Buzz
World-renowned landmarks and destinations attract millions of tourists each year. Even in the aftermath of lockdowns, many of these locations remain accessible virtually, preserving their immense appeal.
Yet, every now and then, a notable landmark becomes notorious as the site where someone was last seen before mysteriously vanishing without a trace.
10. George Penca Jr. Last Seen: Upper Yosemite Falls Trail
On a sunny June day in 2011, 30-year-old George Penca Jr. went for a hike with around 20 members of his 80-strong church group. They chose to explore the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. However, when it was time to return, George was missing from the group.
Believing George had returned to the Yosemite Valley floor, his friends did not report him as missing until 9:00 PM, when it became clear that he was nowhere to be found. At the time of his disappearance, George was casually dressed in sweatpants, a T-shirt, and running shoes, with a small bag containing limited food and water.
A full-scale search and rescue mission was launched early the next morning. Around 105 people, several helicopters, and six search dogs combed the area for about a week, but no signs or evidence of Penca were ever discovered.
As of 2020, there remains no information about Penca's fate. His remains, belongings, and clothing have never been found.
9. Carla Valpeoz Last Seen: Machu Picchu
In December 2018, 35-year-old Carla Valpeoz, who is legally blind, traveled from Detroit to Peru to attend a wedding. During her visit, she attempted to tour Machu Picchu but was denied entry due to her limited vision.
A tour group offered to assist Carla in exploring the site. She and the group spent the entire day together, followed by a night of dancing at a club. They returned to the Pariwana Hostel, where they were staying, around 4:00 AM on December 12.
Later, Carla sent a text to a new friend from the tour group, saying she was heading out to explore the city that morning. Then, she vanished.
According to her brother, Carlos Valpeoz Jr., a female member of the tour group reported waking up around 9:30 AM to find Carla and all her belongings missing. Around this time, both a receptionist and security officers had seen Carla getting into a taxi.
The taxi driver was found and told the police that he had dropped Carla off at a bus terminal in Cusco, as she planned to continue exploring the city. The last update her family and friends received was that a man working at the Machu Picchu entrance had seen Carla there, and she appeared to be in good health.
After Carla's disappearance, her father and brother began traveling around Peru in search of her. To this day, no clues regarding her whereabouts have been discovered.
In 2019, law enforcement investigating her case expressed skepticism that Carla ever reached Machu Picchu on December 12, 2018, despite the park employee's statement that he saw her on that day.
The case is believed to still be open, although there are some theories suggesting that Carla may have fallen victim to criminals but has since been found and quietly returned to her family.
8. Tinashe Chitambo Last Seen: Victoria Falls Rain Forest
In March 2012, 25-year-old Tinashe Chitambo traveled to Victoria Falls with his sister. After having lunch at Shearwater Restaurant, Tinashe informed his sister that he planned to go back to the falls for another tour.
Shortly after Tinashe departed, a tourist approached a security ranger, reporting that they had seen a man lingering near the falls. A search team was dispatched but failed to find the individual, who was later suspected to be Tinashe.
Tinashe never returned to the restaurant where his sister was waiting. A police spokesperson mentioned that they couldn’t rule out possibilities such as suicide or Tinashe being “[possessed] by evil spirits.”
The suicide theory remains unconfirmed since Tinashe’s body was never found.
7. Gavin Cusi Octaviano Last Seen: Golden Gate Bridge
On November 21, 2018, 22-year-old Gavin Octaviano traveled to San Francisco to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family and mark his birthday. On November 23, Gavin took a family member's car and drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, where he parked in the northern lot at 5:20 PM.
A little over four hours later, a motorist nearly struck Gavin, who was walking near the Golden Gate Bridge tunnel. The driver stated that Gavin appeared to be under the influence.
Gavin was never seen again.
On November 28, after recognizing Gavin’s picture on a missing person’s poster, the motorist reached out to his family to share details about the encounter. Distraught family members spent several days searching around the bridge in hopes of finding any clues about Gavin’s disappearance. He remains missing as of 2020.
6. Mujuet Bales Last Seen: Central Park
In April 1994, Joseph Bales brought his two-month-old daughter, Mujuet, to Central Park and took a brief nap on a bench while the baby rested beside him. His wife, Helena, and their four-year-old daughter, Priscilla, were on the west side of the park at the time.
Upon waking, Joseph discovered that Mujuet was missing. Her carrier was found approximately 305 meters (1,000 ft) from the bench. Strangely, Joseph and Helena, who were French-Canadian tourists, waited 20 hours before reporting her disappearance. During this time, they returned to their Manhattan hotel. They later explained that they delayed notifying authorities because neither of them spoke English.
As investigators delved deeper into the case, they learned that the couple had entered the U.S. from Canada with only one child, Priscilla. Confronted with this information, Joseph and Helena eventually confessed the truth.
Ten days prior, Mujuet had been discovered dead in her crib in Canada. Fearing further accusations related to a previous foster child abuse case, Joseph and Helena decided to dispose of her body in a Quebec forest and travel to the U.S., fabricating a story that the child had vanished in Central Park.
Mujuet’s body was found, but the cause of death remained uncertain according to newspaper reports from that time.
5. Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow Last Seen: Yellowstone National Park (Ryan) and Kennedy Elementary School (Vallow)
In one of the most perplexing and heartbreaking missing persons cases, siblings Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow vanished without a trace in September 2019.
Seventeen-year-old Tylee was last seen with her family at Yellowstone National Park on September 8, 2019. Seven-year-old J.J. was last spotted at Kennedy Elementary School on September 23, 2019. Despite these disappearances, their mother, Lori Vallow, married Chad Daybell on November 5, 2019, just weeks after his previous wife died in October 2019.
When Idaho police attempted a welfare check on J.J. on November 26, Lori informed them that J.J. was staying with relatives in Arizona. This explanation quickly fell apart as the investigation continued. By the following day, November 27, Lori’s Idaho home had been deserted. Not long after, Lori and Chad quietly traveled to Hawaii, where they rented a townhome.
The investigation into the disappearances of Tylee and J.J. was made public on December 20, 2019. Lori missed a court-mandated deadline to produce the children by January 30, 2020. On February 10, reports revealed that police had located Tylee’s cell phone among Lori's possessions in Hawaii.
On February 20, Lori Vallow was arrested by Kauai police and charged with multiple offenses related to the children’s disappearances. It was also uncovered that Lori and Chad believed Tylee and J.J. had become possessed and turned into zombies.
On June 9, 2020, police discovered the remains of Tylee and J.J. in the backyard of Chad Daybell’s home in Salem, Idaho. J.J.'s body had been wrapped in plastic and duct tape, while Tylee's body had been dismembered and set on fire.
Chad Daybell is also facing charges related to the deaths of Tylee and J.J.
4. Karl-Erivan Haub Last Seen: Klein Matterhorn, Swiss Alps
In April 2018, German billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub set off to ski on the Klein Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. A seasoned skier, Haub was alone during his disappearance as he was training for an upcoming race. When he failed to return from the glacier-covered peak, he was declared missing.
A massive search effort was initiated but yielded no results. More than two years later, Haub's fate remains a mystery, as no trace of him has been discovered.
The last confirmed sighting of Haub was at the mountain station of the gondola lift. No active search is ongoing at this time. The prevailing theory is that Haub may have fallen into a crevasse, making it unlikely his body will ever be recovered.
The full truth behind his disappearance remains to be discovered.
3. Prabhdeep Srawn Last Seen: Kosciuszko National Park
On May 13, 2013, 25-year-old bushwalker Prabhdeep “Prabh” Srawn rented a van in Sydney and agreed to return it in Melbourne two days later. Security footage showed him visiting a convenience store near Jindabyne that same day.
On May 14, 2013, Prabh drove to the Charlotte Pass Ski Resort staff quarters, where he parked his van. He was later seen heading toward the Main Range Trail, carrying some food and his cell phone.
The day began with clear, sunny skies. However, by midday, the temperature drastically dropped, and heavy snow began falling rapidly. Other hikers on the trail reported that the path became hard to follow in places due to the deep snow accumulation.
The first indication that Prabh might be in trouble occurred when a caretaker at the resort observed that the rental van remained in the same spot on May 18, 2013. A search and rescue mission was conducted for about two weeks. Following that, Prabh’s family initiated a series of private searches in a desperate bid to locate him.
On May 22, 2013, employees and a skier in the Little Austria area reported hearing what sounded like a human voice calling out. A helicopter search was launched in the area, but no signs of him were found.
Even after the snow melted, there was still no trace of Prabh. After spending over $200,000 on private search efforts, Prabh’s family reluctantly called off the search in October 2013.
Prabh was officially declared deceased in June 2015, though no evidence of him was ever found. His family continues to hope for a miracle.
2. Ben Trommels Last Seen: Niagara Falls, Ontario
In 2016, twenty-four-year-old Ben Trommels lived by himself in an apartment located in the northern part of Niagara Falls, Ontario. For the past three years, Ben had been dealing with mental health struggles, which had deeply affected him.
On February 11, 2016, Ben went grocery shopping with his mother. During their conversation, Ben spoke words that would torment his mother for a long time after.
While walking through the store, Ben remarked, “I’m tired of it all.” This comment followed previous discussions where Ben had expressed a desire to end his life by jumping into the falls, believing that he was a burden to his mother and feeling as though he would never be missed.
In the early hours of February 12, 2016, Ben Trommels quietly left his apartment in Niagara Falls, vanishing into the night. It wasn’t until four days later that his mother, Monique Smith, realized something was wrong. Volunteers combed the falls area, but no trace of Ben was found.
Over four years later, Monique remains without any answers regarding Ben’s whereabouts. Still, she believes he fulfilled the grim promise he had made to end his life.
1. Floyd Roberts III Last Seen: The Grand Canyon
On June 17, 2016, 52-year-old Floyd Roberts III set out to explore the western section of the Grand Canyon with his friend Ned Bryant and Ned’s daughter Madeleine. After parting ways to take a separate route up a hill, Floyd disappeared, becoming one of the many hikers who have gone missing in the vast expanse of the Grand Canyon.
Floyd and Ned had been close friends since childhood, frequently embarking on hiking adventures together for more than 20 years. Their planned nine-day trek began with camping by a serene river.
When they reached a hill on the first day of their journey, Ned and Madeleine decided to climb over it, while Floyd chose to go around it. They agreed to meet up at a designated spot on the other side of the hill.
As the hours passed and Floyd didn’t appear, Ned and Madeleine grew increasingly worried. They camped for the night, and the next day, they moved to a location where they could get cell phone reception. At 3:00 PM on June 18, they reported Floyd as missing. The initial search operation lasted for six days but was eventually scaled back on June 24.
Despite an extensive search, no evidence or clues were found suggesting that Floyd had fallen, and neither he nor his backpack were ever located. The case went cold quickly, though it remains open.
