People Shared The Most Upsetting Unsolved Mysteries, And I DO NOT Recommend Reading These Late At Night
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We previously asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about an unsolved mystery they just couldn't stop thinking about. There were so many comments and responses to that post and a follow-up, that we decided to do a part three. Here are more terrifying stories people shared:
Warning: Disturbing and graphic content ahead.
1."The disappearance of a childhood friend of mine Nuseiba Hasan. There was a Gimlet podcast about it. Blew my mind."
According to CBC, when investigative journalist Habiba Nosheen received an intense "cryptic email" to look into Nuseiba Hasan's story, Nosheen "soon learned that the 26-year-old had actually disappeared in 2006, yet nearly a decade had passed before anyone reported she was gone." The article continued, "There was reason to believe she 'met with foul play,' investigators said at the time."
2."The killing of Kevin Ives and Don Henry in 1987 in Alexander, Arkansas. They were two boys I attended high school with. They were murdered and then placed on a railroad track where they were run over by a freight train. The sheriff did a HORRIBLE job at the crime scene, and the case is still unsolved."
According to Arkansas Online, "Early on the morning of Aug. 23, 1987, a Union Pacific crew spotted the bodies of Kevin Ives and Henry wrapped in a tarp on the tracks. Unable to stop in time, the train ran them over, finally coming to a complete stop in Benton where Union Pacific employees reported the incident to the police. The teenagers had stayed out late hunting the night before.
Though a gun was found near the bodies, investigators initially ruled the incident as a suicide or related to drug use; later reviews of autopsies revealed they had been murdered, their bodies placed on the track near or shortly after their deaths.
In 1988, Richard Garrett, an attorney for the victims' families, appeared on Unsolved Mysteries to discuss the murders. During an interview with the host, Garrett said he believed the two boys 'saw something they shouldn't have seen and it had to do with drugs.' Kevin Ives' and Henry's deaths were ruled homicides in March 1990.
No arrests were ever made."
3."The horrifying killing of Missy Bevers. She was teaching an early morning yoga class at a church, and her killer, who remains unknown, was caught walking around on camera in SWAT gear before murdering her. Very disturbing!"
According to CBS News, "Her suspected assailant was also seen on surveillance video walking the hallways of the church early that morning, using a hammer to break windows, while wearing a helmet and tactical gear. Bevers' wounds were 'consistent with tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building,' documents said. The mother of three died of multiple puncture wounds to her head and her chest."
4."The murder of Grégory Villemin. Within the span of four hours, he was abducted from his front yard, and his body was found near a local river. There's a Netflix documentary called Who Killed Little Gregory? about it. It is both heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating because he was just 4 years old, and his murder is still unsolved."
According to BBC News, "Hours before the boy was discovered, his hands and feet tied, his uncle said he had received a phone call from someone claiming to have kidnapped him. The following day, the child's parents received a letter that said: 'Your son is dead, I have been avenged.'
The next month, a cousin of the boy's father, Bernard Laroche, was arrested when his sister-in-law, Muriel Bolle, testified against him. He was released in 1985 when she retracted her statement, but shot dead by Jean-Marie Villemin, the boy's father, weeks later.
The father went to jail for Laroche's murder for several years. The boy's mother, Christine Villemin, was also jailed for her son's murder but later cleared. Both were later given compensation by the state for miscarriage of justice.
The case was reopened first in 2000 and then again in 2008 in an attempt to identify the DNA on the letters. Three separate traces of DNA were found but not identified."
5."The disappearance of Emma Fillipoff, a Canadian woman who disappeared on Nov. 28, 2012. She was last seen outside the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia when she was 26 years old."
Shortly before her disappearance, Fillipoff had been living at a shelter in Victoria. According to CTV News, "Acquaintances who would see Emma around were noticing that she seemed to be acting paranoid, lost, confused, and not like herself." While outside the Empress Hotel, "Two officers came and spoke to Emma and assessed her for about 45 minutes and deemed her okay to walk away. They didn't have any reason to hold her under the mental healthcare act." It was the last time she was seen.
6."The death of Rebecca Zahau. There is good evidence that does point to someone, but no one has ever been arrested to my knowledge."
Rebecca Zahau's body was found hanging outside the Coronado, California beachfront mansion she shared with her boyfriend, Jonah Shacknai, a pharmaceutical company executive in 2011.
According to NBC News, "Zahau's death was ruled a suicide in two separate sheriffs’ investigations, but a civil suit in 2018 found her boyfriend’s brother, Adam Shacknai, responsible for her death. Adam had been staying at the mansion at the time and was the last person to see Zahau alive. Adam maintained he was not responsible for the death. Zahau's death came just days after Jonah Shacknai's son, 6-year-old Max Shacknai, died in a deadly fall at the mansion while Zahau was watching the boy."
7."The murder of Barry and Honey Sherman. A local 2017 case here in Toronto, Canada. Barry was the founder of a pharmaceutical manufacturer and distribution company and was worth millions, if not billions. Their bodies were found in the basement pool area tied to a pool railing with belts. It was initially thought to be a murder-suicide but was soon found to be a double murder."
"No suspects have been found, those initially thought to be involved have been cleared, and the house has been demolished. Someone (an urban explorer) got into the house before it was demolished and said they found all sorts of possible evidence left behind by the police that was still in the house when it was torn down. It’s been six years and still no leads. Their kids are now offering a large reward for any information that could clear the case up."
8."Still nothing about Diamond and Tionda Bradley? They were left home alone by their mom, and when she came home, they were gone without a trace. That was in 2001."
Sisters Diamond and Tionda Bradley were 3 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."
According to NBC News, "But there was something off about the note. Family members told Dateline the spelling and grammar seemed too perfect and advanced for a girl Tionda’s age. They added it was also not like Tionda to leave a note — instead, she would have just called her mother."
Just last month, in May 2023, a woman has come forward claiming to be Diamond. According to the girls' great aunt, Sheliah Bradley-Smith, the woman in question has since turned in a cheek swab and fingerprints to the FBI.
9."The disappearance of 4-year-old Michael Wayne Dunahee who went missing in Victoria, British Columbia on March 24, 1991. Michael was last seen that day around 12:30 p.m. at the Blanshard Park Elementary School playground while his mother, Crystal Dunahee, was participating in a women's football practice. Although his parents were nearby, no witnesses to his disappearance have ever been identified."
According to Times Colonist, "On the 32nd anniversary of the child’s disappearance, Victoria police issued a news release saying investigators continue to work on the case. Despite more than 10,000 tips over three decades and one of the largest police investigations in Canadian history, the case remains unsolved."
10."The murder of Catherine Cesnik. She was a nun who worked as a teacher at an all-girls catholic school in the 1960s. She went to a shopping center to buy her sister a wedding gift and disappeared. Her car was found the next day parked across the street from her apartment and was covered in mud. Months later, her body was found in the woods."
"There were very few leads until decades later when one of her former students came forward claiming a priest, who was the school principal at the time, had taken her to the woods and shown her Cathy’s body. He told her, 'That’s what happens when you say bad things about people' because shortly before her disappearance, the student had confided in Cathy that the priest had been sexually abusing her. A lot of other former students have since come forward claiming to have been sexually abused by the same priest. He has since died, and the case is still open.
Netflix has a docuseries about it called The Keepers. It’s a case that still upsets me because there seems to have been many other people involved in the abuse and possibly Cathy’s murder, and as usual, the church was very aware of how dangerous this priest was and covered it up for decades."
11."The one that I've never forgotten is the disappearance of Michael Negrete. He was up late playing video games in his dorm with a friend, then last seen going back to his room. The only lead the police have is multiple students allegedly seeing an unknown man on the floor of his dorm room the night he disappeared."
Eighteen-year-old UCLA student Michael Negete disappeared early in the morning on 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.
12."The disappearance of 2-year-old Sky Metalwala from Bellevue, Washington on Nov. 6, 2011. His mother, Julia Biryukova, said she left him alone in her car (allegedly) on a residential street because her car had 'run out of gas' even though police later determined it had not run out of gas. There have been no leads or traces to this day. The mother was entirely uncooperative and refused to answer any questions."
According to King 5, "Biryukova has continued to live in the area, remarrying, later fighting over custody of another child with another ex-husband. She declined to talk when approached by a reporter in 2019, and has successfully hidden from public view since the story got national attention."
13."The disappearance of Brandon Swanson. It happened in Marshall, Minnesota in 2008. Brandon was out with friends at a bar, celebrating the end of their first year of college, when he decided to start heading home around midnight. Around 2 a.m., he called his parents to let them know that he had driven into a ditch and needed to be picked up, so his parents started driving to him. While on the phone with him, Brandon shouted 'oh shit' and went silent. They never heard from or saw him again, and there is no trace of him anywhere. This happened about two hours from where I live, and it still shakes me to my core when I think about it."
Swanson's car was later found abandoned in a ditch with the car doors open and keys missing, roughly 25 miles from where he had said he was.
14."The death of my childhood friend, Sara Keesling. She disappeared in the fall of 1988 in Riverside, California, and her body was found under a pile of trash at an illegal dump site two weeks later just a few miles from her dad’s house.
"Because there was no obvious cause of death, it was ruled undetermined, and to this day, no one has ever been suspected, arrested, or charged in her death. This case has haunted me for almost 35 years, and the authorities are just as apathetic now as they were then. Except for a few short articles in our local newspaper at the time regarding the discovery of her remains, her death did not get much attention. She was 12 years old."
15."The murder of Lisa Mack in Iron Mountain, Michigan on May 15, 1999. Worth the google."
According to TV6 News, Lisa Mack was found murdered in a small bar called Mayme's in Iron Mountain over Mother's Day Weekend in 1999. "There is a person of interest, Rallund Lee Ottlinger, but the motive behind the killing and the details remain unknown, and the case remains open."
16."The disappearance of Bryce Laspisa. He had been acting strangely throughout his drive home. Still don't understand why his parents didn't go and get him after being notified by the police and/or the owner of the shop that provided roadside assistance."
"Bryce Laspisa was a 19-year-old student who went missing in the Castaic Lake area of California in 2013. He had been driving home to his parents' home after breaking up with his girlfriend. The last time anyone heard from him was a call with his mother at around 2 a.m."
17."Ryan Shtuka vanished on his way home from a party at Big White Mountain Ski Resort just outside Kelowna, BC, Canada in February 2018. He was only 20 years old. They have held so many searches over the years, and talked to everyone possible. I remember reading that he didn't even have a winter coat on when people saw him leave; he was staying only a 5-minute walk away from the house party, and he never made it. It's a really sad story."
According to Kamloops This Week, "Mounties have not ruled out foul play, but have not reported finding anything suspicious, and Ryan’s disappearance remains a mystery."
18."The disappearance of Michele Harris. She went missing from the Owego, New York area on Sept. 11, 2001. Her minivan was found abandoned in her driveway. There wasn't as much law enforcement in the area that day because this happened on 9/11, and many first responders, etc. were sent to the city to help. She was estranged from her husband Cal Harris, a well-known auto salesman. He was tried four separate times and eventually acquitted. There are rumors during a heated exchange, he said something to the tune of 'No one will ever find you.'"
According to WNBF, "Her husband, Calvin, was charged with murder more than four years later. Harris was convicted in two trials, but a third trial ended in a hung jury. Harris was acquitted of murder in a non-jury trial in 2016. Michele's body has not been found."
19."The disappearance of Timmothy Pitzen in 2011 from Aurora, Illinois. His dad dropped him off at school, and a short while later, his mom, Amy Fry-Pitzen, picked him up. They went to the zoo and some water parks. Amy was later found in a motel room in Rockford, Illinois, having died by suicide. She left a note that said Timmothy was with people who loved him, and he would never be found. He hasn’t been seen since."
According to NBC Chicago, Fry-Pitzen's sister, Kara Jacobs, believes that her sister, Amy, handed off Timmothy to another family in Iowa. However, no one has reported seeing Timmothy since his disappearance.
20."The Setagaya family murders in 2000. The fact that they have so much DNA evidence but still can't catch the person responsible is just heartbreaking."
The Setagaya family murder, aka the "Goldilocks Murder," refers to 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.
21."The disappearance of Leah Roberts in 2000. She was from North Carolina and left unexpectedly to drive across the country with her cat. Her car was found crashed on a mountain road in Washington state. Years later, they finally checked her car more thoroughly, and there was evidence that the engine had been tampered with to cause a crash."
According to MSN, Leah's sister Kara discovered a strange note dated March 9, 2000 addressed to Leah's roommate Nicole. "It included cash covering a month's worth of expenses, leading Kara to believe that Leah planned to return within a few weeks. Parts of the note — such as the bit about leaving money for bills — made perfect sense, while others were vague and even ominous. After a brief introduction, Leah wrote: 'While I am gone, remember — everyone is together in thoughts and prayers and time passes quickly. Have faith in me, yourself, everyone.'"
22."The Yogurt Shop Murders is Austin’s most famous unsolved murder — four teenage girls were murdered for NO reason."
According to CBS News, "The story starts on December 6, 1991, when Eliza Thomas, Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, and Amy Ayers were tied up and shot. The yogurt shop was then set on fire. For decades, investigators worked to find suspects. There were eventually arrests and even convictions. But those convictions were overturned, leaving the case unsolved today."
23.Finally, "The widely publicized Madeleine McCann case about a 3-year-old British girl who went missing from her bed in 2007 while her family was on vacation in Portugal. There have been some recent developments."
As of April 2023, according to Reuters, convicted German criminal, Christian Brueckner, has been formally identified as an official suspect in the Madeleine McCann case.
In June 2023, the Independent reported, "Soil from a reservoir in Portugal searched by police last month is being compared with samples from main suspect Christian Brueckner’s camper van." Officials believe they can prove Brueckner's van was in the area at the time McCann was abducted.
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.
