MetaFilter posts tagged with missing

"A silly mistake" with explosives on a plane.

ricochet biscuit — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:24:23 -0800

Last weekend, Slovakian border police placed explosive in the bags of a passenger, Stefan Gonda, as he departed for his home in Ireland. The aim was to train dogs to detect explosives but an undetected and unretrieved package of RDX (the base for a number of military explosives) flew with the unaware Mr. Gonda, who was later arrested by police in Dublin under the Offences Against the State Act. Slovakia has since apologized but holds the position that Irish police overreacted. Not everyone agrees. The police official who oversaw the operation. has resigned. In other news, plastic explosives that slipped past bomb-sniffing dogs in France in 2004 have still not turned up. The timeline of events.

"The world's most famous missing person."

kirkaracha — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:11:32 -0800

"The unburied come back to haunt us." On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Lae, Papua New Guinea (map) in their Lockheed Electra en route to Howland Island (map). They were never seen again. Earhart and Noonan's flight was one of the last legs of an attempted around-the-world flight at the Equator. (A previous attempt, flying east to west, failed when Earhart's plane was damaged in Hawaii and had to be sent to California for repairs.) The most common explanation is that they ran out of fuel, ditched in the ocean, and drowned, but the disappearance is an enduring mystery. In Search of...Amelia Earhart (part 2, part 3). Where's Amelia Earhart? The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR; previously) is a leading supporter of a theory that the Earhart and Noonan crash-landed at Nikumaroro (then called Gardner Island; map) TIGHAR's map of Nikumaroro shows the locations of possible evidence to support their theory. TIGHAR recently obtained a reference sample of mitochondrial DNA from a direct female relative of Earhart's, and is making a new expedition to Nikumaroro in May 2010 to look for DNA evidence. Crash Reconstruction by the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University.

Do you know these children?

Asparagirl — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:32:10 -0800

Do you, or an older relative of yours, recognize any of these children? More than 70 children separated from their families during WWII, now all elderly men and women, are using the Internet to try to find some answers about their pasts, their families, and sometimes even their own names. They are soliciting help and suggestions in the comments sections on each story. Sadly typical story: "The infant was hungry and crying, so her mother asked for milk from a Polish couple that happened to be on the train station. The Polish man brought milk for the baby. Then the Jewish mother asked if they would want to take the baby as their own because she could not keep it. This couple did not have any children, so after some consideration, they agreed. They asked the Jewish mother who she was, but she told them that it was better for them and for the baby not to know who she was. She then gave her newborn baby girl, who was probably one month old, to the Polish couple. The Polish couple raised the girl as if she was their biological daughter and never told her how she had come into the family. The girl grew up, married and had a son. It is this son who wants to find his Jewish roots..."

Class, conspiracy and confinement: an everyday story of a missing child

mippy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:58:35 -0800

The disappearance of the pretty, middle-class Madeline McCann saw first an outpouring of sympathy verging on national hysteria and then the press wondering if the couple themselves had something to do with her disappearance. When Shannon Matthews, a nine-year-old from Dewsbury went missing months later, the media coverage centred on her mother Karen's private life and her council estate upbringing; the media was accused of classism because Shannon was less pretty and working class. Unlike Madeleine, Shannon was later found after one of the UK's biggest missing persons searches - inside the double bed of her mother's friend, with instructions to keep quiet and traces of temazepam in her hair. Yesterday Karen Matthews was found guilty of false imprisonment. It isn't clear what will now happen to Shannon.

How to steal priceless jewelry: prank call

figTree — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:30:20 -0800

Theives bypassed all security systems by simply posing as the security company on the phone These days as a robber dealing with high-tech security systems it seems that it's not about being a hacker or having loads of money to pull off a heist, its about making a phone call, having bear spray, and waiting for a guard to go on smoke break. How UBC jewelry was stolen from the Museum of Anthropology : Thieves make one call essentially saying "Oh ya, we are the company in charge of your security systems, tonight we are doing some tests, so when alarms go off, its just tests, so don't worry about it". Security's reply "OK." The UBC gold jewelry: still missing... Simplicity pays off.

The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar

smoothvirus — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:22:07 -0800

Bobby Dunbar was a four year-old boy that vanished in 1912, while on a fishing trip with his family in a Louisiana swamp. For weeks, searchers combed the area looking for him. The lake where he went missing was dynamited. Alligators were captured and had their bellies slit open to see if the body was inside. Nothing was found except a set of child's footprints leading to an old railroad trestle. Eight months later, the police found Bobby in the company of a drifter with a horse-drawn cart. He protested his innocence but was arrested and charged with kidnapping. Another woman came forward and claimed Bobby was, in fact, her son. But she was an unmarried fieldworker, and her claims were dismissed. The crime became a nationwide media event and the boy was returned to his parents, and their hometown held a parade in his honor. Bobby returned to his life. Ninety-one years later, Bobby Dunbar's granddaughter uncovered the truth.

Life imitates soap opera

roofus — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:34:59 -0800

John Darwin disappeared while canoeing of the coast of North Yorkshire in 2002. He was presumed dead, until he walked into a police station on Saturday with no memory of where he has been for 5 and a half years. The story is eerily reminiscent of Neighbours stalwart, Harold Bishop who was lost from the series for 5 years, after being swept out to sea (Bonus Harold link). Dissociative fugue or foul play?

Steve Fossett gone missing.

backseatpilot — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:07:25 -0800

Steve Fossett has gone missing in Nevada. Fossett has broken many aviation records, including being the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon and the first nonstop, solo airplane flight around the world. A list of all of his aviation records. He went missing during a recreational flight.

Vancouver woman missing in Syria

GuyZero — Mon, 07 May 2007 06:49:35 -0800

Vancouver woman missing in Syria. Nicole Vienneau has gone missing while travelling in Syria. Her brother, Matthew, has started a blog in hopes of gathering information about what's happened to her. Information has already started coming in from other travellers about her last known whereabouts. via Matthew's interview on CBC radio this morning.

Still Missing : Alan Johnston

burr1545 — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:19:54 -0800

Alan Johnston ,the only western journalist (BBC) in Gaza is still missing. Despite calls from var ious quar ters , local protests , a first ever meeting between the UK gov and Hamas, and unprecedentated 'global media' co-operation. He seems as far from his family as ever.

Jim Gray is missing

Kibbutz — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:51:18 -0800

"Urgent . . . Jim Gray" Jim Gray is a well-respected researcher at Microsoft, and has been called "THE SQL Guru and Architecht." Last Sunday night he went out on his boat, and has yet to return. Read the touching story about how Silicon Valley's "best and brightest" are using all their technological savvy to find their colleague and friend. Godspeed. (previous post on Jim Gray here)

Mother and children found, James Kim still missing

strangeleftydoublethink — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:13:23 -0800

James Kim still missing but wife and kids OK. Searchers found Kati Kim and two children but James, who left his family in the car, is still missing after going out for help two days ago.

Who took the Ground Zero flag?

allkindsoftime — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:12:35 -0800

Remember this picture? Arguably the most famous flag raised since this one was, and apparently its now gone missing. And now the three firefighters who didn't know they were being photographed won't talk to the press about a flag appraised to be worth over $500K.

Missing man’s pack rescues lost hikers

445supermag — Thu, 11 May 2006 09:12:25 -0800

Allen, 24, and Brandon Day, 28, of Dallas, were in Southern California for a financial convention. They got lost Saturday west of Palm Springs after wandering off a trail during what was supposed to be a day hike. [On the third day] they discovered a campsite in a dead-end gorge. Day and Allen were elated, thinking someone there could help them find the way out. But something was wrong. A radio and flashlight were corroded. They realized the place was deserted. ``His last journal entry was one year ago to the day that we found it, which was very eerie,' Day said. ``Nobody knew where he was, nobody knew to come looking for him, so he was preparing for the end. We were looking at the words of a man who was passing.' The missing man was John Donovan, who had disapeared a year earlier while hiking the pacific crest trail. "Even in his death, he was helping people," Donovan's longtime friend, Chris Hook, said from Richmond, Virginia.

Who is 10641?

airguitar — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 12:16:41 -0800

Who is 10641 ?
via via

Cindy Sheehan says Bill O'Reilly is an "Obscenity to Humanity"

Postroad — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 14:14:55 -0800

Cindy Sheehan says Bill O'Reilly is an "Obscenity to Humanity" [...]Asked how she feels about the MSM devoting so much time to the Natalee Holloway story, Sheehan said "Holloway is a tragedy for one family" but what she's doing is trying to help thousands of families avoid tragedy.[...]

Fuck Natalee Holloway

aerify — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 22:43:58 -0800

Fuck Natalee Holloway

Radioactive Material Lost By Halliburton Found In Boston

Postroad — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 10:17:51 -0800

Radioactive Material Lost By Halliburton Found In Boston Shit hapens:: "Halliburton Co. (HAL), an oil services company and major military contractor in Iraq and elsewhere, lost track of a shipment of radioactive material in October but didn't alert the government until this week. Federal authorities mounted an intensive search and found the material Wednesday in Massachusetts.

Lonely socks

fvw — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 06:20:50 -0800

Lonely Socks. Have you ever rifled through your socks drawer to find only three socks. One green, one blue and the other yellow? Where did the other one go? Post your single socks here and help them find their partners.

Spalding Gray Gone?

moonbird — Tue, 13 Jan 2004 11:27:02 -0800

Spalding Gray, the witty and engaging actor and writer, has been reported missing.

Still sad

MediaMan — Tue, 09 Sep 2003 14:17:48 -0800

Almost two years later and they're still finding remains from the World Trade Center. Hopefully one more family gets a call they've been waiting for/dreading that their loved one is found.

missing persons

serafinapekkala — Mon, 21 Apr 2003 10:17:17 -0800

Evelyn Hernandez: the forgotten Laci Peterson. SF Chronicle story on a nearly identical case of a missing pregnant woman...both sad stories, but one received almost no media attention. Laci was from the same town as Chadra Levy: was that the hook that created a ghoulish media darling? More inside...

FBI Discovers Bill of Rights

flagrante_delicto — Wed, 19 Mar 2003 16:39:28 -0800

FBI Discovers Bill of Rights after 138 years. No word on whether they will sell it or use it.

djspicerack — Mon, 14 Oct 2002 09:19:30 -0800

Wisconsin "loses" 2,900 sex offenders. It seems that the state of Wisconsin has "misplaced" approximately 2,900 of it's 9,000+ population of registered sex offenders. Apparently, they've moved within or out of the state without letting the state know. Jim Stingl of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel thinks we should all pitch in and help find those missing offenders, and offers some ways he's helping out already

Irontom — Wed, 19 Jun 2002 10:11:15 -0800

Nixon's Last Secret The race is on to try to recover the missing 18 1/2 minutes of the infamous Tape 342. While it will be interesting to see what's on the tape (if it can be recovered) the big question is this: Why erase part of one tape and leave all the others intact?