Whether they’ve met their fate with unsavory people, been kidnapped, or simply befell unpleasant situations, there are plenty of people who have disappeared without a trace. However, the cases discussed in this article highlight victims with suspicious facts, mysterious circumstances, possible foul play and interesting theories.
William Morgan
William Morgan had aspirations to become an author, but he would never achieve his goals because he disappeared somewhere close to Batavia, New York in 1826. What makes Morgan’s case interesting is that he got into it with the local Freemasons. It is thought that there was a conspiracy to stop Morgan from revealing the secrets of the organization to the public. After failing in business, Morgan attempted to join the fraternal order of Freemasons in Batavia. He was rejected and this made him upset , to the point that he wanted to write a book about the group.
The local Freemasons responded by taking out an ad in the newspaper denouncing Morgan. They even tried to burn down his newspaper office. However, Morgan had support , so much so that an entire political party was created with anti-Mason sentiments.
Morgan was arrested for owing money and sent to jail in Canandaigua, New York. That same night, an unidentified man went to the jail and said that he was a friend of Morgan. He offered to pay the debt that he had owed and have Morgan released from the custody of the authorities. Morgan left with the man, but was never seen again. Three Masons were charged with kidnapping Morgan, but his body was never found.
A popular theory was that Morgan was taken to the Niagara River and drowned. Freemasons deny any involvement with the death of Morgan. Some claim that they gave him $500 to leave the country. Others believed that he had taken on a new identity and moved to Albany, Canada, or the Cayman Islands. With a history of gambling and drinking, some thought he left the state and was later hung as a pirate. A $1,000 reward was offered by the New York governor for information about Morgan’s whereabouts, but no one stepped up to claim it.
A badly decomposed body emerged on the shores of Lake Ontario in 1827. Some speculated that it could belong to Morgan, but no positive identification was made.
Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin
Escaping from the infamous prison known as Alcatraz seemed impossible until Frank Morris and brothers Clarence Anglin and John Anglin made the attempt. In 1962, they managed to get out of the prison and disappeared without a trace. None of their bodies were ever found. To learn more about other attempted escapes at Alcatraz, read the article titled, ‘Escape from Alcatraz.’