50 Unsolved Mysteries That Kept People Up At Night In 2023

Throughout 2023, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about mysteries they just couldn't stop thinking about. There were so many comments and responses we decided to round up the darkest ones of the year. Here they are:

Warning: Disturbing and graphic content ahead including mentions of murder.

1.The truly suspicious 2006 disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan, a 26-year-old Canadian woman who wasn't reported missing until nine years after she disappeared.

her photo on the news

2.The killing of Kevin Ives and Don Henry in 1987 in Alexander, Arkansas. Their bodies were hit by a train after they'd been laid out on the tracks. It was later discovered they'd been murdered and placed on the train tracks not long after they died.

their photos on the news

3.The disappearance of five-year-old Jaquilla Scales who went missing just before 9/11 happened. She was last seen in her bed at around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2001. Six days after she disappeared, the 9/11 attacks occurred.

missing child poster

4.The horrifying killing of Missy Bevers, a fitness instructor in Midlothian, Texas in 2016. Her body was found at a church, and police released surveillance footage of her suspected assailant walking around the church early that same morning, which shook the community.

billboard from the county crime stoppers asking to help find her killer

5.The "Frog Boys" case, which is about a group of five boys who disappeared while trying to catch frogs on the outskirts of Daegu, South Korea in 1991. Although the case received a lot of media attention and a large search was conducted, the boys were not immediately found. However, in 2002, the remains of the boys were finally discovered. Although authorities believe the boys were likely murdered (three of the boys had signs of blunt force trauma to their heads), what exactly happened has never been solved.

missing poster for them

6.The murder of four-year-old Grégory Villemin in France in 1984. Grégory had been abducted from his home and then his body was found just a few miles away roughly four hours later. His hands and feet had been bound with rope and a hat was pulled down over his face.

photo of him

7.The murder of Barry and Honey Sherman, billionaires who were found dead, strangled in their Toronto home in 2017. Although investigators initially speculated that the case was a murder-suicide, police later concluded that there was evidence of a homicide, saying they believed the couple was targeted.

police tape around a house

8.The "Tylenol murders" — a series of poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area in 1982. The Tylenol capsules the victims had taken had been laced with potassium cyanide. No suspect has ever been found or convicted. The crime is the reason there is now tamper-proof packaging on many over-the-counter drugs as well as certain food.

tylenol boxes

"It happened when I was in junior high, and I remember adults being terrified. Then came all the copycat tampering of different OTC medications. I think about this every time I open tamper-proof tabs, which were put in place as a deterrent to these murders."

—Anonymous

Bernard Bisson / Sygma via Getty Images

9.The death of Phoebe Handsjuk, a 24-year-old woman in Melbourne, Australia whose body was found after she'd reportedly fallen several stories, feet first, down into a high-rise building's garbage chute. Although her family believes someone put her into the garbage chute, her death remains a mystery.

ctv footage of her walking out of a building with a dog

10.The disappearance of 23-year-old Cindy Song at Penn State on Halloween night in 2001. Song went to a party that night dressed as a bunny and was last seen by friends who dropped her off at her apartment complex afterward.

her photo on the news

11.The disappearance of nine-year-old Asha Degree, who went missing on Feb. 14, 2000, in Shelby, North Carolina, and was reportedly last seen running to the woods.

on the news, the news anchor stands with her missing poster

12.The "Goldilocks Murder," the unsolved murder of the Miyazawa family — a father, mother, and their two children — who lived in the Setagaya neighborhood of Tokyo where they were brutally stabbed to death in December 2000. After the killings, the unknown assailant remained in the family's house and used their toilet, and computer, napped on the sofa, and even ate their food.

<div><p>"The fact that they have so much DNA evidence but still can't catch the person responsible is just heartbreaking."</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/dropbear_2000" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:dropbear_2000;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">dropbear_2000</a></p></div><span> Cheng Feng Chiang / Getty Images/iStockphoto</span>

13.The abduction of Angela Hammond who went missing in Clinton, Missouri in April 1991. She was four months pregnant and engaged to a man named Rob Shafer. After dropping Shafer off at his parents' house one night, Hammond later called him from a pay phone. She seemed like she might be in trouble. Shafer drove out to help Hammond, and on the way saw her being driven away in a green Ford truck. Although there are still active leads in the case, Hammond has not been found to this day.

her photo on the news

"Just chilling. I saw an update where they think it was a case of mistaken identity."

—Anonymous

Inside Edition

14.The disappearance of Beth Miller, a 14-year-old girl who went missing in the Denver area on August 16, 1983. She had been out jogging but never returned home. Witnesses at the time reported seeing her talking to a man in a red pickup truck, but authorities were never able to track it down. Although investigators and many volunteers helped search for her, she has still never been found.

people searching the wooded area

15.The disappearance of seven-year-old Alexis Patterson from Milwaukee in 2002. Allegedly, her stepfather dropped her off at school, but she never made it in the building.

her missing person poster and the school she attended

16.The Nanjing University mutilation case of Diao Aiqing who went missing in 1996. Several days later, her dismembered remains were found across many different locations in and around Nanjing University in Jiangsu, China.

aerial view of the university

17.The disappearance of Paige Renkoski from Okemos, Michigan in May 1990. Her vehicle had been reported abandoned on the side of a road and found still running by police. However, it was also discovered her purse and shoes were in the vehicle.

inside of her car

18.The murder of Lindsay Buziak, a 24-year-old real estate agent in the Victoria, Canada area who was stabbed to death on Feb. 2, 2008, while showing a property to an unnamed couple.

photo of her and the taped-off area shown on the news

19.The disappearance of 18-year-old UCLA student Michael Negete early in the morning of Dec. 10, 1999. Although it was initially categorized as a missing persons case, according to police, it eventually turned into a homicide investigation. He has not been found.

the university

20.The unsettling disappearance of Angela Green, a 51-year-old mom who disappeared under inexplicable circumstances in June 2019. She was last seen at her home in Prairie Village, Kansas, but was not reported missing until some months later.

her missing persons poster

21.The disappearance of Kyle Fleischmann, who left a bar in Charlotte, North Carolina in November 2007 leaving his debit card and jacket at the bar. He stopped for pizza but then disappeared.

footage of him at a bar

22.The story of Billy Smolinski, who disappeared from Waterbury, Connecticut on Aug. 24, 2004. He was 31 years old. His home on Holly Street was the last place he was ever seen, and he left behind his truck, keys, wallet, and dog Harley.

news anchor showing his missing person poster

23.The murder of Ebby Steppach, an 18-year-old high school student who disappeared under strange circumstances in Little Rock, Arkansas in October 2015. Her body was found nearly three years later, not far from where her car had initially been found.

her photo on the news

24.The disappearance of Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone, who were dating, and were last seen leaving a bar/restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania late in the evening on Feb. 19, 2005.

—wgolden130According to a CBS News report from 2022, a search and rescue dive team dedicated to helping families find missing loved ones called Adventures with Purpose began working on the case. Doug Bishop, of Adventures with Purpose said, 

25.The disappearance of Kyron Horman, a seven-year-old boy from Portland, Oregon who was last seen in June 2010. Although his case sparked the largest criminal investigation in Oregon history, it remains unsolved.

missing child poster

26.The case of Brittney Wood, a 19-year-old single mom who disappeared on May 30, 2012, in southwestern Alabama. She had been on her way to visit her uncle, but never returned home. Shockingly, her uncle was found in his truck off of a beaten path just two days later with a gunshot to the head.

her missing person poster

27.The overlooked, and unsolved, murder of 12-year-old Georgia Moses in Santa Rosa, California in August of 1997. After reportedly leaving a gas station with an unidentified man, Georgia's body (identified through dental records) was found a week later, decomposing, just off Highway 101. Her killer(s) have never been caught.

<div><p>"She didn’t get a lot of press, even after her body was found. Sadly, Georgia's case remains completely unsolved. She did not have a very nice home life, and she was just doing what all us kids did back then walking around her neighborhood, stopping at the little corner store for a snack. Her mom didn’t report her missing right away. One potential witness thought they saw her getting into a man’s car, but that’s never panned out either."</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/margaretb49238f5cc" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:margaretb49238f5cc;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">margaretb49238f5cc</a></p></div><span> George Rose / Getty Images</span>

28.The chilling disappearance of Trevor Deely, a 22-year-old in Dublin, Ireland who was last seen on security camera as he walked home around four in the morning on Dec. 8, 2000.

person walking with an umbrella and then an unknown person walking behind them

You can see the CCTV footage here:

29.The mysterious and violent murder of David Grubbs, a 23-year-old in Ashland, Oregon. He was brutally murdered with "an edged weapon" on his way home from work on Nov. 19, 2011. The unsolved case remains open and active.

a news story about him

30.The strange disappearance of Summer Wells, a five-year-old who was last seen at her home on Ben Hill Road in Rogersville, Tennessee where she lived with her parents and older brothers in June 2021.

the story on the news

31.The inexplicable disappearance of Melanie Metheny from Kanawha County, West Virginia in 2006, who was last seen dropping off her children at daycare. Her van was found four days later, but there was no evidence of what happened to her.

the news story

32.The case of Kierra Coles, a 26-year-old postal worker who was roughly three months pregnant when she went missing on Oct. 2, 2018. Her last known movements on that day were captured on CCTV camera, which the Chicago police released in 2022.

cctv images

33.The disappearance of Maura Murray, a 21-year-old nursing student who got into a car accident in upstate New Hampshire. Prior to disappearing, she'd told professors that she would be taking a week off due to a death in the family. However, her family later told authorities that there had been no death.

the news story

34.The murder of preschool teacher Alicia Hummel whose body was found in the Missouri River near Vermillion, South Dakota on June 1, 2015. Her last known contact was on Snapchat at 1:30 p.m. that day, just hours before her body was found.

screenshot of the snapchat, and a photo of her on the news

35.The killing of Molly Bish, a 16-year-old lifeguard who vanished from her post at Comins Pond in Warren, Massachusetts on June 27, 2000. Bish's remains were found in 2003, a few miles from the pond, in the woods.

her school photo

36.The case of Johnny Gosch, a 12-year-old who disappeared during his morning paper route in 1982 and whose mother claimed that he visited her with an unidentified man 15 years later.

his photo on the news

37.The murder of Jill Dando, a well-known British TV presenter who was 37 years old when she was shot dead outside her home in Fulham, an area of London, on April 26, 1999.

—vix_da_vixenA man named Barry George was eventually arrested for murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison in 2001. However, in 2007 his conviction was overturned, and in 2008 he was cleared of the crime after a retrial.Although many other theories exist, including ones involving various hitmen, the case remains unsolved.

38.The suspicious disappearance of William Tyrrell, a three-year-old from New South Wales, Australia who went missing in September 2014 while playing at his foster grandmother's home.

his photo on the news

39.The bizarre disappearance of Felicia Martin Cochran from Pell City, Alabama back in 1992 who had gone to get her hair done in Birmingham.

billboard with her missing information

40.The inexplicable story of seven-year-old Michelle Wedge, who went missing while riding her bike near her home on July 2, 1975, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

<div><p>"Her bike was found near the last place anyone remembered seeing her. Searches were launched and curfews were instated for all under 16. </p><p>Every so often someone thinks they have information or rumors of a plot to cover up her death crop up. That usually involves a story about a prominent drunken citizen hitting her with a car and the cops covering up. </p><p>'Someone knows something' is what they all say. I would be surprised if anyone who knows anything talks."</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/floopowder" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:floopowder;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">floopowder</a></p></div><span> By Marc Guitard / Getty Images</span>

41.The disappearance and believed murder of Susan Cox Powell who went missing in 2009 in West Valley City, Utah. Her husband, Joshua, was named a person of interest and he later died by suicide after killing their two sons, Charles and Braden, in 2012. Susan's body has never been found.

a funeral service for the two young boys

"I think about this almost daily. Listen to The Cold Podcast Season 1."

stacysith

Pool / Getty Images

42.The mysterious case of Texas State student Jason Landry in December 2020, who went missing while driving home to Missouri City, Texas for the holidays. His car was abandoned car was found wrecked and pinned against a tree, lights on, keys in the ignition, and clothes in the car, too.

the news story showing an empty dirt road

43.The strange disappearance of Fauna Frey, a 45-year-old woman who went missing in June of 2020. She was last seen in Grants Pass, Oregon in the parking lot of a small grocery store. Her vehicle was found months later, hidden deep in a forest.

the news story with the missing person's face

44.The case of Michael Dunahee, a four-year-old in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, who vanished from the playground of an elementary school in 1991. At the time, his family and others were watching a touch football game in the park. Although a massive search was conducted, he was never found.

the newspaper headline

45.The disappearance of Andrea Knabel, a mother from Louisville, Kentucky, who was last seen leaving her sister's home on Aug. 13, 2019. Although there have been some tips since she went missing, they've all led to "dead ends."

someone posting a missing person poster on a pole

46.The disappearance of 11-year-old Trudy Appleby from Moline, Iowa, who was last seen leaving her home on Aug. 21, 1996.

the billboard for her

47.The disappearance of Jennifer Kesse, a 24-year-old living in Orlando, Florida who went missing on Jan. 23, 2006. She was last seen leaving work around 6 p.m. and then spoke to her father on the drive home. She also talked on the phone with her boyfriend later. Kesse did not arrive at work the next day. The family is still getting leads today.

the missing person poster on the news

48.The upsetting disappearance of Native American girl Anthonette Cayedito, a nine-year-old from Gallup, New Mexico, who was last seen in April 1986. The case had a couple of suspicious leads over the years — including an unknown girl calling the police to say she's Anthonette and a suspected sighting in Carson City, Nevada — but none of these leads ever panned out.

the news story showing her photo

49.The disappearance of sisters Diamond and Tionda Bradley who were three and 10 years old when they went missing in July 2001 in Chicago, Illinois. When their mother returned home, instead of finding her children there, she found a note on the back of the couch that had allegedly been written by Tionda saying she and Diamond "had gone to the store and to a school playground nearby."

the two missing person flyers

50.Finally, the Dupont de Ligonnès murders. Agnès Dupont de Ligonnès, her four children, and two dogs were found murdered underneath the garden in the backyard of their house in France while her husband went on a three-week road trip down the coast of France.

flowers left for the family

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

If you or anyone you know has information on a missing person case, call local law enforcement first. You can also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (THE-LOST) or visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System site for regional case assistance.