# Who is the most prominent person to disappear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546 "2022-04-27T14:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/1 "2022-04-27T14:47:13Z")
The most famous disappearance that comes to my mind is Jimmy Hoffa. He was a prominent trade union leader in the 1950s and 1960s. On July 30, 1975 he went missing and was never seen again, nor was his body ever found. Maybe this is more of an opinion question, but is he the most well known person to vanish off the face of the earth in recent history? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/2 "2022-04-27T14:53:04Z")
This website lists 10 celebrities who disappeared and have never been found; while several of them are more recent than Hoffa, none of them were anywhere near Hoffa’s level of prominence, at least in the U.S. The ones which I recognize are Bison Dele (former basketball player for the Chicago Bulls) and Scott Smith (former bassist for the rock band Loverboy). > **[Celebs Who Went Missing And Have Never Been Found - Nicki Swift](https://www.nickiswift.com/371799/celebs-who-went-missing-and-have-never-been-found/)** > > There are some famous people who vanished and were never heard from again. Yes, there are a number of conspiracy theories about these stars' disappearances. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/3 "2022-04-27T14:53:51Z")
Amelia Earhart was pretty well known at the time of her disappearance. ETA: The previous Ninja link includes her. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/4 "2022-04-27T14:56:55Z")
In the UK, possibly [Lord Lucan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan). Or possibly the Australian Prime Minister [Harold Holt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Harold_Holt). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/5 "2022-04-27T14:57:09Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Amelia Earhart was pretty well known at the time of her disappearance. Indeed, and I didn’t mention her because I interpreted the OP as asking about disappearances which were more recent than Hoffa’s. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/6 "2022-04-27T15:05:16Z")
This may not be what you’re looking for, but Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926. It was a big news story at the time, and what happened is still a bit of a mystery. > **[Agatha Christie | Disappearance: 1926](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie#Disappearance:_1926)** > > In August 1926, Archie asked Agatha for a divorce. He had fallen in love with Nancy Neele, a friend of Major Belcher.: 173–74  On 3 December 1926, the pair quarrelled after Archie announced his plan to spend the weekend with friends, unaccompanied by his wife. Late that evening, Christie disappeared from their home in Sunningdale. The following morning, her car, a Morris Cowley, was discovered at Newlands Corner in Surrey, parked above a chalk quarry with an expired driving licence and clothe The... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/7 "2022-04-27T15:10:21Z")
The thing with Hoffa, though, is that there is little doubt that he was killed. It’s just his body that has “disappeared”. The ultimate fate of Earhart or some prominent Nazis\* is/was more of a mystery. \*We often find out the fate of fugitives like that after they have died. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/8 "2022-04-27T15:23:45Z")
It looks like Ambrose Bierce - author of The Devil’s Dictionary - disappeared, after planning a trip to Mexico. > **[Ambrose Bierce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – c. 1914) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. His story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literatur... Famous to me, at least. It’s a good book. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/9 "2022-04-27T15:26:47Z")
Sorry, I didn’t mean to restrict it to events more recent than Hoffa’s. I think it would make sense to limit it to the last few centuries though. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/10 "2022-04-27T15:29:46Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > still a bit of a mystery. I saw what you did there. 😉 Given the OP’s clarification on “recent history,” it seems like Earhart and Hoffa are likely at the top of the list, as far as the most prominent to have disappeared and never been found/recovered. Holt and Lord Lucan (and their disappearances) might well be better-known in their home countries than Hoffa’s is. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/11 "2022-04-27T15:32:03Z")
> **[Joseph Force Crater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Force_Crater)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Joseph Force Crater (January 5, 1889 – disappeared August 6, 1930; declared legally dead June 6, 1939) was a New York State Supreme Court Justice who went missing amid a political scandal. He was last seen leaving a restaurant on West 45th Street in Manhattan and entered popular culture as one of the most mysterious missing persons cases of the 20th century. Despite massive publicity, the case was never solved and was officially closed forty yea... ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/12 "2022-04-27T15:37:12Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The thing with Hoffa, though, is that there is little doubt that he was killed. It’s just his body that has “disappeared”. The ultimate fate of Earhart or some prominent Nazis\* is/was more of a mystery. Agreed - cases where suicide or murder are obviously plausible explanations, where it’s really just the absence of a body, are less compelling. Unless it’s hard to see how the body _could_ have disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/13 "2022-04-27T15:40:52Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Holt and Lord Lucan (and their disappearances) might well be better-known in their home countries than Hoffa’s is. True, Hoffa doesn’t mean much to me, and the question brought to mind Lord Lucan immediately. Although I suspect Lord Lucan is mostly famous _because_ he went missing (after murdering the nanny), than for being a famous person who went missing, if you see what I mean. Of course, Lord Lucan’s disappearance is also tantilising because there has been endless speculation about where he went - did he drown himself or is he still living on a ranch in South Africa? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/14 "2022-04-27T15:48:08Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Although I suspect Lord Lucan is mostly famous _because_ he went missing (after murdering the nanny), than for being a famous person who went missing, if you see what I mean. Interesting point. 🙂 I was a kid when Hoffa disappeared, though I suspect that, as one of the U.S.'s most prominent labor leaders, in an era in which unions had quite a lot of power, he was reasonably well-known among the general public. But, when he disappeared, I remember it being all over the nightly TV news for weeks. And, like Earhart, there is still an awful lot of speculation about what happened to him, and there’ve been many TV shows which explore the mystery. When a rumor started, many years after the disappearance, that Hoffa might have been buried underneath one of the end zones at the then-under-construction Giants Stadium in New Jersey, it became a running joke for years. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/15 "2022-04-27T15:53:04Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > This may not be what you’re looking for, but Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926. The Master spoke: [Why did mystery writer Agatha Christie mysteriously disappear?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341542/why-did-mystery-writer-agatha-christie-mysteriously-disappear) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/16 "2022-04-27T16:05:52Z")
Bandleader Glenn Miller in 1944 > **[Glenn Miller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Miller)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forces. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and the big band era. His military group, the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, was also p... ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/17 "2022-04-27T16:14:37Z")
[Aimee Semple McPherson](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-incredible-disappearing-evangelist-572829/#:~:text=Aimee%20Semple%20McPherson%20was%20an,for%20five%20weeks%20in%201926.&text=Along%20the%20Los%20Angeles%20beach,unable%20to%20stop%20their%20tears.) was _awfully_ famous in her time. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/18 "2022-04-27T16:21:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In the UK, possibly [Lord Lucan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan). Or possibly the Australian Prime Minister [Harold Holt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Harold_Holt). Is Harold Holt really a mystery, though? The man decided to take a swim off a coast known for strong and erratic currents. He presumably got in trouble and drowned. As Bill Bryson put it in _In A Sunburned Land_ - which is where I heard about it - the only thing unusual about the story was that Holt was Prime Minister of Australia at the time; if he were just some schlub, there would have been no mystery at all. Bryson also pointed out that Australians erected a wonderfully Aussie memorial to Holt - a municipal swimming center. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/19 "2022-04-27T16:23:47Z")
> **[Wallace Fard Muhammad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Fard_Muhammad)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Wallace Dodd Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad (/fəˈrɑːd/; reportedly born February 26, c. 1877 – disappeared c. 1934), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. He arrived in Detroit in 1930 with an obscure background and several aliases, and taught an idiosyncratic form of what he considered Islam to members of the city's black population. In 1934, he disappeared from public record, and Elijah Muhammad succeeded him... Wallace Fard: the movement he founded (Nation of Islam) is a bit more famous than he is, but he’s an interesting character with an interesting backstory and an unsolved disappearance. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546/20 "2022-04-27T16:24:44Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Glenn Miller Not very mysterious–that wikipedia article acknowledges some crackpot CTs, but basically says his plane got iced up and crashed. It was a disappearance in that his body was never found, but otherwise it seems pretty straightforward. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-prominent-person-to-disappear/963546.md?page=2)