5 missing person cases so horrific that they deserve their own standalone documentary

This article on missing person cases reflects the author’s perspective. Reader discretion is advised!

Few things are as unsettling as a person simply disappearing. One day, you see them as part of your daily life, see them working, contributing to the community, and a lot more. But then, they suddenly disappear.

There's no clear answer to where the person has gone, or whether someone else is behind his or her disappearance. As seen in true crime shows, some missing person cases get solved, but there are others that are left unsolved.

And some of them are so unsettling and suspicious that they literally deserve to be featured in a separate documentary. What makes missing person cases hard to ignore isn't just the mystery surrounding them, but the combination of unanswered questions, strange circumstances, conflicting clues, and the sheer amount of time that can pass without a definite resolution.

Want to explore such kinds of cases? Read below!

5 missing person cases that deserve to be featured as separate documentaries

When it comes to missing person cases, I've explored a lot of them, and there are some that feel really puzzling. Below, there are five cases of people disappearing, and each could form the basis of an entire documentary.

Not because the circumstances are something to be sensationalized, but because there are so many layers to understand. So, let's take a look at them:

1) Brian Shaffer

The first case we'll discuss is about Brian Shaffer, who was a 27-year-old medical student at Ohio State University at the time of his disappearance in Columbus. It was during the early hours of April 1, 2006, when Brian went missing.

His mother had died from cancer only a few weeks earlier, and he was also in a serious relationship with fellow student Alexis Waggoner. The night before he disappeared, Brian had dinner with his father and later went out with his friend Clint Florence for spring break.

According to A&E Crime Central, another friend, Meredith Reed, joined them, and the three went to the Ugly Tuna Saloona bar shortly after 1 a.m. Now comes the most startling detail of this case: Brian was seen outside around 1:55 a.m. in the camera footage.

He was briefly talking to two women, and then walking back toward the entrance. After that, there is no clear footage showing where he went. The bar closed at 2 a.m., but Brian was not seen leaving through the main entrance.

There was another door in the bar that led toward a construction area. So investigators considered whether he might have left that way, but there was never a clear answer.

Brian's friends thought he might have gone back to his home. But soon, they realized that something wasn't right as his phone went to voicemail, he missed a planned flight, and his car was still at his apartment.

Since it became one of the most startling missing person cases, an extensive search was carried out to find out what happened, but nothing was clear. Brian's father kept searching for the answers until his own death in 2008. As a result, Brian Shaffer's case became one of the most horrific missing-person cases.

It's kind of a case that I believe could be covered in true-crime shows like Unsolved Mysteries or documentaries. Additionally, there are a lot of theories regarding Brian's disappearance that can be explored too.

Also Read: 5 Brian Shaffer theories that will leave you shook

2) The Springfield Three

The vanishing of three women from a house is also one of the most shocking missing person cases. The Springfield Three is the name given to the disappearance of three women from Springfield, Missouri, in 1992.

Among them were Sherrill Levitt, who was 47, her 19-year-old daughter Suzie Streeter, and Suzie’s 18-year-old friend Stacy McCall. As revealed in People Magazine, this case has left investigators searching for answers for decades.

On June 6, Suzie and Stacy had graduated from high school and spent the evening going to parties. Later, they decided not to stay at a crowded friend’s house and instead went to Suzie’s home, where her mother Sherrill was already there.

The next morning, the three women were gone. Their cars and personal belongings were still at the house, along with their keys, money, clothes, jewelry, cigarettes, and the family dog. Sherrill’s bed looked as though she had slept in it, and the television was still on.

There weren't big signs that something bad happened at the house, but the porch light had a broken glass cover. But there was no obvious forced entry or major struggle inside the house.

This is one of the missing person cases, and what's even more frustrating is that a message on the answering machine that investigators thought might have been important was accidentally erased.

Friends became worried when nobody answered their calls and went to the house. Before police secured the scene, around 20 people had entered, which may have affected possible evidence.

Investigators believe the women were likely taken sometime between about 2:15 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Despite searches, thousands of tips, and FBI involvement, they have never been found. The case is still open more than 30 years later.

3) Jennifer Kesse

The next mystery in our list of shocking missing person cases is related to Jennifer Kesse. She was 24 at that time and disappeared from her condominium in Orlando, Florida, on January 24, 2006, and no one knew that this would end up as one of the most disturbing missing person cases.

She had graduated from the University of Central Florida and had recently bought her own condo after returning from a vacation in St. Croix with her boyfriend. Before she vanished, Jennifer left for work and even spoke to her family.

Her last known phone call was with her boyfriend, Rob Allen, at around 10 p.m. Then the next morning, Jennifer skipped work, and this wasn't something normal. According to News Nation, her parents visited her condo, and they didn't see anything that could indicate a struggle.

There was a wet towel, clothes, and hair-styling items that made it look like Jennifer was just getting ready for work. However, several important things were missing, including her purse, keys, phones, iPod, and black Chevrolet Malibu.

But at the same time, there was no sign that someone had entered her condo forcefully or that something bad had happened to the young woman. Two days later, her car was found about a mile away at another apartment complex.

Security footage showed a person parking Jennifer’s car and walking away. But the person’s face was blocked by a fence, and the camera recorded only brief images.

Investigators looked at people who had worked around Jennifer’s condominium, including construction and maintenance workers. The case was later transferred from Orlando police to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

In 2025, investigators reported new DNA evidence that had not previously been tested, and the number of possible suspects was narrowed. However, nobody has been arrested, and Jennifer still has not been found after more than 20 years, becoming one of the missing person cases.

4) Brandon Swanson

Brandon Swanson's disappearance is also part of unsettling missing person cases, and this incident happened on May 14, 2008. Brandon was just a 19-year-old college student from Marshall, Minnesota, when he vanished.

Around 1:54 a.m., Brandon’s car was stuck in a ditch on a country road. He was uninjured, so he called his parents and asked them to come pick him up. He thought he was close to Lynd and began walking, still on the phone with them.

Brandon and his parents walked through dark fields, talking for 47 minutes. According to Gotham Daily, he was talking about fences and the land around to explain where he was. "Oh sh**!" he said unexpectedly, and then the call ended abruptly.

This is among the missing person cases, and the weird thing was that Brandon was nowhere near Lynd. His phone records later showed he was nearer to Porter and Taunton, about 25 miles away and in an entirely different direction.

Then his car was discovered the next day near the Lincoln-Lyon county line. The doors of the car were open, but Brandon wasn't inside it, and neither were the keys. It didn't look like someone attacked him inside the vehicle.

Search dogs and even aircraft were used, but Brandon Swanson couldn't be found. Despite such a long search, investigators couldn't find out what really happened to the college student and whether he was alive or dead.

5) Maura Murray

What happened to Maura Murray is also among the missing person cases, as the 21-year-old went missing, and no one could ever find out where she went.

Maura was a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who disappeared on February 9, 2004, after a car accident in New Hampshire. She was driving a black Saturn when it crashed on Route 112 near Woodsville.

Before the accident, Maura contacted some of her professors and said someone had died in her family. According to Mass Live, she also said that she needed some time away, but the truth is that no such death ever happened, and Maura lied to her professors that day.

She also withdrew about $280 from her bank account and bought around $40 worth of alcohol. She packed clothes, toiletries, books, and other belongings before driving north, although it was never clear why she was going there.

That evening, around 7 p.m., her car went off the road at a sharp bend. A local bus driver stopped and offered to help, but Maura said she had already contacted AAA. A resident had already reported the accident, and when police arrived about 20 minutes later, Maura was nowhere to be found.

Just like the other missing person cases mentioned above, Maura's belongings were not taken. Her jewelry, clothes, alcohol-related items, a stuffed animal, and everything else were right inside her car, and only her phone and bank cards were missing.

One of the strangest details is that investigators found no footprints in the snow around the scene. Despite extensive searches and years of investigation, there has been no confirmed sighting of Maura, and no remains have been found, so her case also goes on the list of missing person cases that will leave you with multiple questions and theories.

So, what do you think of these missing person cases? Tell us in the comments.