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

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  (#1) When Police Rescued A Recently Missing Child, They Also Found A Boy Who Was Missing For Four Years

  In January 2007, 13-year-old Ben Ownby disappeared from a school bus stop in rural Missouri. A witness saw the white pick-up truck that carried Ownby away, which eventually led police to the one-bedroom apartment of 41-year-old Michael Devlin. Upon arriving at the scene, investigators not only discovered Ownby alive and well, but another boy, Shawn Hornbeck, who had been missing from the area for four years and was sitting comfortably on the couch. 

  Devlin had quite literally been on the prowl in rural neighborhoods, looking for a boy to victimize when he abducted Hornbeck and took him to his apartment just 50 miles away. Eventually, Hornbeck was allowed out of the apartment to lead a relatively normal life, under the threat that if he tried to leave or tell anybody about his captivity, Devlin would kill his family. This arrangement, coupled with sexual abuse, lasted for four years, until Devlin decided Hornbeck was getting too old and he started looking for another victim. That's when he spotted Ownby at the bus stop.

  With the eyewitness tip fresh in mind, officers happened to be responding to an unrelated call at Devlin's apartment complex when they spotted the white pick-up. The next day, they questioned Devlin at the pizza shop where he worked, which was just around the corner from the police station; he confessed to kidnapping not one but two boys.

  Authorities were stunned not only at his confession, but at the result: two abducted boys, found alive, not more than an hour's drive from their homes. Devlin received 74 life sentences for his crimes.
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  (#2) A Perplexing Suicide Note Led Police To Discover Pots Of Body Parts In A Kitchen

  On an October night in 2006 in New Orleans, the body of Zachary Bowen, an Iraq War veteran who was just 28 years old, was found on top of a parking garage. In his pocket, police discovered his dog tags, a suicide note, and a key to his girlfriend's apartment. The note read: 

  This is not accidental. I had to take my own life to pay for the one I took. If you send a patrol car to 826 N. Rampart, you will find the dismembered corpse of my girlfriend Addie in the oven, on the stove, and in the fridge and a full signed confession from myself... Zack Bowen.

  When police arrived at Addie Hall's apartment, that is exactly what they found. Her head was in a pot on the stove, as were her hands and feet, and her legs and arms were covered with seasoning salt on a roasting pan in the oven. Upon further searches of the scene, police found Bowen's journal, in which he calmly described how he strangled Hall to death and, not surprised that he had no remorse for the act, decided it was time to leave this world.
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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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  (#4) The Unknown Culprit Behind The Hinterkaifeck Slayings May Have Been Living In The Victims' Home

  On March 31, 1922, six people were slain at the Hinterkaifeck Bavarian homestead in Germany. This included the five members of the Gruber family - Andreas, his wife Cäzilia, their widowed daughter Viktoria, and her two children, Cäzilia and Josef - as well as their maid, Maria Baumgartner. 

  A week earlier, Andreas had noticed footprints leading toward the farm from the woods, but no returning prints. Previously, he had complained to friends and neighbors for months about hearing creaking and footsteps in the attic, as well as finding a newspaper in his home that he hadn't purchased. He also revealed the keys to his tool shed had gone missing, which happened to be the place his pickax - which eventually became the murder weapon - was stored. 

  Months prior to the slaying, the Grubers' previous maid had quit, claiming the house was haunted by ghosts after she heard mysterious voices and footsteps.

  Not until April 4, after young Cäzilia was absent from school and the mailman reported the mail piling up, were the police told to check on the Hinterkaifeck farm. Investigators interviewed more than 100 suspects, some as recently as 1986, and eventually came to the conclusion that the culprit was likely living in their house for at least six months prior to the slayings. There was never enough conclusive evidence to close the case, so almost a century later, it remains unsolved.

  Perhaps even more unsettling is the fact that livestock were still being fed, and neighbors saw smoke coming from the chimney from March 31 to April 4, indicating the culprit remained in the house for a few days after doing away with the family.
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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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#8) Bobby Dunbar Was Kidnapped, Then Supposedly Found, But The Boy Who Returned Wasn't Actually Bobby

  In the summer heat of August 23, 1912, the Dunbar family decided to cool off with a vacation to Swayze Lake in Louisiana. More swamp than lake, it was full of alligators. At some point in the night when the family was asleep in their tents, Bobby Dunbar, the family's 4-year-old son, wandered off and disappeared, launching an eight-month-long search.

  A Louisiana newspaper from the time, The Caldwell Watchman, covered the search: 

  When [Bobby] was missed, a search traced him to the banks of Lake Swayze... At first, it was feared that he [had] drowned, but the lake failed to give up the body and the little boy’s hat was found some distance from the lake a day or so later.

  With hope of finding Bobby waning, the town continued to search for the boy, offering cash rewards equivalent to $125,000 today to anyone who could lead authorities to him.

  On April 13, 1913, police finally thought they found little Bobby Dunbar alive, traveling with a drifter named William Cantwell Walters in Mississippi. The only problem? The Dunbars didn't recognize him. 

  Regardless of the less-than-ideal reaction from the family, police matched up identifying markers like birthmarks to prove the boy was Bobby. The town celebrated his arrival, despite the Dunbars' doubts.  

  Meanwhile, accused kidnapper Walters protested his arrest from jail, claiming the boy was the illegitimate son of his brother and his servant. Julia Anderson (pictured), the woman who claimed to be the boy's real mother, paid a visit to the Dunbars to claim her alleged son, Bruce Anderson. After seeing him, she claimed he was, in fact, Bruce, not Bobby. A public trial decided that the Dunbars would keep Bobby, and Julia Anderson would return to Mississippi. 

  Years later, “Bobby's” granddaughter, Margaret Dunbar Cutright, received a scrapbook of articles about the mystery of her grandfather's identity. She allied with Linda Traver, granddaughter of Julia Anderson, and the two began searching for the truth. After uncovering letters and court documents, Cutright persuaded her father to give a DNA sample to finally end the mystery. The DNA was compared to “Bobby's” younger brother Alonzo. The test proved the present-day "Bobby Dunbar" was not the same boy who went missing in the swamp in 1912. He was Bruce, the son of Julia Anderson all along.

  What happened to the real Bobby Dunbar is still a mystery, as is the question of whether or not his parents knew the boy was not really theirs.
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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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  (#10) The Lake Of Skeletons In The Indian Himalayas Contains The Remains Of Up To 800 People

  Roopkund Lake sits roughly 16,000 feet above sea level in the Indian Himalayas and is frozen for parts of the year. In 1942, a ranger happened upon it and noticed something horrific: skeletons in and around the water. Further investigation yielded the remains of hundreds of people. Who were they, and what happened to them?

  Excavations and analyses attempted to find some answers. Among researchers' theories is that a hailstorm claimed the lives of Roopkund Lake's people, especially because the remains dated to around 850 CE. Subsequent investigations challenged those findings, however, including the dating of the remains.

  Even 80 years after the so-called “Skeleton Lake” discovery, researchers are still puzzling over the mysterious and chilling site.
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  (#11) Archeologists Found 2,000-Year-Old Remains Of Infants In Ecuador Wearing 'Helmets' Made From Children's Skulls

  Perhaps one of archeology's most chilling discoveries and mysteries came from Salango, Ecuador, where researchers were excavating burial mounds dating to around 100 BCE and associated with the Guangala culture.

  Archeologists were surprised to unearth the remains of babies wearing the skulls of other children. Although no one can say for certain why these infants were buried with skull helmets, they most likely were meant to shield and protect them.
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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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