Buzz
[WARNING: The following list includes unsettling audio recordings.] In 2017, a pilot flying over Western Australia observed an SOS signal formed by rocks in a secluded area. Recognizing the possibility of someone being stranded in such a harsh terrain, the pilot immediately alerted authorities, prompting an investigation.
It was later uncovered that the SOS had been created four years earlier when a couple found themselves stranded on their yacht in Swift Bay. After surviving on limited supplies, they were eventually rescued by a passing yacht several days later.
While this SOS signal did not directly help them survive, it was certainly an intelligent attempt to increase their chances of being rescued. However, not every SOS story has such a logical and fortunate outcome. Here are 10 eerie SOS Calls that remain a mystery.
10. Kenji Iwamura
In July 1989, two hikers from Tokyo visited Hokkaido's Daisetsuzan National Park, planning to trek to Mount Asahidake. During their hike, they became stranded. When they failed to return by July 24th as planned, a search operation was initiated. A helicopter spotted an SOS signal made from birch tree logs, and the hikers were rescued. However, the hikers were perplexed when rescue pilots praised them for creating the SOS. They denied any knowledge of the signal, leading authorities to fear others might also be stranded, prompting another search the following day.
Upon further investigation, a backpack was discovered containing a tape recorder and the driver's license of 25-year-old Kenji Iwamura. The tape recorder held a recording of his voice.
Five years prior, Kenji had embarked on a similar hiking journey. When he failed to check out of his hotel after two days, the owner alerted the authorities, sparking a search. The search was called off after 30 days when no trace of Kenji was found.
After the backpack discovery reignited the search, rescue teams uncovered human bones near the SOS signal. These remains were later identified as Kenji's, although the exact cause of death could not be determined. The investigation was closed. Some reports claimed that initially, the police had misidentified the body as that of a woman with type O blood before revising their conclusion to male with type A blood, matching Kenji's blood type.
Many still question the official explanation of Kenji’s final moments. How did he manage to move the massive birch logs used for the SOS signal? The logs appeared to have been chopped with an axe, but no large bladed tools were found in the vicinity.
9. Anthonette Cayedito
In Gallup, New Mexico, Anthonette Cayedito lived with her mother and two sisters when, at 3 AM on April 5th, 1986, she answered a knock at the door. Upon opening it, she was abducted by two men who forced her into a van and sped away into the darkness. Her mother didn’t realize Anthonette was missing until the next morning, prompting her to call the police.
With few clues to follow, the investigation quickly grew cold. However, nearly a year later, Gallup PD received a disturbing phone call from a young girl. The call was too brief to trace, but Anthonette’s mother, Penny, immediately recognized her daughter's voice.
Although this brief call reignited hope that Anthonette was still alive, there was no further contact for almost five years. In 1991, a waitress in Carson City reported seeing a teenage girl resembling Anthonette, dining with an unkempt couple. After they left, she discovered an SOS written on a napkin under the girl’s plate, reading: ‘Help me!’ and ‘Call Police.’
That was the last known sighting of Anthonette. Penny passed away in 1999, never knowing the truth about her daughter's fate.
8. Henry McCabe
On September 6th, 2015, Henry McCabe's wife and children left Minnesota to visit relatives, leaving him alone. Henry decided to spend his evening with two friends, and they spent time at a local nightclub. By 2 AM, Henry was clearly intoxicated, so his friends opted to drive him home. However, Henry insisted on stopping at a gas station to grab some food before walking home. Reluctantly, they agreed, unaware that this would be the last time anyone would see Henry alive.
At 2:28 AM, Henry's wife received a voicemail from his phone. Only a portion of the message has ever been made public, but you can listen to that part above.
Disturbed by the voicemail, Henry's wife contacted the police. Investigators discovered that after calling his wife, Henry also called his brother. During that call, his brother heard what sounded like sobbing before the line cut off. Later that night, Henry's phone made another ping from a cell tower 4 miles away, marking the last trace of his location.
Almost two months later, Henry's body was found in a lake near the cell tower where his phone last pinged. There were no visible signs of injury, and his death was ruled as either a suicide or an accidental drowning. He had recently received a poor performance review at work, and his rent check had bounced, which led some to speculate that he may have ended his own life. However, none of these circumstances explain the eerie sounds heard in the SOS call he made that night.
7. Brandon Lawson
At 11:30 PM on August 8, 2013, Brandon Lawson called his father, telling him he was on his way to visit him in Crowley, about a three-hour drive from his home in San Angelo, Texas. By 12:30 AM, Brandon called his brother, Kyle, informing him that he had run out of gas on Route 277. Shortly after, Brandon also made a 911 call asking for assistance, and the recording of that call can be heard above.
Kyle arrived at the scene at 1:18 AM and was met by an officer attending to the situation due to multiple 911 calls from passing drivers reporting Brandon’s abandoned vehicle. Kyle didn’t mention that Brandon had outstanding warrants, and neither he nor the officer knew that Brandon had already contacted 911, indicating that whatever situation he was in was dire enough to override his fear of arrest.
Numerous theories have emerged, suggesting that Brandon had relapsed and was under the influence of drugs, or perhaps he chose to disappear and start a new life. However, the case remains open and unsolved, with his family still believing that foul play was involved.
6. Joanne Pederson
On February 19th, 1983, Joanne Pederson was at a mall in Chilliwack, BC, with her sister and cousin. On their way home, the sisters argued, leading to the two older girls running inside and locking the door behind them, leaving 10-year-old Joanne outside in the cold, dark night.
After unsuccessfully trying to get her sister to open the door, Joanne walked to a payphone. At 8 PM, she called her parents, asking to be picked up. Her father answered, said they’d leave immediately, and then handed the phone to her mother to comfort the distressed girl. However, when Joanne’s mother picked up the phone, a gruff, irritated male voice responded, telling her that if they didn’t arrive in 30 minutes, he would call the police. The call then ended.
Joanne’s worried parents rushed to the payphone, but when they arrived, she was gone. Witnesses reported seeing Joanne with a Caucasian man in his 30s, dressed in a dark jacket. Another witness claimed to have seen the two in a cream-colored car with a green roof. However, that was the last lead, and 35 years later, there has been no sign of Joanne.
5. Brandon Swanson
Brandon Swanson, a 19-year-old student at Minnesota West Community College, was on his way home from a party on May 13th, 2008, when he crashed his car into a ditch around 2 AM. Seemingly uninjured, he called his parents to ask for a ride. His parents agreed, and they kept in touch with him over the phone as they drove to pick him up.
Despite being uncertain about his exact location, Brandon believed he must be near the town of Lind, as he could see distant lights. He told his dad over the phone that he would walk to the local bar’s parking lot to meet him. Brandon remained in contact with his father for 47 minutes, until he abruptly exclaimed, 'Oh shit!' before the call was cut off.
After hearing Brandon's last words and failing to find him despite a frantic search, his parents contacted the Lind police to report him missing. Cell phone tower data revealed that Brandon’s calls had actually been made from Taunton, nearly 25 miles away from Lind. A search was launched in Taunton, and soon his Chevy was found north of State Highway 68. Despite a 30-day search, Brandon and his phone were never found, and his disappearance remains unsolved to this day.
4. Ruth Price
Details about this case are scarce, but in 1988, Ruth Price, an elderly woman living alone in the U.S., reportedly called 911 to report a prowler outside her home. Not long after, Ruth screamed in terror as muffled thumps could be heard on the line. The operator remained silent as Ruth's desperate cries for help echoed before the call abruptly ended. You can hear the recording above.
Many 911 operators who trained in the 90s claimed to have heard this recording during their training sessions. Instructors confirmed that the recording was real, and Ruth was beaten to death in her home. This recording was used as a powerful training tool, demonstrating the importance of correct emergency response procedures, as the operator could hear everything but had no address to send help to.
3. 1990 Washington State Bigfoot calls
In 1990, two phone calls were made to emergency operators in Washington State, both originating from the same panicked and disoriented man in his home. The recordings, though edited, clearly show him struggling to comprehend what is occurring. He tries to rationalize the bizarre situation he is witnessing but is unable to make sense of it. Although he is coherent and sober, it is evident he cannot fully explain what he’s seeing.
2. SS Ourang Medan
The SOS signal from the Ourang Medan remains one of the most notorious distress calls in maritime lore, though the specifics of the event are widely debated. Even the date is uncertain, with most sources placing it between late 1947 and early 1948. What sets this story apart is the chilling message relayed by the SOS, received by two separate American vessels, both interpreting the call to say...
‘All officers including the Captain are dead. Lying in chartroom and the bridge. Possibly whole crew dead. I die.’
Upon receiving the distress message, the Silver Star was immediately dispatched to the location of the doomed vessel. Several hours later, the Ourang Medan was located, eerily lifeless. After unsuccessful attempts to contact the crew, the Silver Star’s crew boarded the ship to find a gruesome scene. The Dutch crew members' bodies were scattered across the deck, their faces twisted in expressions of pain or fear, yet there were no visible wounds. The radio operator who had sent the SOS remained at his post, as did the engineers, who appeared to have died where they worked. The crew members of the Silver Star reported an unnatural chill aboard the ship, despite the hot climate of the Malacca Strait where the vessel was found.
Eventually, the crew of the Silver Star attempted to tow the Ourang Medan to safety, but as they secured the vessel, it suddenly erupted into flames from its lower decks. The fire quickly spread, followed by an explosion that sent the ship plummeting to the ocean's depths, taking with it any chance of uncovering the mystery of what happened to the crew.
1. Japanese City’s Mystery Emergency Calls
In Akita Prefecture, Japan, emergency calls made from landline phones have become such a perplexing mystery that local fire department officials contacted the local phone company to investigate. In 2020, emergency services were dispatched on nine separate occasions to properties where residents were unaware that their landline had dialed emergency services.
The calls did not contain any intelligible speech but were instead described as robotic noises by those who listened. Because these were categorized as 'mute emergency calls,' fire crews were sent to the originating locations, only to find confused residents who had no idea why emergency responders were disrupting their evenings. Remarkably, more than half of these calls were made while the residents were not even at home!
