This is a list of notable people who disappeared while being sought by law enforcement agencies in connection with a crime. Listing here does not imply guilt and may include persons who are or were wanted only for questioning.
Henry Every, an English pirate, vanished after perpetrating one of the most profitable pirate raids in history. Despite a worldwide manhunt and an enormous bounty on his head, Every was never heard from again.[1] In March, Every had led his ship, the Fancy, to the island of New Providence. He and his crew spent months living there and soon lost their ship. By June, Every and his crew were forced to flee the island. The crew then split up, with Every possibly setting sail toward Ireland. A manhunt for Every lasted for at least a decade. There were several unconfirmed sightings of him and contradictory reports of his death during the 18th century. Most of them are considered unreliable, however, and his fate is unknown.[2]
Sharkey was a convicted murderer and minor New York Citypolitician who earned national notoriety for escaping from a New York City prison disguised as a woman in 1873. He fled to Cuba, which had no extradition treaty with the United States. His ultimate fate is unknown.[3]
Boston Corbett, the Union Army soldier who fatally shot John Wilkes Booth, later went insane and was incarcerated in a mental asylum in 1887. He escaped from the facility a year later and was never seen again, though some historians suspect he may have perished in the Great Hinckley Fire of 1 September 1894.[4][5]
The Norwegian-American serial killer vanished on 28 April 1908 after a house fire (suspected arson) and withdrawing huge amounts of money from her bank accounts.[6]
The Austrian-American serial killer Frederick Mors (born as Carl Menarik) murdered at least eight people in an Odd Fellows' home, where he was employed as a porter. Mors was declared to be criminally insane and was committed to an insane asylum. In May 1915 he escaped from the asylum grounds and was never seen again.[7]
Kiss was a Hungarian serial killer and murderer of 24 young women prior to his enrollment in the Austro-Hungarian Army in the First World War. Upon the discovery of his crimes he was traced to a Serbian military hospital but escaped a few days before investigators arrived. Although there were several reported sightings of the killer (notably in New York in 1932), his true fate remains a mystery.[8]
Sands was a suspect in the murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor on 1 February 1922, disappeared shortly after that, and was never seen again.[9]
In 1933, Jarman and two men robbed a clothing store in Chicago, Illinois, murdering the store owner in the process.[12] Jarman was jailed and served about six years of her sentence, but escaped in 1940. She eluded police while making intermittent contact with her family and son. She is thought to have died when contact ended in the 1990s.
a convicted Hungarian mass murderer and mechanical engineer. Matuska had made two successful and at least two unsuccessful attempts to derail passenger trains in three European countries. His execution was commuted to life imprisonment under an extradition agreement. He escaped from jail in Vác in 1945 and his fate is unknown.
Squillante, a caporegime in the Gambino crime family, disappeared after being indicted on extortion charges. He is believed to have been murdered and his body disposed of in a car crusher that was subsequently melted down in an open hearth furnace.[13][14] No physical evidence has ever been found to substantiate this claim and no one was ever charged in connection with the disappearance.
Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin escaped from Alcatraz prison in the U.S. state of California and disappeared. Authorities presumed that they drowned but they may have survived.[15]
Charles Rogers, a reclusive unemployed seismologist in Houston, Texas, has remained at large since the "Icebox Murders" of his parents were discovered on 23 June, leading to a warrant for his detention as a material witness. He was declared legally dead in 1975.[16][17]
Sharon Kinne (known as La Pistolera) was an American woman convicted of homicide in Mexico and was awaiting trial for the murder of her husband James Kinne when she escapedIxtapalapan prison on December 7, 1969. Despite extensive manhunts in Mexico and the USA her whereabouts are unknown.[18]
Burt allegedly participated in the bombing of Sterling Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin on 24 August 1970, and on 2 September was indicted federally in Madison, Wisconsin. He disappeared in 1970 and has not been seen since.[19][20]
Dan Cooper (also referred to as D. B. Cooper) was the name used by an unidentified man who hijacked a plane on 24 November, and parachuted from it during mid-flight with $200,000 he had extorted. No trace of him has ever been found.[21]
Went missing after the murder in London of his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, for which he was the prime suspect. It was speculated that the murder in the family home in Belgravia was a case of mistaken identity, and that Lucan had intended to kill his wife. He was declared legally deceased in 2016, thereby making his son George the 8th Earl of Lucan.
Disappeared 2 March from Bethesda, Maryland, shortly after allegedly murdering his wife, mother, and children.[22] On 18 March, the Bishop family car was found abandoned at an isolated campground in Elkmont, Tennessee.[23] On 10 April 2014, the FBI named him the 502nd fugitive to be placed on its List of 10 Most Wanted Fugitives.[24]
Motion picture producer/distributor Edward L. Montoro disappeared in 1984 after taking more than $1 million from his own company, Film Ventures International. It was speculated that he fled to Mexico.[25]
An American male, who disappeared from the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge with his wife after being convicted of second-degree murder in Rhode Island on 10 November.[26] He was released on bail the same day of his conviction, and the couple's car was found abandoned on the bridge. His wife's remains were found in 1994 in Narragansett Bay, and Emery was declared dead in absentia in 2004. Emery is currently on the FBI's most wanted list, however.[27][28]
A Spanish criminal sought in connection with the Alcasser Girls crime that took place in Valencia, Spain during the night of 13 November 1992. Anglés friend, Miquel Ricart, was convicted of raping and killing the three girls that night, and it was alleged that Anglés was also present and participated. In 1993, Anglés ran away from Spain. Some people saw him in various places such as Ireland, the U.S., and his birth country, Brazil, but those alleged sightings have been proved wrong. Anglés' whereabouts remain a mystery.
Gilbert Wynter, a jeweler and enforcer for the Adams crime family, disappeared in London on 9 March 1998. His disappearance is believed to be related to the murder of Saul Nahome in December that year: both men were involved in a drug deal where £800,000 went missing.[29]
American racecar driver, who was last seen in Thailand,[30] disappeared on his boat in 2001 while being sought for questioning by officials regarding the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, and has not been seen since.[31]
Disappeared after 10 April, after his house in Scottsdale, Arizona blew up and caught fire. His family was found dead in the home and he is believed to be the person who murdered them and rigged the natural gas explosion.[32][33]
The leader of the Syrian led Ba'athist movement in Iraq wanted by the Iraqi government was added to the Iraq Most Wanted List in 2006,[37] and has not been seen since.
Yaser Abdel Said, an Egyptian resident of the United States, who is wanted for the murder of his two teenage daughters in Irving, Texas, on 1 January. Last seen in 2008, and was added to the FBITen Most Wanted List in 2014.[39]
Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès disappeared from Nantes, France.[41] His wife, four children and two dogs had been shot and buried in the back garden of the family home. He was last seen leaving a hotel in south-eastern France a few days after his family was murdered. He is the prime suspect in the killings and the subject of an international arrest warrant, and the police have searched caves to find him.
A man who had been pulled over in a routine traffic stop by a Lincoln City, Oregon policeman on the night of 23 January, and had later shot the officer. He has not been seen since.[42][43]
A Mexicandrug trafficker who was convicted in Mexico of murdering a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. He was freed from jail on 9 August 2013 after a court concluded that he had been tried improperly. Amid pressure from the Federal government of the United States to re-arrest him, a Mexican federal court issued an arrest warrant against Caro Quintero on 14 August 2013. He is a wanted fugitive in Mexico, the United States and several other countries. The United States is offering a $20 million bounty for his arrest.[44]
Leader of the Barrio Azteca gang, and also a fugitive wanted on several charges related to drugs and organized crime; last seen in 2008.[45] On 20 October 2009, he was named by the FBI as the 493rd fugitive to be placed on the Ten Most-Wanted list.[46] On 26 June 2018, the FBI announced that Ravelo and several other Barrio Azteca gang members had been arrested during a police raid in Mexico.[47]
American fugitive wanted for questioning in connection with the 1 May 2009 murder of 15-year-old Alex Arellano in Chicago, Illinois. He is thought to have fled the Chicago area soon after the murder, and was last seen on 24 Nov 2015.[48] In 2016, Macedo was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was captured on 27 August 2017 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico without incident.[49]
^Sutton, Charles, James B. Mix, and Samuel A. Mackeever. The New York Tombs: Its Secrets and Its Mysteries. Being a History of Noted Criminals, with Narratives of their Crimes. New York, NY: United States Pub. Co., 1974. 482-498.
^Lincoln Herald, Volume 86, Lincoln Memorial University Press., 1984, pp. 152–155.
^Kubicek, Earl C, "The Case of the Mad Hatter", Lincoln herald, Volume 83, Lincoln Memorial University Press, 1981, pp. 708–719.
^"Badly Wanted". Time. 26 August 1929. Retrieved 21 July 2007. Edward F. Sands, 34, 5 ft 5 in., for the murder of William Desmond Taylor, cinema director, whose butler he was. Questioned in this case were Cinemactresses Mabel Normand, last to see Taylor alive, and Mary Miles Minter whose lingerie and love letters were found in the Taylor apartment.{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)