldn’t be reached. He was never seen or heard from again after leaving his house, and there’s no confirmed evidence of what happened during that short walk.
What makes it stand out is how ordinary everything was. He had no known enemies, no signs he planned to disappear, no financial issues or activity suggesting he left voluntarily.
He was literally just walking a short distance in a normal neighborhood during the day, and then there’s a complete gap where no one can place him after he left his driveway. That’s why it gets mentioned so often in discussions that it’s not that something dramatic had happened, it’s that there’s almost nothing to explain what *did* happen.
The only downside was that the Police didn’t really investigate until 10 days later. During the investigation, they’ve showed the school’s security cameras and it showed he never made it to the school.
Ever since and now 25 years later, nothing has ever surfaced.
He was a 19-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska who disappeared on June 13, 2001. That morning, his car was in the shop, so he was supposed to walk about 8 blocks (10-15 minute walk or 0.5mi) from his home to Benson High School. It was so that he can meet a coworker who would give him a ride to work. He was working at Fazolis at the time.
He was last seen at home helping his brother take out trash cans. After that, he left on foot in broad daylight through a normal residential neighborhood. This was around 10:45am.
Jason was supposed to meet his coworker at the school approximately around 11am. When his coworker tried calling his younger Brother around 11:15–11:30 AM to see where he was, Jason couldn’t be reached. He was never seen or heard from again after leaving his house, and there’s no confirmed evidence of what happened during that short walk.
What makes it stand out is how ordinary everything was. He had no known enemies, no signs he planned to disappear, no financial issues or activity suggesting he left voluntarily.
He was literally just walking a short distance in a normal neighborhood during the day, and then there’s a complete gap where no one can place him after he left his driveway. That’s why it gets mentioned so often in discussions that it’s not that something dramatic had happened, it’s that there’s almost nothing to explain what *did* happen.
The only downside was that the Police didn’t really investigate until 10 days later. During the investigation, they’ve showed the school’s security cameras and it showed he never made it to the school.
Ever since and now 25 years later, nothing has ever surfaced.
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4points
#50
Maura Murray.
Her car was found in the side of a New Hampshire road in the kids of the night in a snow storm. Neighbors and other passersbys saw her..... and then she just vanished. Gone. No signs of her anywhere. No body. No evidence.
Just weird.
Her car was found in the side of a New Hampshire road in the kids of the night in a snow storm. Neighbors and other passersbys saw her..... and then she just vanished. Gone. No signs of her anywhere. No body. No evidence.
Just weird.
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4points
#51
Jodi Huisentruit from Mason City, IA. On her way to work at a news station. Never seen again. Found some of her personal belongings outside her car.
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4points
#52
Tabitha Tuders, this story haunts me because it was local for me but she was just walking to her bus stop and vanished. This happened in like 2003, I know someone that went on to work for the Nashville PD who said the general attitude is this is a very solvable case and they are confident someone is withholding information but wouldn't/ couldn't tell me more.
Every couple of years I get this random fierce burning passion to solve her case somehow from the internet.
Every couple of years I get this random fierce burning passion to solve her case somehow from the internet.
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4points
#53
Kevin Nguyen from Ft. Wayne, IN
He just vanished without a trace in the middle of the city. They found his glasses in an Arby’s parking lot and that was it.
He just vanished without a trace in the middle of the city. They found his glasses in an Arby’s parking lot and that was it.
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4points
#54
Amy Bradley. Vanished from cruise ship, witnesses coming forward years later reporting meeting her strung out & disheveled in a brothel & a public bathroom asking for help & telling them her name. A woman's photo was found on s*x worker website, her parents identified the unhealthy looking sad woman as their daughter, Amy Bradley.
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3points
#55
Kendrick Johnson. 17-year-old black male, Valdosta, Georgia. Found rolled upon a wrestling mat, vertically.
The GBI determined he fell in the mat trying to retrieve a shoe. A private autopsy showed he died of blunt force trauma to the neck.
How do you fall into a rolled up mat? With BLUNT force trauma? From padding?
The GBI determined he fell in the mat trying to retrieve a shoe. A private autopsy showed he died of blunt force trauma to the neck.
How do you fall into a rolled up mat? With BLUNT force trauma? From padding?
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1point
