Random Mysteries We Just Learned About In 2022 (12 items)

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  (#9) Security Cameras Caught A Missing Man Walking Into A Bar But Never Leaving

  In 2006, Brian Shaffer was a 27-year-old medical student at Ohio State University. In the early morning hours of Saturday, April 1, he walked into the Ugly Tuna Saloona with his roommate, Clint Florence, to celebrate the beginning of spring break. He was scheduled to take a trip to Miami with his girlfriend, Alexis Waggoner, the following Monday. 

  Around 2 am that morning, closed-circuit TV footage showed Shaffer talking to two young women just outside the bar, then reentering. When the establishment closed, Florence tried calling Shaffer, with no luck, so he headed home without him. No one saw or heard from Shaffer all weekend. When he missed his flight to Miami, his family filed a missing person's report. 

  An investigation found that the cameras did not capture Shaffer leaving. Florence refused to take a lie detector test, and the two women Shaffer was seen talking to were never asked to take one. Waggoner tried calling his phone every day, but it went straight to voicemail. One day, it rang three times, then hung up, which could have been a glitch, according to the phone company, or possibly a clue. The phone pinged at a location 14 miles outside Columbus, but the exact location could not be tracked.

  Authorities, friends, and family are stumped by the disappearance. No foul play was indicated, and Shaffer didn't seem to be running away from anything. His phone and credit cards had not been used.

  There was some false hope in 2020 that a homeless American living in Mexico might be Shaffer, but the FBI ruled that out. His younger brother Derek - and only surviving family - still hopes for a break in the case of his disappearance.
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  (#7) The 'Boys Of Yuba County' Never Came Home

  In 1978, five California men with varying intellectual and psychological disabilities went to watch a basketball game at California State University at Chico and never came home. Their mental states were such that they were often called “boys” rather than men, although they were in their 20s and 30s; all lived with their families.

  Inexplicably, instead of going home, the friends drove 70 miles east from the university and up a mountainous, snow-covered road. There, they abandoned their Mercury Montego and disappeared into the night. Later, a snowstorm caused authorities to call off the search.

  In the thaw, authorities found the bodies of Bill Sterling, 29; Jackie Huett, 24; Ted Weiher, 32; and Jack Madruga, 30 (who still possessed the keys to the Mercury). The fifth man, Gary Mathias, 25, was still missing. Strangely, Weiher had apparently starved to death in a trailer full of food and with an unlit propane tank heater; he also had no shoes. The other three bodies were outside. Two of their families were only able to recover bones.

  No one knows what happened to the "Boys of Yuba County" and why they perished in the snow. Mathias remains missing.
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  (#6) The Apparent Poisoning Of A Child Proved To Be A Medical Condition

  In 1989, Patricia “Patty” Stallings was detained under allegations that she had poisoned her son, Ryan Stallings. She had her son admitted to the hospital when she noticed he was ill. After running tests, doctors concluded he had high levels of a substance known as ethylene glycol in his blood, a compound most commonly found in antifreeze. Patty and her husband David were questioned, but they both profusely denied allegations of poisoning their son.

  After two weeks, Ryan was released but placed in foster care, where Patty and David were allowed to visit him for only an hour a week. But during the sixth week, when Patty spent a short time alone with her son, he became sick again and was rushed to the hospital; doctors believed he was allegedly poisoned again. This evidence allowed police to make an arrest, and two days later, Ryan succumbed to his illness. Despite Patty's claims of innocence, doctors and police were adamant that she was responsible.

  While awaiting trial in prison, Patty gave birth to her second child, who also became sick and had symptoms similar to Ryan's. The baby was diagnosed with a rare condition called methylmalonic acidemia, which causes a toxic build-up of methylmalonic acid, due to the body having trouble metabolizing certain proteins and fats. This chemical is very similar to ethylene glycol. Despite this finding, Patty was still convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1991.

  However, a few years later, the charges were dismissed when renowned scientists investigating the case revealed their findings. They deemed her innocent after they proved Ryan also had methylmalonic acidemia.
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  (#5) A Murder Investigation Went Cold Until A Family Found A Drifter In Their Attic

  In the fall of 1941, while his wife Helen was recovering in the hospital from a broken hip, Philip Peters returned home to find a man going through his icebox. He confronted the man, and was promptly beaten to death by the intruder with a cast-iron stove shaker. Worried neighbors came to check on Philip that evening, as they usually saw him every day; that's when they discovered his body. 

  No evidence was present at the scene, dumbfounding police. Even more mind-boggling were the calls from neighbors - and even Helen, once she returned home - insisting they heard someone in the house, or telling of odd smells. Every time officers responded, they found nothing suspicious. Helen eventually moved out and the house stayed vacant, yet calls from the neighbors continued.

  Police finally caught a break when two officers stationed in front of the house spotted a man inside. They rushed in just in time to see a pair of spindly legs disappearing into an attic trapdoor. The suspect, Theodore Coneys, was apprehended and confessed to murdering Philip Peters. Upon viewing the filthy, cramped quarters Coneys had been living in for months, Officer Fred Zarnow declared, "A man would have to be a spider to stand it long up there." And so began the legend of "The Denver Spider Man."
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  (#12) The Author Of ‘The Secret: A Treasure Hunt’ Passed Before His Riddles Were Solved

  In 1982, Byron Preiss published The Secret: A Treasure Hunt, a book of 12 mind-bending riddles, illustrated by fantasy artist John Jude Palencar. Each riddle is paired with a painting to reveal a location in a North American city. Once the treasure hunter finds the location, they will find a bejeweled box buried 3 ½ feet underground with a key inside. The key can be exchanged for a jewel, collectively worth about $10,000.

  In 1983, the first of the jewels was found by three teenagers in Chicago, who paired the fifth image with the 12th verse:

  Where M and B are set in stone
  And to Congress, R is known
  L sits and left
  Beyond his shoulder
  Is the Fair Folks’
  Treasure holder
  The end of ten by thirteen
  Is your clue
  Fence and fixture
  Central too
  For finding jewel casque
  Seek the sounds
  Of rumble
  Brush and music
  Hush.

  Hidden in the image was a backward outline of the state of Illinois, as well as several Chicago landmarks, like the Water Tower. An image of a bowman pointed to a statue near Grant Park, while where "L sits" referred to a statue of Abraham Lincoln within the park. The treasure hunters used two intersecting lines of trees to locate a spot under a section of fence (the fence is also hidden within the image) where the treasure was buried. One of the teens, Eric Gasiorowski, wrote an explanation of how they managed to solve the complex riddle. A full solution can also be found here. 

  While many people believe they have identified the cities that hide each treasure, only three riddles were solved as of mid-2020. Treasure hunters all over the country continue the search for the other nine, even though Preiss passed in 2005, taking the secret locations of the remaining gems to his grave.
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  (#3) A Missing Young Woman Was Finally Found When Her Kidnapper Went Out With Their Children

  Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped in 1991, but the mystery of her whereabouts wasn't solved until 2009, when she was rescued from her kidnappers, Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

  Dugard was 11 when the couple kidnapped her as she walked to the school bus stop in her neighborhood in Meyers, CA, near South Lake Tahoe. Philip and Nancy (a certified nursing assistant) held her in captivity in a labyrinth of sheds and outbuildings Philip had built in their backyard. He regularly sexually assaulted Dugard and forced her to raise the two daughters she had with him.

  In August 2009, Phillip went to UC Berkeley to inquire about hosting religious events on the campus and brought along the girls. A campus staff member, Lisa Campbell, immediately became suspicious of him and requested a background check, which revealed Phillip was a registered sex offender. He was required to attend a parole meeting, where authorities uncovered that the children were Dugard's, and she was the girl who had been kidnapped in 1991.

  Shortly afterward, police raided the Garrido home and arrested Phillip and Nancy, charging them collectively with 29 felony counts. Phillip was sentenced to 431 years in prison, while Nancy received 36 years to life. Dugard was reunited with her family, and has since published two memoirs.

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