Every year, hundreds of thousands of people disappear. Some do get found and are lucky enough to return to their loved ones. Others just simply fall off the face of the Earth leaving behind no trace. Years of effort and elaborate search parameters fail to yield any positive outcomes. Left behind now are some wild conspiracy theories, speculations, and an empty vacuum. Here is a list of 10 famous people who went missing and were never found.

1 Senator Hale Boggs, a Democrat and the only dissenting member of the Warren Commission, was on his way to attend a campaign fundraiser in Begich when his flight vanished in Alaska on 16th October 1972.

Thomas Hale Boggs Sr.. otherwise famously known as Senator Hale Boggs. was a fiery American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana. Boggs first became a member of Congress in 1940 at the age of 26. He was. at the time. the youngest member of Congress.

He joined the army and served as an ensign during World War II. After his return in 1946, Boggs again won that election and was re-elected to Congress a record 13 times. Boggs also served as the House Majority Leader and was a member of the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Boggs gained popularity for being the only member to not agree with the Commission’s report.

In 1972, Boggs was campaigning in his authority as the Majority Leader, for Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska. On the fateful day of 16th October, he, along with Rep. Begich were on their way to Juneau from Anchorage in their twin-engine Cessna 310 and vanished into thin air. Their disappearance sparked one of the biggest search-and-rescue operations in US history.

The operation went on for over 3,600 hours and included US Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Army, Civil Air Patrol, and more. However, the operation was unsuccessful and neither the wreckage of the plane nor the four people it carried were ever found. After 39 days of rigorous effort, the search was suspended. (source)

2 The enigmatic guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers disappeared 25 years ago on the 1st of February 1995. He has not been seen or heard from since. 

Richard James Edwards, aka Richey Edwards, was a Welsh musician. He was a lyricist and guitarist of the British indie rock group called Richey gained prominence due to his dark and politically motivated songs.

He is widely considered to be the brains behind the band’s first three albums, which set them apart from others in their generation. Richey was caught in a spiral of self-harm, alcohol abuse, and more by the time their third album, “The Holy Bible,”was released. It was around this time that he began obsessing with the idea of perfect disappearance.

Then, on the morning of February 1st, 1995, Edward left his hotel at 7 a.m. He left all his belongings behind and drove to Wales. Since that day, no one has seen or heard from Richey Edwards. Although there have been several inconclusive sightings of Edwards at various places around the world, Richey Edwards was declared dead in November 2008. (source)

3 Sean Flynn, a highly acclaimed war photojournalist and the son of Hollywood actor Errol Flynn, disappeared in 1970 in Cambodia while covering the Vietnam War.

Sean Flynn, born on May 31, 1941, was the only son of Hollywood superstar Errol Flynn. For a brief period, Sean followed in his father’s footsteps and tried his hand at acting. He appeared in George Hamilton’s Where The Boys Areand starred in The Son of Captain BloodHowever, Sean found his true calling in photojournalism.

Sean traveled to war zones along with the troops in search of intriguing and extra-ordinary photos. He took pictures for the Time, United Press Internationaland Paris MatchSean went to cover the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Vietnam war, and more. Sean went to Cambodia for an assignment with Timeto cover the movement of North Vietnamese troops.

It was there on April 6, 1970, Sean and his fellow photojournalist Dana Stone got a tip about a Viet Cong checkpoint on the highway. Both of them decided to travel on their motorcycle up to the checkpoint to see for themselves.

They were never seen or heard from again. According to an unverified report by Time, Sean and Dana were captured by the guerrilla fighters of the Viet Cong army. Lili Damita, Sean’s mother, spent a fortune trying to find her son, but to no avail. Sean was declared dead in 1984 on the behest of his mother Lili. (source)

4 Jimmy Hoffa, the inspiration behind Martin Scorcese’s movie The Irishman, disappeared in 1975. His disappearance is a mystery that is still waiting to be solved. 

James Riddle Hoffa, aka Jimmy Hoffa, was the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) for 14 years from 1957 to 1971. Ever since he was young, Hoffa showed the acumen required for being a leader. He became a union activist early on and rose to become an important figure in the regional arm of IBT by his mid-twenties.

Hoffa was instrumental in the passing of the first National Freight-Hauling Agreement. During his tenure, IBT grew exponentially across America to become the largest union by membership with over 2.3 million members. Apart from his huge success with the Teamsters, Hoffa had a close connection with the organized crime syndicates of the time. Hoffa was given a prison term of 13 years for tampering with a jury, conspiracy, and fraud.

His sentence was reduced by President Nixon on the condition that Hoffa would not engage in any kind of union-related activity until 1980. However, on 30th July 1975, Hoffa disappeared from a restaurant in Detroit under suspicious circumstances.

Hoffa was never seen again. In 1982, Jimmy Hoffa was legally “presumed dead.” During the investigation and in the years since, several conspiracy theories have popped about Hoffa’s disappearance and alleged murder. None of them, however, have been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. (1, 2)

5 Joseph Pichler, the child actor from the 3rd and 4th part of the Beethoven movie series, went missing in 2006. To date, there has been no clue about his whereabouts or what happened to him. 

Joseph David Wolfgang Pichler, or Joe Pichler as he was famously known, was born in 1987. He was fourth of the five children. Joe moved to Los Angeles with his family at the tender age of six, to kick-start his acting career. He worked in several commercials and movies. His most famous role was that of Brennan Newton in the third and fourth installments of the Beethoven movie series.

Joe returned to his hometown of Bremerton in Washington upon his family’s request. He completed his high school in 2005 and was planning to head back to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career further. While in his hometown, Pichler got a full-time job at TeleTech as a telephone technician.

He was last heard from at 4:15 am on 5 January 2005, the day he disappeared, when he called up a friend. Pichler’s Toyota was discovered four days later behind a restaurant. His family filed a missing person’s report on the 16th of January. Although police did suspect the case to be a suicide, Pichler’s body has never been found. (1, 2)