Art, obsession, and identity
The world is full of unsolved mysteries, and the US is certainly no exception (in fact, far from it). For example, did you know that a teen in Missouri died of AIDS-related complications nearly a decade before the condition was discovered? Or that a woman in Minnesota was found frozen and made a full recovery?
From disappearances, to crimes, and everything in between, in this gallery you'll find the most famous unsolved mysteries from each state. Can you guess which one is the strangest? Click on to find out.
Brothers Billy Howard, Robert Earl Dye, and their cousin, Dan Brasher, disappeared in 1956 in Jefferson County. They were last seen in a 1947 green Ford, but disappeared without leaving a trace. Numerous stories have emerged ever since, such as the car being buried under the highway.
The Devils Tower National Monument is considered a sacred site by several Native American tribes. To this day, scientists struggle to explain exactly how it came to exist.
In 1982, a fishing boat was spotted burning off the coast of Craig. Eight bodies were found inside. They had been shot and left to burn, for a reason yet to be known. Also unknown is the perpetrator(s). This remains the state's biggest unsolved mystery to this day.
In 1987, the Tallman family bought a used bunk bed. Soon after, poltergeist activity seemingly started to manifest in their home in Horicon. This included a fire and their children getting ill. The family eventually destroyed the bunk bed and the problems went away. What was the story behind it? No one knows.
In 2001, Robert William Fisher allegedly killed his wife and kids and burned down his house in Scottsdale. He vanished, and the police never caught him. Fisher remained one of the FBI’s "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" until 2021, when he was eventually removed from the list.
In 1991, writer Danny Casolaro agreed to meet a source in Martinsburg. Casolaro was working on a story he called 'The Octopus,' which involved the government. He was found dead in his hotel room. Some believe Danny Casolaro did not take his own life, but that he was murdered instead.
A mysterious floating light, known as the Gurdon Light, was first spotted in the 1930s, above the city of Gurdon's railroad. Theories range from it being the ghost of William McClain, who was murdered in 1931, to others believing it’s a natural phenomenon. Swamp gas and rock quartz beneath the land have been pointed as possible reasons.
In 2002, Jason Padgett was attacked by two men outside a bar. The attack left Padgett with a concussion. But when he, recovered he became a math genius. Acquired savant syndrome is the name given to cases like these.
Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris (pictured left to right) escaped Alcatraz in 1962. They drilled holes in their cells and were never seen again. No bodies were found, so the mystery remains unsolved to this day.
Old House Woods in Diggs used to be a hiding place for pirates and soldiers. It goes without saying that alleged paranormal activity here is pretty strong.
The Lee family moved to their new home in the Black Forest area, only to be tormented by all sorts of weird phenomena, from flashing lights, to footsteps, and music. No one was able to explain it to this day, though a Hopi shaman said the house was located on a place where spirits moved from one world to the other.
The "Bennington Triangle" is an area of Vermont around Glastenbury Mountain, where several disappearances have occurred over the years. There have been various theories, ranging from serial killers to paranormal activity, but no definite answer has been found.
When in 2012 a tree feel on New Haven Green due to Hurricane Sandy, no one could imagine what would be found tangled in the roots: a 200-year-old human skull. More body fragments were found, and it's estimated that over 5,000 bodies are buried under the Green. An epidemic has been put forward as an hypothesis, but the reason remains unknown.
Jean Baptiste was a late-19th-century grave robber. He was then caught and sent to a remote island in the Great Salt Lake. Baptiste then mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again.
In 1986, Jane Marie Prichard was found shot dead in Blackbird State Forest. The student was conducting botany experiments and no apparent reason was ever found for her death.
Nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, a Girl Scout from Arlington, was kidnapped in 1996. A witness said she saw the girl being taken into a van. Her body was found a few days later. While the perpetrators have never been found, the case led to the creation of AMBER Alerts (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response), which are now used worldwide.
In July 1951, the body of 67-year-old Mary Reeser was found in her St. Petersburg apartment. She had been reduced to ashes, and only her shrunken skull and parts of her backbone and left foot remained. Reeser's apartment was intact. The scenario led many to believe it was a case of spontaneous human combustion.
Seven-year-old Nina Craigmiles was hit by a train in 1871 and died. Her family built a marble mausoleum for her and other family members in response. But red stains began to appear in the white marble. They were unable to clean them, and every time a family member is put in the mausoleum, more stains appear.
In 1994, Tina Marcotte called a friend and shared that she had a flat tire. But she also mentioned that her coworker, Tom Kueter, was going to help her. Marcotte vanished. Kueter was then arrested, but he denied having been in touch with his coworker. He was found dead the next day.
In 1987, Minnie Winston was terrified to see that her house at 1114 Fountain Drive in Atlanta was oozing blood from the walls, floor, and appliances. But the police found nothing other than evidence that indeed it was human blood.
In 1982, 19-year-old Lisa Au disappeared. Her car was found along a highway in Kailua and her body was discovered 10 days later. It has been speculated that a police officer (or someone posing as a police officer) was involved, but the case remains unsolved.
Since the 1970s, the cities of Jerome and Bliss have had humans, cattle, and deer turn up mutilated. These include really bizarre incidents, such as bodies being drained of blood. The authorities have pointed to "cult killings," as the motive, but no one has been identified as a suspect.
The "Mad Gasser" of Mattoon has been credited as the author of a number of gas attacks in the 1940s. Though the victims reported a series of symptoms after smelling a strange odor, no physical evidence was ever found. Reasons such as mass hysteria or paranormal activity were also put forward, but needless to say, the mystery remains unsolved.
One morning in 1941, a farmer in Odon spotted smoke coming out of a window. He ran to put out the fire, but then another fire broke out in another room. This happened consecutively 28 times! The farmer believed poltergeists was the reason, so he burned the whole house down and built a new one.
In 2013, a boy named Landon Jones (not pictured) from Cedar Falls contracted a bacterial infection in one of his lungs. Since then he has never been hungry or thirsty again. The boy only eats and drinks because he has to. No one knows why this has happened.
In 1988, Randy Leach disappeared from a high school pre-graduation party in Leavenworth County without leaving a trace. The site of the party was cleaned before the authorities had the chance to investigate and burned down afterwards. Many of those who cooperated with the investigators turned up dead.
In 1876, chunks of meat started to rain down over a farm. The type of meat is unknown, and the only explanation given was that it was vomited by vultures while flying over the area.
The first sightings of "Lizard Man" took place in Browntown in 1988. Residents reported a tall creature with red eyes and enormous strength. Sightings continued until as recently as 2015.
Marie Laveau was a very important figure of Voodoo in New Orleans during the 19th century. All her powers became somewhat legendary, and it's hard to tell between fact and fiction. Could she really have been as powerful as they say?
In 1993, Adam Emery murdered Jason Bass during a road rage incident. Emery vanished just hours after being convicted of the crime. His car was found abandoned on Newport Bridge, and the remains of his wife later appeared in Narragansett Bay. As for Adam Emery, he's still considered a fugitive by the FBI.
In 1898, the body of 52-year-old Sarah Ware was found in Bucksport. A blood-stained hammer, which was believed to be the murder weapon, disappeared, and her neighbor (the main suspect) was acquitted. Ware's burial was also bizarre: her head and body were buried separately, and no gravestone was placed on site.
In 1957, the body of a deceased young boy was found inside a cardboard box in the woods. The identity of the boy, found just outside Philadelphia, remains unknown.
In 2017, a house fire in Bethesda not only revealed the body of a man in the basement, but also a network of tunnels below the house. Daniel Beckwitt, the owner of the house, was charged with the death of the man, but there is still no explanation for the tunnels.
In 2016, some Forest Grove residents reported hearing a shrieking sound akin to a train on metal tracks. Except, there is no railroad nearby. No one was able to determine what the sound was or where it came from.
The "Black Flash" was a figure who appeared to the residents of Provincetown from 1939 to 1945. This was until a man threw boiling water on Black Flash and he disappeared. No one knows who the terrifying figure was.
In 2014, the Jamison family drove out to check a property for sale in Red Oak. Their truck was found days later with all their possessions inside, but their remains were only found about a month later, by hunters. The mystery remains unsolved.
In 1966, a group of teens spotted a light above a valley in Paulding. There have been many theories over the years, from natural to supernatural causes, but the light remains a mystery to this day.
In 1976, residents of Circleville started to receive harassing and threatening letters. After a resident was murdered, a man named Paul Freshour was arrested. But the letters continued. The identity of the Circleville author remains unknown.
Jean Hilliard was driving in 1980, when her car went off the road near Langby. She was found the next day, completely frozen. But though she was frozen solid, Hilliard did not freeze to death. Hillard was very much alive and made a full recovery!
In 1915, the bodies of six people were found in the crawl space of Eugene Butler's house in Niagara. The identity of these people and why they were there remains unknown.
Can you imagine having someone invade your home and cutting a lock of your hair? This is what the "Phantom Barber" of Pascagoula did in 1942. No one ever discovered who he was.
In 1969, 16-year-old Robert Rayford died following hospitalization in St. Louis. His symptoms included extreme weight loss and numerous infections. The HIV virus was discovered in the US a few years later. Subsequent testing proved that Rayford had died of AIDS complications. This was almost 10 years before the condition was first discovered. Plus, the teen had never been out of the country, nor had he had a transfusion. Robert Rayford is allegedly the first person to ever die of AIDS complications in the country.
During the autumn, at a specific time, just before sunset, a shadow of a bear is visible on Whiteside Mountain. The phenomenon attracts photographer's from all over the country.
Not far from Glacier National Park there is an apparent gravitational force that makes trees grow sideways. The so-called "Vortex" is also home to the "House of Mystery," a crooked shack that creates optical illusions.
During the 19th century, a man known as the "Leatherman" wandered around Westchester and Putnam Counties. He slept in caves and was found dead in 1889. The identity of the man and why he was a hermit and wandered in the area is still a mystery.
On March 1, 1950, 15 members of Beatrice’s West Side Baptist Church choir were supposed to meet at the church for rehearsal. For different reasons, all 15 were running late that day. They were incredibly lucky, as a gas leak destroyed the church that day.
For decades, Roswell has been a mecca for UFO fans who believe the truth is still out there. To this day, many people think the government is hiding the truth about the 1947 incident.
The murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 remains the state's most high-profile unsolved mystery.
In 1927, a so-called phantom (or ghost) sniper terrorized Camden. Attacks were reported on car and bus windows, but no bullets or cases were found. They lasted for about a year, and the mysterious sniper was never found.
In 1980, 15-year-old Rachel Garden disappeared without a trace, after buying a pack of cigarettes at a market in Newton. The case remains unsolved to this day.
Source: (Reader's Digest)
The most intriguing unsolved mysteries from each US state
Disappearances, unsolved crimes, and everything in between
LIFESTYLE Unexplained
The world is full of unsolved mysteries, and the US is certainly no exception (in fact, far from it). For example, did you know that a teen in Missouri died of AIDS-related complications nearly a decade before the condition was discovered? Or that a woman in Minnesota was found frozen and made a full recovery?
From disappearances, to crimes, and everything in between, in this gallery you'll find the most famous unsolved mysteries from each state. Can you guess which one is the strangest? Click on to find out.