- 1/20/2025
Some of the most intriguing disappearances in history involve celebrities who vanished without a trace. From musicians and actors to athletes and pioneers, these mysterious cases have captivated the public's imagination for decades, leaving behind more questions than answers.
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00:00One of this country's great mysteries began 75 years ago last summer,
00:04as Americans learned that Amelia Earhart was missing.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most notable public figures
00:11who mysteriously disappeared and have never been heard from since.
00:16No matter what happens, I would like for things to turn out for the best.
00:24Jim Robinson. This Miami boxer is best remembered as one of Muhammad Ali's
00:28first professional opponents. On February 7th, 1961, Robinson stepped in as a last-minute
00:34replacement after Ali's scheduled opponent failed to show. The bout ended swiftly,
00:39with Ali knocking him out about 90 seconds into the first round. While Ali's career soared
00:45afterwards, Robinson's fizzled out, and he retired two years later.
00:48As you know, a lot of fighters, and the great fighters, sometimes later in life after they
00:53retired, have not ended up in the best financial condition at all, like BoJack, I think,
00:58the great fighter is a shoe-shining shoes somewhere down in Florida,
01:01and it's happened to a great many fighters. You're not going to let that happen to you.
01:05I'll tell you one thing. I'm glad you brought that up.
01:08But that's true, isn't it?
01:08Yes.
01:09His last known interview was with Sports Illustrated in 1979, where he reflected on
01:15facing Ali. Since then, no one has seen or heard from Robinson. His disappearance might have gone
01:20unnoticed if not for autograph collector Steven Singer, who managed to collect signatures from
01:2549 of Ali's 50 opponents, but spent years unsuccessfully searching for Robinson.
01:31What does this, having this film out now, mean to you in your life, at this time in your life?
01:39It means people who don't really know much about me, it'll tell them more about who I am.
01:48D.Y., born Forrest Shobb, Canadian rapper D.Y. was steadily rising in the music scene during
01:54the late 2000s. In February 2010, Billboard recognized him as one of Canada's best emerging
02:08artists. However, by November of that year, his family reported him missing. They hadn't
02:13seen him since August, when he mentioned plans to travel to Mexico. D.Y.'s last known activity
02:18was in September, with birthday wishes he sent out to a radio personality on Facebook and Twitter.
02:25D.Y. actually stands for Die Young. A lot of people take it as negative. It's a metaphor
02:29for life being too short. Even if you die at 100, it's too young, so live every day like it's your
02:33last. Rumors suggest that his disappearance may be tied to Mexican drug cartels, though it remains
02:39unclear if he ever made it to Mexico. D.Y., whose name stands for Die Young, had signed with CP
02:46Records in 2009, but his contract was terminated shortly before he vanished.
02:54Jim Sullivan
02:55In 1968, singer-songwriter Jim Sullivan left his native Nebraska for Los Angeles with his
03:01high school sweetheart Barbara, hoping to launch a successful music career. He released two albums,
03:071969's UFO and 1972's Jim Sullivan, but neither achieved the success he had hoped for.
03:17Eventually, his faltering career strained his marriage. Desperate for a fresh start,
03:23Sullivan set out for Nashville, but he mysteriously disappeared along the way.
03:27His car was found abandoned near a remote ranch outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico, with his guitar
03:33and unsold records still inside. Speculation about his fate has ranged from foul play to alien
03:38abduction, or perhaps that he wandered into the desert. Despite massive searches, no trace of
03:44Sullivan has ever been discovered. Joe Pickler
03:57After starting his career at the age of four, Joe Pickler gained prominence as a child actor,
04:02with roles in Varsity Blues and the Beethoven film series. However,
04:06he stepped back from acting in 2003 to finish high school in his Washington hometown.
04:11After graduating in 2005, Pickler planned to return to LA the next year,
04:16but those plans were tragically cut short. On January 5, 2006, after spending the evening
04:23with friends, Pickler left for home, but never arrived. Just miles from his apartment, his family
04:28found his silver Toyota Corolla. It was parked in the back of a Bremerton Mexican restaurant on
04:33Sheridan Road in Wheaton Way. Police found a note buried in the car, which contained poems and many
04:39troubling questions. His car was discovered days later, with a note in which he expressed
04:47feelings of disappointment, but no clear intention of self-harm. Although authorities suspect Pickler
04:53may have ended his own life, his family remains hopeful that he will one day return.
04:58Whether he walks through the door or he's carried to us, he has to come home.
05:04Tammy Lynn Leppert
05:06Tammy Lynn Leppert had it all. She was a beauty queen,
05:09an accomplished model, and was well on her way to a career in the movies.
05:13But in 1982, Tammy began to withdraw, growing increasingly paranoid, until finally she
05:20vanished. The 1983 film Scarface remains a cinematic masterpiece, but one of its lesser
05:26known cast members vanished before it even premiered. Tammy Lynn Leppert, a beauty queen
05:32and budding actress, appeared in 1983's Scarface and Spring Break. She was set to move to Hollywood
05:38later that year, but mysteriously disappeared on July 6th. Tammy has already competed in more than
05:45300 beauty contests. She has won the crown 280 times. She was very loving, kind. She was always
05:55smiling. You never saw the child when she wasn't smiling. As young as I can remember,
06:00she woke up with a great big smile, and the last thing I saw before she went to sleep was a big
06:04smile. The last person to see Leppert was a male friend who picked her up in Rockledge, Florida,
06:09but who left her at a parking lot after they argued. According to her mother, Leppert had
06:14shown erratic behavior shortly before her disappearance, seemingly afraid someone was
06:19trying to harm her. Since then, police have received calls from a woman claiming that
06:31Leppert is alive and pursuing a nursing career, but these claims remain unverified.
06:50Connie Converse
06:53Considered a trailblazer of the singer-songwriter genre,
06:57Connie Converse's music went largely unrecognized during her lifetime. In the 1950s,
07:02Converse recorded a collection of introspective folk music in New York City,
07:06but her efforts to break into the music scene were futile.
07:23Disillusioned by her lack of success, she moved to Michigan in 1961, where she began working in
07:28academia. By the time she was 50, Converse was coping with depression and feelings of
07:34unfulfillment. In August 1974, she packed her belongings into her car, wrote farewell letters
07:41to her friends and family, and drove away, never to be seen again. Her music was rediscovered after
08:00it was featured on a radio show in 2004, gaining her a cult following.
08:22Bison Daly
08:23Bison Daly was only in his early 30s when he accomplished something that most of us
08:27can only dream about. With $16 million of NBA money in his pocket, he decided to just sail
08:34away. Between 1991 and 1999, Bison Daly had a solid NBA career, playing center for teams like
08:41the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls. But at age 30, Daly stunned everyone by deciding to retire
08:47early to travel the world. In July 2002, he set sail for Tahiti with his girlfriend Serena Carlin,
08:54his brother Miles DeBoard, and the boat's captain. However, only DeBoard returned.
09:13Two months later, authorities arrested him after he forged his brother's signature
09:17and bought over $150,000 worth of gold under his name. It is believed that DeBoard killed
09:23all three individuals during a fight, although their bodies have never been found.
09:39DeBoard took the truth with him when he ended his life in September 2002 by overdosing on insulin.
09:54Richie Edwards
09:55The guitarist and principal lyricist for Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers,
10:00Richie Edwards was known for his raw, politically charged songwriting.
10:11Edwards openly dealt with depression and self-harm and channeled much of his inner
10:15pain into his music. On February 1st, 1995, just before the band's US tour,
10:21Edwards checked out of a hotel in Wales and vanished. His car was later found abandoned
10:27near the Severn Bridge, where many people had ended their lives. This fuelled speculation that
10:32Edwards had done the same, but no conclusive evidence was ever discovered.
10:52Over the years, there have been reported sightings of Edwards in places like India
10:57and Israel, but none confirmed. In November 2008, he was declared legally dead.
11:11Sean Flynn
11:12Born to Hollywood legend Errol Flynn, Sean Flynn first followed in his father's footsteps,
11:18appearing in a string of films between 1960 and 1966. He soon grew disillusioned with acting,
11:31and tried his hand at various careers before finding his true calling in photojournalism.
11:36Flynn quickly developed a reputation for fearlessly embedding himself in dangerous
11:41combat zones to capture striking images of conflict. On April 6th, 1970, during the Vietnam
12:00War, Flynn and fellow photojournalist Dana Stone were last seen riding motorcycles towards a
12:05Vietcong checkpoint in Cambodia. They were apparently captured by communist guerrillas,
12:10but their fate remains unknown. Some theories suggest they were executed by the Khmer Rouge,
12:16while others believe they may have died in captivity.
12:35Amelia Earhart
12:41She was a daredevil with the wings of an angel, a pioneer who embodied the pure romance of flying.
12:48But she embodied the danger of it too. 75 years ago, Amelia Earhart climbed into her Lockheed
12:53Electra, and with her navigator Fred Noonan, disappeared somewhere over the Pacific.
12:59This trailblazing aviator made history by becoming the first woman to fly
13:03solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. This achievement catapulted Amelia Earhart
13:08into the spotlight, and she embraced her celebrity status, writing best-selling books,
13:13going on speaking tours, and even launching a female clothing line.
13:17But Rick Gillespie thinks in her effort to find Howland, she stumbled on Nicomororo instead,
13:23and managed to make an emergency landing, and then waited for the help that never came.
13:29Always wanting to break new ground, Earhart set her sights on her most ambitious goal yet,
13:34becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the world.
13:37However, on July 2nd, 1937, while flying from Laie, New Guinea to Howland Island,
13:43Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean.
13:47Maybe the answer to this 75-year-old mystery is indeed just off that reef,
13:53resting in a thousand feet of water.
13:56Although it is widely believed they ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean,
14:00no trace of the aircraft or their remains has ever been found.
14:04I know what's coming, Mr. Daly. I've always known. But it doesn't matter.
14:10Do you think there is still hope that any of these missing individuals will ever be found?
14:15Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
14:17It won't change what Earhart accomplished, but it could finally put her to rest.
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