UFO Map

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Other anomalies

Disappearances and tragedies

Ships abandoned by their crews, aircraft that left no trace, expeditions ending in death under unexplained circumstances – such stories live on for years and gather theories, from magnetic anomalies to UFO abductions. Investigations often bring down-to-earth explanations, but the lack of witnesses means certainty is rarely complete.

cases
10
years
1590–2014

Unexplained: 6 Disputed: 3 Explained: 1

  1. 16th century

    1. 1590 Disappearances and tragedies · Unexplained Lost Colony of Roanoke Roanoke Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina, United States In 1590 John White returned to Roanoke Island and found none of the more than one hundred colonists – the only clue was the word “CROATOAN.”

  2. 19th century

    1. 1872 Disappearances and tragedies · Unexplained Mary Celeste Ghost Ship Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and the coast of Portugal In December 1872, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found drifting in the Atlantic – seaworthy, but without a living soul on board.

  3. 1900–1909

    1. 1900 Disappearances and tragedies · Disputed Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery Eilean Mòr, Flannan Isles, Outer Hebrides, United Kingdom In December 1900, the lighthouse on the Flannan Isles went dark, and the three keepers on duty there vanished without a trace.

  4. 1910–1919

    1. 1918 Disappearances and tragedies · Unexplained Disappearance of USS Cyclops Bridgetown, Barbados – the last port before the disappearance, Barbados In March 1918, the U.S. Navy collier USS Cyclops sailed from Barbados with 306 people aboard and vanished without a trace.

  5. 1920–1929

    1. 1921 Disappearances and tragedies · Unexplained Abandoned Schooner Carroll A. Deering Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States In January 1921, a five-masted schooner ran aground near Cape Hatteras with no one on board – the entire crew had vanished.

  6. 1930–1939

    1. 1937 Disappearances and tragedies · Unexplained Disappearance of Amelia Earhart Pacific Ocean near Howland Island In July 1937, famed aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific on their way to tiny Howland Island.

  7. 1940–1949

    1. 1945 Disappearances and tragedies · Disputed Flight 19 – Disappearance of Five Avenger Bombers Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of Florida In December 1945, five U.S. Navy aircraft became lost during a training flight over the Atlantic; a flying boat sent to search for them also vanished.
    2. 1947 Disappearances and tragedies · Explained Star Dust and the “STENDEC” Mystery Glacier on the slopes of Tupungato, Andes, Mendoza Province, Argentina In 1947 the airliner Star Dust vanished over the Andes after sending the mysterious word “STENDEC”; its wreckage emerged from the ice 51 years later.

  8. 1950–1959

    1. 1959 Disappearances and tragedies · Disputed Dyatlov Pass Incident Slope of Kholat Syakhl, Northern Urals, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia In February 1959, nine young hikers died in the Northern Urals after leaving their tent at night, cutting it open from the inside.

  9. 2010–2019

    1. 2014 Disappearances and tragedies · Unexplained Disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Andaman Sea – last radar contact In March 2014, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing – despite years of searching, the wreck has not been found.