anishings – Mysterious Cases Of Missing People

Where have they gone? What is their fate?

Every year, all over the world, there are thousands of people who go missing – children, teenagers, adults and the elderly. Most cases are resolved easily and quickly. However, there are many past and present that have never been solved. In addition the circumstances surrounding their disappearance are, in some cases, bizarre. And the fate of these unfortunate people may be destined to remain within the realms of speculation and rumour forever.

The Flannan Isles Mystery

The Flannan Isles is a beautiful location off the North West coast of Scotland. They are part of the larger group of Islands – the Outer Hebrides. The Flannans are also known as the Seven Hunters. Apart from the lighthouse, the islands are mainly a habitat for wildlife. It is this lighthouse that gave rise to one of the most puzzling mysteries in the UK files of missing people.

The year is 1900 and about one week before Christmas. Not one person went missing from the isolated light house but three – James Ducat, Thomas Marshall and Donald MacArthur. It was a ship on route from Philadelphia to Edinburgh that raised the first alarm. On passing the lighthouse the crew noticed that the light was not working and reported the matter as soon as they docked.

Finally, a relief boat – The Hesperus – arrived at the island on December 26th 1900. Captain Jim Harvie had the whole island searched in addition to the lighthouse. But the men could not be found.

The search party began a more exhaustive investigation, searching for any clues that would point to the source of the keepers’ disappearance. Looking in all areas of the lighthouse they noticed nothing out of place. The work for the 15th December had all been completed – machines cleaned and oiled, lunch plates, pots and pans washed, kitchen tidied. These observations pointed to the fact that the men probably disappeared sometime in the afternoon after they had eaten lunch; as no further cooking had been carried out for the evening. A search of the sleeping quarters showed that their beds had not been slept in. The clocks in the light house had all stopped. The doors and windows were secure and showed no sign of damage. The mystified search party completed a report on their findings and left the island.

The main theory then put forward was that a recent savage storm had been responsible in some way, for their disapperance. However, the lighthouse keeper’s last log was dated 15 December – this was at least 24 hours after the storm had passed. One of the keepers had also recorded in the log what outside damage had been caused by the ferocious winds. When the news broke that the keepers were alive after the storm abated, all manner of theories and rumours erupted.

Some of theories given were:
•Despite the date, the storm was in some way responsible – the most likely theory was that the keepers had been swept out to sea.
•A freak wave or other natural phenomena had caught the keepers off guard – most likely causing them to be drowned.
•One of the keepers had murdered the other two and then committed suicide. Although there doesn’t seem to be any reason to think that the keepers were other than friendly with one another.
•A sea serpent or other monster was seriously considered. Up until this time there had been hundreds of reports from all over the world about huge sea serpents/monsters that could swallow ships whole. Most of these accounts have proved to be misidentifcations and hearsay.
•The light house keepers had been kidnapped by spies. This is unlikely as no ransom money or any other demand was made for the mens’ return.
•The light house keepers had been murdered by persons unknown. One theory put forward was that the murders were committed by a ghostly crew from a phantom ship! Leaving the spooks aside, if murder was the cause then it was the cleanest one ever committed. There was no sign of trauma, blood or violence of any kind. In addition, robbery is highly unlikely as nothing was taken.

It might have been expected that at least one of the bodies would have shown up – either washed ashore or discovered in another location. However, no trace of the men were ever found. So intriguing is this mystery that not only songs and poems have been written about it, but an opera also.

🙂

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in People & Events

Related Articles

Responses

  1. I think I met these three when I was being held on the battlefleet leader of the Vogon Destructor Fleet. They were given the job of cleaning off all the fluorescent lights as they were used to that sort of thing, lol

    Another fascinating one, Shadow.

    Thank you

  2. Very interesting article, and one has to wonder what did become of them. I was just looking at a book about people who disappeared in the wilds of North America. It’s called ” Missing 411,” by David Paulides.
    Thanks for posting, Shadow!