Vanished

Nothing about the Kayla Berg missing-persons case makes much sense and today, the case grew stranger after a six-year-old kidnapping video on YouTube, once written off as a hoax, is now being considered an authentic recording of the missing teen, who disappeared in August 2011. The disappearance of Kayla Berg With her 16th birthday just a few weeks away and no driver's license, Kayla Berg accepted a ride to a McDonald’s restaurant in Antigo, Wisconsin so she could speak with a friend who worked there. Her mother recalls Kayla checking in. “She had called me that afternoon, on August 11, around 1 or 2 and said she was going to hang around at her dad's. She said, 'I love you,' and I said, 'Love you back.'” Driven by a

The September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center towers killed over 2,996 people and produced a profound emotional impact in the lives of every American. Decades later, with retribution for the evil acts all but impossible, the 9/11 attacks are still a touchy subject among American citizens sparking anger, hurt, and shame. Of the nearly 3,000 victims, it is estimated that 2,750 died from blunt impact injuries. Of those, fewer than 1,600 victims were identified leaving more than 1,100 people who simply vanished without a trace.  The reluctance to delve into the aftermath of the attacks leaves one important question unanswered, a question that has graced everyone’s mind at one time or another – what happened to the bodies of the missing 9/11 victims? Identifying those

What are the Nazi “gold trains”? The “Nazi Gold Trains”, also known as the Walbrzych gold trains, are legendary Nazi German-era trains, laden with gold and treasures, rumored to have been buried underground toward the end of World War II. At the time, Germans in Poland were in retreat from the advancing Russian army. Witnesses report seeing the trains being hastily loaded in Wroclaw (eastern Poland) and leaving in a south-western direction. According to legend, the trains left Wroclaw (named Breslau at the time) filled with gold, jewelry, and stolen artwork as well as documents and experimental military technology. The trains were never seen again. Why is it believed that treasure was loaded onto the trains?  Witnesses say it was apparent that whatever was loaded onto the trains was very

Radar Reflections On December 8, 1942, over a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, radar in the United States picked up an unusual reading.  What appeared to be an airplane was heading for American soil from the direction of Japan.  Radar operators knew this bore none of the usual markings of some sort of aerial attack.   The sky was overcast, it was late evening, and no prior attack had occurred in these types of conditions. Fighters Scrambled Two American pilots were sent to intercept the mysterious plane.  As they approached the plane they radioed back to the ground to report that the aircraft was a P-40 and bore markings that had not been used since the attack on Pearl Harbor.  When they pulled up alongside the craft

The Letter is Sent On September 22, 1918, days before the end of World War I, George Kemp penned a letter to his 9 year-old nephew Donald Templeton from deep within the trenches in embattled France.  After mailing the letter, George returned to his unruly surroundings to continue his fight to survive the perils of World War I.  In the final days of the war George lost that fight and was killed in action.  His letter it seems was lost too.  While postal authorities concede that thousands of letters are lost each year, what's unusual about this case is that the letter did eventually reach its destination - 63 years later. Letter Arrives On July 6, 1981, the letter arrived in Buffalo, New York.  The original recipient, George

Introduction The famed Indian rope trick - a myth, a product of mass hypnosis, or was it really magic?  The trick, involving a coil of rope that is magically extended skyward, has yet to be duplicated by modern day magicians despite centuries of exhaustive study by scholars and expert magicians. The Trick An early account from India in the 14th century, tells of a magician using a coil of rope with a large wooden ball tied to one end.  The magician tossed the wooden ball high into the air.  Instead of returning to the ground, it rose higher and higher until the rope disappeared into the clouds.  A small boy (the magician's assistant) jumped to the rope and began climbing hand over

The Settlement of Roanoke Island In 1587, a colony of 118 men, women, and children became one of the earliest attempts to colonize the new world - America.  Traveling from Britain to Roanoke Island, near Chesapeake Bay on North Carolina's coast, they were the first true attempt at colonization of the New World.  Not long after settling, they became one of the Nation's first great mysteries. The colony, led by John White, settled on Roanoke Island, near Virginia.  John's granddaughter, Virginia Dare, became the first American born in this new land.  But times were tough in the new world and supplies became scarce.  Ten days after Virginia's birth, Simon Fernandes, a Portuguese sailor, was forced to return to England for more supplies.  After much protest, John White was ordered to return with

Altered Dimensions There are some who believe that there may be additional ‘dimensions’ not accounted for in our commonly accepted system of three dimensions (four dimensions if you count ‘time’). If there are indeed dimensions we have yet to discover or understand, is it possible to slip from one of these dimensions to another? If a person did pass through to this unknown dimension, what would become of their body, their mind, and their spirit? Here is the story of David Lang, a man who may have slipped into another dimension.  Some believe this story to be a hoax or legend, probably due to the many variations that exist of the tale.  But here it is, in its entirety, so you can decide

Amelia's Accomplishments Amelia Earhart, or 'Lady Lindy', had produced more aerial accomplishments than any female pilot in history. She had already crossed the Gulf of Mexico and flown the Atlantic alone.  But on July 2, 1937, while flying what she described to a close friend as 'her last flight', the 2,556 mile, last leg of a trek around the world ended mysteriously. The Flight Thirty-nine year-old Amelia and her expert navigator, forty-four year-old Fredrick Noonan, must have been exhausted after having already flown 22,000 miles of their fateful journey.  Their journey had begun on May 21, 1937.  In a newly rebuilt Electra airplane, Amelia had changed their original flight plan due to adverse weather conditions in the Caribbean and Africa.  They had 22,000 miles out of the way

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, better known as Agatha Christie, has been named one of the greatest mystery writers of all times and is affectionately known to all as the Queen of Crime. Born in England to an American stockbroker and the English daughter of a British army captain, the young Agatha grew up in the United Kingdom and penned her first novel (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) as a result of a challenge by her sister Madge. Although happily married to Colonel Archibald Christie at the time, events would foretell an even greater mystery involving her husband– this time a real-life mystery involving the strange disappearance of Mrs. Agatha Christie herself. After only six years of marriage, Archibald Christie revealed to Agatha that he was having

Eilean More, meaning “big island” in Gaelic, is one of the Flannen Islands and is located 15 miles west of the Lewis in Scotland. In 1895 construction of the lighthouse began on the deserted island and 4 years later, it was opened for business. Staffed by three men, James Ducat, Donald McArthur, and Thomas Marshall, the lighthouse served as a beacon of safety – until December 15, 1900 when the light mysteriously stopped burning. On December 15th, The steamer Archtor on passage from Philadelphia to Leith passed the islands and noted that the light was not operational. Local residents also noticed the light had gone out on Saturday. Patience turn to concern when the light had not been reignited by nightfall. On Sunday, the weather turned