Murder. Shocking disappearances. Haunting riddles. Although we all love to head into the wild in search of inspiration, sometimes what we find are dark enigmas. To explore this eerie side of things, we investigate 13 haunting true-life tales of crime and enduring mystery.
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By Ian Frazier
Eileen and Tom Lonergan went out for a day of scuba diving, and never came back
Mountaineering’s greatest debate—who reached the top of Everest first?—rages on
Was Michael Rockefeller eaten by cannibals?
Amy Bechtel was there, and then she simply wasn’t
Roanoke Colony vanishes forever
Accused tree-killer Grant Hadwin may still be armed and dangerous
How one make faked his death—twice
With $200,000 strapped to his body, D.B. Cooper stepped out the back of a plane and into history
Buried treasure beckons on the Atlantic coast
Was 20-year-old Everett Ruess a suicide, murder victim, or something else?
The moutain gods swallow another life
A photographer turns up dead in placid Isabella Lake, and there’s no explanation
We don’t know where Edward Abbey is buried. Maybe it’s better that way.
PLUS:
From Sasquatch to the Mothman, Bruce Barcott takes on the supernatural
John Glavin looks at the classic cases that have stumped investigators for years—and perhaps always will
After years of investigation, these fatal mysteries—from a trailside murder to the fate of a missing snowboarder—are now filed under “solved”