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Few events are as chilling as the abduction of a child. Whether these cases conclude in tragedy or remain unsolved mysteries, their lasting impact devastates families and communities. Below are 10 such harrowing stories drawn from the history of crime.
10. Pauline Picard
Two-year-old Pauline Picard vanished from her family’s farm in Brittany, France, in April 1922. Despite an extensive search, no trace of her was found. Days later, authorities were informed that a young girl matching Pauline’s description had been discovered wandering in Cherbourg, approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) from the Picard farm. Pauline’s parents rushed to identify the child and confirmed she was their missing daughter.
Despite the joyful reunion, several odd details emerged. The girl showed no recognition of her parents and remained unresponsive when they addressed her in Breton, their native language. Overlooking these anomalies, Pauline’s parents brought her home, where neighbors confirmed her identity, seemingly bringing the ordeal to a happy conclusion.
A month later, a farmer near the Picard farm made a horrifying discovery: the mutilated, decomposing body of a young girl, alongside her neatly folded clothes. Authorities and townsfolk, including Pauline’s parents, rushed to the scene. Though the girl’s face was unrecognizable, the Picards identified the clothes as those Pauline had worn on the day she vanished.
The location of the remains had been thoroughly searched during the initial investigation, leading detectives to believe the body had been placed there recently. The mystery deepened with the discovery of an adult male’s skull beside Pauline’s body, introducing a second potential victim.
Initial investigative reports pointed to a possible suspect. Days before the body was found, a middle-aged farmer visited the Picards and questioned whether the girl from Cherbourg was truly Pauline. He then exclaimed, “God forgive me, I am guilty,” burst into hysterical laughter, and was taken to an asylum.
Yet, numerous questions lingered. If the body was Pauline’s, as evidence suggested, what had transpired? Was the laughing man responsible? How was the unidentified skull connected to her death? And who was the girl from Cherbourg who had lived with the Picards for a month? The answers remain elusive, as no definitive records of the case’s resolution exist.
9. Elsie Paroubek
In August 1911, five-year-old Elsie Paroubek left her Chicago home to visit her aunt’s house just a block away. Hours later, her worried parents realized she never arrived, prompting a large-scale statewide search. Authorities suspected she had been taken by a gypsy caravan, leading to searches of every gypsy camp within 160 kilometers (100 miles), but Elsie was nowhere to be found.
Two days later, workers in Joliet made a chilling discovery: the body of a young girl floating in a drainage canal. It was Elsie. The medical examiner determined she hadn’t drowned but had likely been suffocated. Her face bore cuts, and there were signs she had been assaulted before her death.
Despite the Chicago Police Department’s determination to solve the case, the investigation was plagued by inconsistent witness accounts and numerous dead ends. Elsie’s murder remains unsolved. Her father died two years later on the anniversary of her funeral, never learning the truth about her tragic fate.
An intriguing footnote to this case is that Elsie’s photograph from The Chicago Daily News served as the primary inspiration for Henry Darger’s The Story of the Vivian Girls, often regarded as one of the strangest books ever penned.
8. Michael Dunahee
In March 1991, four-year-old Michael Dunahee vanished from a playground in Victoria, British Columbia. He had been playing just a short distance from his parents when his father briefly looked away. Upon turning back, Michael was nowhere to be found. Authorities suspected abduction, though no witnesses saw him being taken.
Canadian police conducted an extensive search for Michael, gathering numerous public tips, none of which led to his discovery. Two decades later, the Victoria police department continues to pursue the case. Recently, speculation arose in a small British Columbia town about a young man who closely resembled Michael, but DNA testing confirmed he was not the missing boy.
The final unverified sighting of Michael occurred in June 1991, when a man tried to abduct a seven-year-old girl in New Jersey. The girl and her friend reported seeing a boy resembling Michael in the backseat of the man’s car. Despite this lead, investigators remain no closer to uncovering Michael’s fate, and none of the hundreds of tips over the years have yielded answers.
7. Marjorie West
Four-year-old Marjorie West vanished on May 8, 1938, after attending a Mother’s Day picnic in Pennsylvania with her family. While picking flowers on a nearby trail with her older sister Dorothea, Marjorie was left alone briefly. When Dorothea returned, Marjorie had disappeared without a trace.
On the night she went missing, a West Virginia cab driver reported seeing a distressed girl matching Marjorie’s description in a green car with an unidentified man. The man asked for directions to a motel but left upon hearing there were no vacancies. Earlier that evening, the same man was spotted at a gas station with a child wrapped in blankets in his backseat. Neither was ever identified. Rumors suggested Marjorie was kidnapped and sold to a childless couple through a shady adoption agency, but no evidence has ever supported this theory.
6. Alessia And Livia Schepp
Alessia and Livia Schepp, six-year-old twins from Switzerland, were last seen on January 30, 2011. Their father, who was separated from their mother, had taken them for a scheduled weekend visit. When he didn’t bring them back as planned, a massive search spanning three countries was initiated.
Investigators discovered that the twins’ father, Matthias Schepp, had driven to France with the girls, withdrawn cash from multiple locations, and then boarded a ferry to Italy. Days later, his body was discovered on train tracks in Italy, where he had taken his own life. The girls, however, were nowhere to be found. Before his death, he mailed a postcard to his estranged wife, claiming the girls were “resting in peace.” Despite this, there is no concrete evidence they were killed, and their remains have never been located.
5. Fernando Marti
On June 4, 2008, 14-year-old Fernando Marti, the son of a prominent Mexican businessman, left for school in an armored car. The vehicle was intercepted at a police checkpoint by men disguised as federal officers. They ambushed the car, kidnapped everyone inside, tortured and killed the chauffeur, strangled the bodyguard, and abducted Fernando, who managed to make one final, desperate call to his father.
Fernando’s father was ready to pay a substantial ransom to secure his son’s release. Reports indicate that a ransom exceeding $2 million was paid, but the kidnappers remained silent. Weeks later, Fernando’s decomposed body was discovered in the trunk of a car. He had been dead for a month. The investigation uncovered that corrupt police officers were involved in orchestrating the kidnapping, and gang members had killed Fernando shortly after he was taken.
4. Morgan Nick
The disappearance of Morgan Nick remains one of Arkansas’s most chilling unsolved cases. On June 9, 1995, six-year-old Morgan attended a Little League game with her mother. She was playing with other children just 45 meters (148 feet) from the baseball field where her mother sat. When the group returned, Morgan was missing.
Witnesses recalled seeing a suspicious man observing the children, and some kids reported that he had spoken to Morgan. A red pickup truck with a camper was spotted leaving the parking lot around the time she vanished.
Authorities have a composite sketch of the man seen speaking to Morgan that night but few other leads. Nearly two decades later, the search for Morgan continues. Her grieving mother established the Morgan Nick Foundation to support families of missing children.
3. The Frog Boys
The “Frog Boys” were five South Korean boys, aged 9 to 13, who vanished on March 26, 1991. They had set out to Mount Waryong to catch frogs but never returned. Concerned parents reported them missing, prompting a massive search involving over 300,000 police and military personnel. The boys’ faces appeared on milk cartons, companies offered hefty rewards for their return, and schoolchildren nationwide sang songs in their honor.
Despite these efforts, the boys remained missing for a decade. In 2002, two men collecting acorns on Mount Waryong found the remains of the five boys near the area where they had disappeared. The bodies were huddled together, leading police to initially suspect death by exposure. However, the forensic investigation revealed alarming details.
The boys’ skulls showed severe damage, and forensic experts concluded they had been murdered. The injuries were caused by various objects, including a screwdriver. Authorities vowed to find the perpetrators, but no suspects were ever identified. In 2006, the statute of limitations expired, and the case was closed, leaving the fate of the Frog Boys as unresolved as the day they vanished.
2. Marion Parker
Marion Parker, the 12-year-old daughter of a wealthy Los Angeles banker, lived a life of privilege in 1927. That December, a man arrived at her school, claiming her father had been in an accident and that he needed to take her immediately. By the time school officials realized the lie, Marion had been abducted. Over the following days, the kidnapper, who signed his notes as “The Fox,” sent threatening messages demanding ransom for her safe return.
After a series of harrowing negotiations, Marion’s father agreed to meet the kidnapper in downtown Los Angeles at night to exchange $1,500 for his daughter. During the exchange, Mr. Parker glimpsed what appeared to be Marion sitting in the kidnapper’s car, seemingly unharmed. After handing over the money, Marion was left on the sidewalk as the car sped away. When Mr. Parker approached, he was met with a horrifying sight: Marion’s mutilated body. Her limbs had been severed, her eyes sewn open to mimic life, and her organs scattered across Los Angeles.
The massive manhunt for “The Fox” soon focused on William Hickman, a disgruntled former employee of Marion’s father. Hickman was captured a week later, brought to trial in Los Angeles, convicted of Marion’s murder, and executed a year later at San Quentin.
1. Masego Kgomo
Masego Kgomo, a South African schoolgirl, was kidnapped near her home on New Year’s Eve 2009. Her severely disfigured body was found nine days later, concealed in thick vegetation within the township where she had vanished.
Authorities swiftly identified five suspects but only had sufficient evidence to prosecute one. Meanwhile, an enraged mob set fire to two of the suspects’ homes and staged protests outside the courthouse, calling for immediate, vigilante justice.
The brutality of Masego’s murder fueled public outrage. The trial revealed horrifying details of her abduction and how she was tortured while alive by a sangoma (a traditional healer) for her organs, which were intended for medicinal use. The main defendant, who displayed little remorse, received a life sentence, while the others were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
