When a person disappears, this is a real tragedy. Of course, his friends, relatives, acquaintances even after a long time hope that the disappeared is alive and well.
And yet with the years the pain subsides, and the environment gets used to the idea that we need to live now without the missing. And imagine the joy when the "disappearance" suddenly returns. Yes, yes, it happens sometimes. And we will tell you about the 25 most striking stories of such returns.
1. Melvin Aphof and Jacqueline Rains-Cracaman
A couple from Nebraska was considered missing for 44 years. He disappeared at age 31, she is 18 years old. All this time, Melvin and Jacqueline were considered killed, but suddenly in 2009 the investigator found them. It turned out that the "disappearances" simply decided to abandon their families and live together, and in order not to listen to convictions and moralizing, their new place of residence was kept secret.
2. Lucy Ann Johnson
7-year-old Linda Evans was left without a mother in 1961. Initially, the police classified the incident as a murder and even tried to find the body, digging the back yard of the Johnson family home. But all attempts to find a woman were in vain. Only after 52 years the situation cleared up. Linda decided to look for her mother through the newspaper and filed an advertisement. Without waiting, she received an answer. Wrote her half-sister. As it turned out, Lucy Ann could no longer tolerate insults and betrayal of her husband and decided to leave. She did not want to throw a daughter, but her husband would not allow her to disappear with the child, and the woman had to flee herself.
3. Petra Pasitka
The student of the faculty of information technology was declared missing, when in 1984 the girl did not come to a party dedicated to her brother's birthday. Her body was never found, but Peter was still "buried" after the recognition of a maniac in 1989. It turned out that it played Pasitka's hand. After all at this time she arranged a new life under a new name in the new city. And when in 31 years she was found in Dusseldorf, Petra did not even say a word with her relatives, refusing to also comment on the reasons for her disappearance.
4. Lula Gillespie-Miller
At 28, Lula gave birth to a third child and was finally convinced of the thought that her mother was still too early. Then the girl gave the children to her parents and left. The family hoped that Lula would return, but she did not even catch a trace. Miller was able to find the police only 42 years later. She lived in Texas under a pseudonym. From the meeting with the family, the woman refused, but she still shared her contacts with her daughter Tammy.
5. Judith Bello
The wife and mother of two children disappeared at the age of 28. Her car was found abandoned in Stanwood, Washington. The police began to investigate the murder case, but came to a standstill. Found Judith in 2011 in Southern California. She had a new family, the old one, according to the woman, she had to quit because of her despotic husband.
6. Edgar Latushlik
He disappeared at the age of 21. The guy suffered from mental disorders, his development was at the level of a 12-year-old child. For a long time, no one saw Edgar, and he himself did not know who he was, because of the amnesia that developed after a head injury. Putting all the dots over the "i" was helped by a DNA test.
7. Carlos de Salazar
Dr. de Salazar disappeared at the age of 26. In 1995, Carlos officially recognized as dead. But after 20 years, a man accidentally discovered mushroom pickers from Tuscany. He lived alone in the reserve. The reclusive way of life Carlos chose for himself, tired of the old environment and wanting to escape from severe depression.
8. Bowie Bergdal
The American soldier disappeared in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. Later it turned out that Bowie was a deserter. In letters to his parents, he reported that he was disappointed in the service, the country, the government, his own values. During the wanderings, the Taliban found him, in whose captivity he stayed until 2014. After his release, he was first sentenced to prison, but in 2017 the verdict was changed, and Bergdal was reduced to the rank of private, fired and forced to pay a fine.
9. Bahretdin Khakimov
During the Russian-Afghan war, he fought for the side of Russia. In battle, Bahretdin was injured. The local residents came to the aid of the military, with whom Khakimov subsequently remained. After recovery, he changed his name and got married. The veteran organization managed to find it only at 53 years of age. At that time, the main hobby of Bakhraddin was phytotherapy.
10. Nguyen Ti Wang
16-year-old Nguyen - a resident of Vietnam - in 1992 she came home too late. As punishment, my mother did not let her go and left her to sleep outside the door. But the girl was not particularly upset about this. Instead of waiting for the family to change their anger to mercy, Nguyen went to the bar and met there with a woman who sold her to sex slavery in China. At home, the heroine of history managed to return only after 21 years.
11. Steve Carter
Regarding his childhood, Steve's 35-year-old had many questions. Once he heard the story of a woman who was kidnapped in the hospital, and decided to check whether anything like this happened to him. Imagine Carter's surprise when he learned that at 6 months old his own mother had stolen him. She gave him a new name, and then ran away again, alas, already herself and forever.
12. Savannah Todd
After the trial, Harris Todd received custody of his daughter. His wife suffered from bipolar disorder, and the man was worried that she would not be able to raise a child properly. Unfortunately, soon after the trial the girl disappeared. Mother kidnapped her and moved to Queensland. There, Savannah became Samantha. The girl grew up with her stepfather, thinking that this was her own father and did not suspect anything of her real family. Only in 2011, after drinking drunk, Dorothy Barnett confessed that she had abducted her daughter. Hearing this, the friends found the real father of Savannah and reported the terrible news to the authorities. Some time later, the woman was arrested, and her daughter finally found out about herself the whole truth.
13. Timothy Carney
The last time Timothy Carney was alive saw his roommate on September 28, 2004. That day the guy called his employer and said he would be late, but as a result he never came. Seven years continued the search, and in the end it was found. But as it turned out, Timothy was not at all happy about this. He joined a religious organization and was not thrilled with the prospect of talking to relatives. But one news that their boy is alive and well, Karni's parents were enough to calm down.
14. Steven Steiner
Returning home from school in 1972, he disappeared. His search continued for a long time, but was futile. Steven kidnapped pedophile Kenneth Parnell. He ordered the boy to call him "daddy", but about real parents he told him a lot of mucks, up to the point that he is an adopted child. Seven years Parnell mocked his victim, stuffed him with drugs and alcohol. When Kenneth brought home another miserable - 7-year-old Timmy White - Stephen decided to act. The guys managed to escape. To the nearest police station, they had to hitchhike almost 70 kilometers, and soon they were reunited with their families.
15. Arthur Gerald Jones
The disappeared in 1979, Arthur Gerald Jones, had a wife and three children. After a long search, he was found dead. But in 2011, the man was in Vegas, where he worked in a casino. It turned out that in recent years he lived under other people's names and felt quite well.
16. Unknown
One tourist from the group traveling to Iceland, disappeared, and all at once rushed to search. The woman was herself and had no time to get acquainted with anyone. It was described as an Asiatic, about 160 cm tall, dressed in dark clothes, well-spoken in English. But in fact, no one has disappeared. The woman simply was not dressed, and when she returned, no one recognized her. Moreover, she even joined the search, but when she realized that they were looking for her, she quickly reassured everyone.
17. Julian Hernandez
At the age of five, Julian's father kidnapped him. Mom immediately announced the disappearance of the child, but found Hernandez, only when he was 18 years old, and he went to college. The guy had no idea that somewhere someone was looking for him. The father of the kidnapper was then arrested and tried.
18. Elizabeth Smart
In 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth was kidnapped by Bryan David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzi. The family kept the girl in captivity, mocked her, raped her for 9 months. Salvation came suddenly - during the "release" with the kidnappers Liz learned.
19. Robert McDonough
The demented 73-year-old Robert McDonough disappeared in Lymington. Find the old man was quite quickly. More precisely, he found himself - Robert went directly to the cameras of TV men during a live broadcast, during which journalists reported his loss.
20. Daniel Kramer
The 15-year-old girl disappeared in 2006 and was soon found in a neighboring house. The girl was locked in a closet, and the door to the room was backed up by a chest of drawers. The kidnapper Daniel was 41-year-old Adam Gault - a family friend. It was said that Kramer was a difficult teenager and often ran away from home, but as this time she was at Gault - a mystery.
21. Gabriel Nagi
January 21, 1987 Gabriel called his wife and said that he was going home for dinner. After that, his family was no longer seen or heard. Later, a man's car was found abandoned on the roadside. It was possible to find out that shortly before the disappearance of Nagy, he withdrew the money from the account. 23 years after that he was considered missing, and then found - on the insurance website. Gabriel lost his memory and lived for some time in the unknown under a pseudonym, but then still remembered his real name, by which he was found.
22. Michael Knight, Amanda Berry, Georgina de Jisus
For several years Ariel Castro kept them in his cellar. The kidnapper scoffed at the children in various sophisticated ways, until they managed to escape in 2013. Castro was arrested, and in prison he committed suicide.
23. Jaycee Dugart
11-year-old Jasey was kidnapped when the baby was going to school. For 18 years the girl was kept in a backyard in the backyard of Philip Garrido's house and his wife. In captivity Dugart gave birth to two daughters, who later helped her escape. The kidnapper called the girls his children and boldly went out with them to the people, but the police suspected something was wrong and after the search of the house everything fell into place. On her return home, Jaycee received $ 20 million in moral compensation from the state.
24. Winston Bright
Disappeared in 1990. After 10 years, his wife found him dead and began to receive benefits. A woman saved money for children. And in 20 years, Winston, who became Kwame Seku, returned, said that he suffered from amnesia, and demanded his allowance. Do you think that many people believed in amnesia?
25. Harold Wayne Lovell
After 19-year-old Harold cleared the basin of John Gacy, no one saw him. Relatives decided that he was the victim of a maniac, but after 34 years a man was found in Fort Lauderdale. Harold said that he was looking for work and was in Florida. "Departure" also admitted that he did not think that his relatives consider him dead and expressed the joy of reuniting with them.