Ten Unsolved Disappearances and Murders You May Not Know About

The pursuit of justice is a common instinct when it comes to severe crimes like murder or puzzling disappearances. Police forces invest enormous resources into resolving these cases. Families of victims find some peace in whatever closure comes from a guilty verdict or even just a concrete explanation. Though nothing can truly replace the loss, society progresses when the justice system operates effectively.

However, this isn’t always the outcome. Unresolved murders and missing persons cases leave deep sorrow for those searching for answers. Investigations go cold, leads disappear, and years later, the truth remains elusive. These ten cases, though not widely recognized, rank among the oldest unsolved disappearances and murders in America.

10. Herman Ehrenberg: A 156-Year-Old Mystery

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Herman Ehrenberg, a German immigrant, achieved success in America. Born in Prussia, he fought against Mexico during the Texas Revolution before journeying west to work as a surveyor and miner. He eventually struck it rich during the mid-19th century Gold Rush. In October 1866, he traveled by stagecoach from Yuma, Arizona, to southern California with plans to purchase a mine in the San Bernardino area, bringing along a significant amount of gold to complete the transaction.

On the night of October 9, Ehrenberg made a stop to rest in Dos Palmas, a settlement southeast of Palm Springs. He chose to sleep outside on a pallet near the stagecoach station. Around midnight, W.H. Smith, the station master, heard a gunshot. Rushing outside, he discovered Ehrenberg fatally wounded by a gunshot. The gold he was carrying had been stolen, and the assailant had fled. Some locals suspected a member of the Cahuilla Indian Tribe was the culprit. Later, other theories pointed to Smith himself as the murderer and robber. The truth remains a mystery, likely never to be uncovered.

9. Nels and Annie Anderson: A Case from Nearly a Century Ago

December 7, 1924, began like any other night for Nels and Annie Anderson. The 43-year-old Nels and his 39-year-old wife ran a barbershop on Minnesota Avenue in Billings, Montana. After closing the shop, they began cleaning and prepared to leave. They never made it out. The following day, police discovered the couple brutally murdered inside the shop. The weapon used was an axe the couple kept to split firewood.

There were no signs of forced entry, theft, or any indication of a struggle. Authorities speculated that the couple may have been ambushed by the killer just as they were about to leave. Inside, the scene was horrifying. Investigators believed the murderer washed the blood off their hands in the shop’s wash basin, but no fingerprints were found. The police examined the couple’s letters and questioned acquaintances, yet no one appeared to have any motive for the crime. To this day, the identity of the murderer remains unknown, nearly a century later.

8. Olga Mauger: Victim or Fleeing Bride?

In August 1934, 21-year-old Olga Mauger married Carl Mauger, a wealthy Wyoming oil magnate. The two had known each other for only a few weeks before they tied the knot. Almost immediately, Olga began to regret the decision. That fall, she confided in her sister about her unhappiness with Carl. Yet, no one could have predicted what would unfold next.

Later in 1934, the newlyweds set off to hunt elk in the wilderness near Dubois, Wyoming. Both were skilled hunters and trappers. When Olga asked Carl to take a break, he left her alone with a hatchet and some food while he continued his hike. Confident in his wife’s abilities, Carl trekked on alone. However, when he returned less than an hour later, Olga had vanished.

Carl immediately sensed something was wrong. He insisted to local newspapers that Olga, familiar with the woods, would never have gotten lost. Desperate, he organized a search party of 300 men. They scoured the area but found no sign of her. After days of searching, a heavy snowstorm halted their efforts. Olga was never found, and no trace of her existence has ever surfaced.

7. Cathy Moulton: Vanishing in the Maine Wilderness

Cathy Moulton was eagerly anticipating a YMCA dance in Portland, Maine, in the fall of 1971. On the afternoon of September 24, the 16-year-old asked her parents if she could go downtown to purchase tights for the event. Her father drove her downtown and dropped her off. Cathy bought the tights, and on her way out, she ran into a friend. The two spent some time at a nearby record store before Cathy left to walk home around 5:30 pm. She never made it.

At first, Portland police assumed Cathy’s disappearance was a typical runaway case. However, her parents felt something was wrong. A few days later, a tip came in about a girl who resembled Cathy, seen in a car with a boy that evening. The boy's identity remained a mystery, and the case grew cold. More than a decade later, a hunter in rural Maine claimed to have found human remains along with 1970s-style women's clothing. He reported it to the authorities, but when they returned to search the area, he couldn't find the spot again. A 2004 search of the location also turned up no remains.

More than 50 years later, Cathy’s disappearance remains unsolved.

6. Beth van Zanten: Possible Serial Killer Victim?

On Christmas Day in 1971, two brothers were enjoying the outdoors in Anchorage, Alaska, when they stumbled upon the body of a woman in a local park. She was found partially undressed, her chest slashed, and her hands bound with wire. After reviewing missing persons reports, authorities identified the woman as Celia 'Beth' van Zanten, an 18-year-old who had disappeared two days earlier during a trip to a local store. The investigation took a strange turn when forensic experts revealed the cause of death: Beth had frozen to death.

Investigators soon realized that the victim had managed to escape from her attacker during the assault. While fleeing, she likely fell from a ledge in the park. Injured, bound, and partially undressed, she succumbed to the freezing temperatures. Authorities questioned van Zanten’s family and friends but couldn’t pinpoint a suspect. Eventually, suspicions fell on serial killer Robert Hansen, who confessed to murdering 17 women across Alaska in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite his willingness to confess to several crimes, Hansen never acknowledged van Zanten’s death, leaving her case unsolved to this day.

5. Annita Price: The Disappearance of the Green Gremlin

On the evening of May 30, 1974, Annita Price left her apartment in Benwood, West Virginia, headed for work. Witnesses took note of her distinctive car: a green AMC Gremlin. However, when Annita failed to show up for work, her employer grew concerned. The following morning, her car was discovered abandoned on the side of the road in nearby McMechen. Price was gone, but her purse, wallet, and scattered makeup were left behind in the car.

Local authorities were slow to investigate, wasting crucial time. Once they began looking into the case, they questioned her ex-husband, with whom she was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle. However, no evidence linked him to her disappearance. Years later, an anonymous tip claimed that Annita had been shot and buried. Although the story was never substantiated, it led to the reopening of the case in 2009. Unfortunately, recent searches have uncovered no new information, and the case remains unsolved after all these years.

4. Alvin Matlock: The Unsolved Mystery of a 70-Year-Old Man in Washington

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In 1951, Alvin 'Bud' Matlock, a U.S. Army veteran, sought a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest. That year, he moved to a cabin near Spokane, Washington. In March, he contacted his family to let them know where he was staying. A lover of solitude and the outdoors, Matlock kept to himself, but concerns arose when he failed to appear for Thanksgiving dinner seven months later.

When his mother went to check on him at the cabin, she found it empty. Alarmed, she reported him as missing. Police had very little to go on, as they were unsure exactly when he had disappeared. Initial reports suggested he may have moved to Alaska quietly, while darker rumors hinted at a possible violent end, involving the husband of a woman Matlock had been involved with. Despite suspicions of foul play, no clues emerged, and Matlock’s fate remains a mystery to this day.

3. The Boy in the Box

On February 26, 1957, Philadelphia police received a chilling call that would haunt them for decades. A college student had discovered the body of a young boy in a cardboard box. Forensic experts later confirmed that the boy was likely between 4 and 6 years old, with blue eyes and brown hair. He was severely malnourished, beaten, and covered in bruises. With no clues as to his identity, the police reached out to the public for assistance. The gruesome discovery sent shockwaves through the residents of Philadelphia.

The media quickly dubbed him 'America’s Unknown Child' and 'The Boy in the Box,' as the case gripped the nation. Despite years of investigation, the case went cold, and the boy was buried in a city cemetery. Decades later, his body was exhumed for DNA testing, and he was reburied in a more respectful cemetery. In 2020, amateur sleuths announced they were on the verge of solving the mystery of his identity. Sadly, as the years went by, the boy’s true identity remained a heartbreaking enigma, with no conclusive answers.

2. Mary Virginia Carpenter: Gone for Almost 75 Years

On June 1, 1948, Mary Virginia Carpenter, a student at Texas State College for Women, left her Texarkana home to make the 200-mile journey back to school. She arrived in Denton and took a cab driven by Edgar Ray 'Jack' Zachary, who dropped her off at campus around 9:00 pm. After that, she disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again.

The police quickly focused on Zachary as the main suspect. Under questioning, he stated that after dropping Carpenter off, she walked toward a car with two men inside. However, the car and the men were never identified. Zachary insisted he went straight home afterward, a story corroborated by his wife, and he passed a polygraph test. The investigation shifted to other leads, including the possibility that Carpenter had been murdered by the infamous Texarkana Phantom Killer, especially after it was revealed that she had known three of his victims.

In 1957, Zachary was arrested on charges unrelated to Carpenter’s case. Soon after, his wife retracted her earlier alibi, casting doubt on his involvement. Despite undergoing another polygraph test, Zachary passed again. He passed away in 1984 without ever facing charges in the case. Forty years later, in 1998, a man came forward claiming to know the location of Carpenter’s remains. Authorities excavated the site he pointed to, but no remains were found, leaving the case unresolved.

1. The Capital City Killings

The chilling mystery of a serial killer’s unpunished crimes haunts Madison, Wisconsin, even to this day. Between 1968 and 1982, the city witnessed the gruesome murders of seven women, and despite years of investigation, the killer was never caught. All the victims had two common traits: they were affiliated with the University of Wisconsin and had long hair styled with a middle part.

The first murder occurred in 1968, when UW freshman Christine Rothschild was brutally stabbed and strangled outside a campus dorm. Initially, her death seemed like a tragic but isolated event. However, in 1976, the killer struck again. Over the next six years, five more women were murdered, culminating in the stabbing of Donna Mraz outside the university's football stadium. Witnesses reported hearing her scream and saw a man fleeing, but the assailant’s identity remained unknown. After that, the killings stopped, leaving the police to suspect that all the murders were committed by the same person. Despite this belief, the killer was never caught or brought to justice.