From Amelia Earhart to Harold Holt, 10 Celebs Who Went Missing and Were Never Found Again

These Renowned People Disappeared Never to Come Back

The world has seen its fair share of mysterious events, and people have always been drawn to mystery. Falling under this wide umbrella of mysterious events are the curious cases of celebrities who went missing, never to be found again. What makes these incidents even more eerie are the conspiracies that usually follow. From cannibalism to stories of sharks eating humans, here are some of the famous personalities who went missing, and never returned to their loved ones. The list includes athletes, actors, politicians, and more.

1. Michael Rockefeller

Son of Nelson Rockefeller, the prominent political figure, Michael Rockefeller’s official cause of death was tagged “drowning” but what went down is still a mystery to the world. Despite a two-week search in the winter of 1961 in the jungles of New Guinea where the man went missing, he was never found. Some said that he was eaten by sharks. However, arguably the most famous conspiracy has to be that of cannibalism. It was said that the people of Asmat tribes were cannibals and often killed and ate people.

2. Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was the first woman pilot to complete the first circumnavigation of the world in a plane. It was during the longest leg of her flight on the 2nd of July, 1937 that she and her plane navigator Frederick Noonan went missing. The two were later declared lost in the sea. According to History Today, there is a good chance that she went down in the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island, which is just north of her destination. She was never found. 

3. Scott Smith

The Canadian bassist was known for being a member of the rock band Lover Boy. He was lost in the sea. In 2000, the band had just performed in Vancouver and he decided to sail back from British Columbia to Mexico. He was traveling with his fiancee and a friend named Bill Ellis when a storm hit them. Smith was reportedly thrown into the water by a 25-foot-tall wave. Ellis and his fiancee looked for him but never found him. Teams searched for Smith but they failed to locate him as the weather conditions were very bad.

4. American Politician Thomas Hale Boggs Sr.

The politician for the Democratic party who was previously with the New Orleans LA in the House of Representatives went missing in the '70s when he was campaigning for Alaska’s Nick Begich. He boarded a plane to fly from Anchorage to Juneau on 16 October 1972. He was traveling with Boggs, Begich, aide Russell Brown, and pilot Don Jonz who all went missing together. What happened to the aircraft is still a mystery and the Coast Guard, Navy, Army, and Air Force tried a lot but failed to locate them.

5. Basketball player Bison Dele

Bison Dele was an NBA center for Orlando Magics, Los Angeles Clippers, and other teams. On July 6, 2002, he and his girlfriend Serena Karlan, skipper Bertrand Saldo, and his brother Miles Dabord set sail from Tahiti in a catamaran. Miles was the only person who was alive and was detained after were bullet marks found on the boat. To this day, it is believed that Dabord killed the other three and threw them into the Pacific Ocean. He reportedly reached out to his mother and told her that he would never hurt his brother and that he could not survive in prison. 

6. Guitarist Richey Edwards

Richey Edwards disappeared in 1995 at the age of 27. While there are many conspiracy theories surrounding his disappearance, most people thought that he killed himself. Many also suggested later that he planned the disappearance to live his life in peace without fame. According to police, Edwards is still considered a missing person despite his being declared presumed dead in 2008. He vanished and only his car was found parked at a spot that was famous for suicide, which is mostly why people assumed that he died of suicide.

7. Boxer "Sweet Jimmy" Robinson

The boxer from Miami, "Sweet Jimmy" Robinson was the fourth person to fight Muhammad Ali. He appeared for an interview in late 1967 and since this interview, he was never seen again. Very little is known about Jimmy Robinson. An autograph collector who was collecting all the signs from people who fought Muhammad Ali found 49 signatures but failed to get the 50th signature which was, of course, Jimmy Robinson's. There's no trace of the man today. Some say that the name was just an alias which was pretty common in the boxer's community back in the day, which could explain the lack of data on him. 

8. Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt

The former Prime Minister of Australia disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria in Cheviot Beach on the 17th of December 1967. A search operation took place but failed to find his body. He was later declared presumed dead by accidental drowning. However, some conspiracies suggest that he was taken away by a Chinese submarine. Later a swimming center in the country was named after him. Five days after his disappearance, a service was held and everyone accepted the fact that he was gone.

9. Canadian Rapper Forrest Schab, a.k.a. DY

Canadian rapper, DY whose real name was Forrest Schab was reported missing by his family. The rapper went missing in August 2010. He was in Mexico shooting his new music video for a song, "That's My Spot" that featured Danity Kane alum D. Woods. The Canadian police failed to get him and rumors suggest that his disappearance has something to do with drugs and crime in Mexico. “We haven’t heard from Forrest since August. We are extremely worried about him. If anyone has information of his whereabouts, please help us by contacting the Toronto police department,” the official statement from the family read. 

10. Photojournalist Sean Flynn

He was the son of actors Errol Flynn and Lili Damita and went missing at the age of 28 on April 6, 1970. He was in Ho Chi Minh City for a government conference at that time. As per the reports, Flynn and Dana Stone walked on foot near the forest line and they were never to be seen again. Four other international journalists were also kidnapped by the Viet Cong on the very same day. His mother Lili Damita spent many years searching for her son, who was legally declared dead in 1984.