List of people who disappeared mysteriously (2000–present)

This is a list of people who have disappeared mysteriously since 2000. This includes people whose whereabouts are unknown or whose deaths are not substantiated, except for people who disappeared at sea. Many who disappear are eventually declared dead in absentia, but the circumstances and dates of their deaths remain a mystery. Some were possibly subjected to enforced disappearance, but in many cases, information on their ultimate fates is unknown.

The global statistical data on missing persons from the late 20th and early 21st centuries is unreliable due to several factors, including international migration and travel and legal protection for individuals who may have chosen to disappear intentionally. According to the International Commission on Missing Persons, "There are few comprehensive and reliable statistics regarding the number of persons who go missing throughout the world as a result of trafficking, drug-related violence, and migration. Even the numbers of persons missing as a result of armed conflict and human-rights abuses, which are more intensively monitored, are difficult to verify, given the reluctance of most states to deal honestly and effectively with this issue".

By the mid-1990s in the United States, the number of missing person cases had grown to nearly one million, though this number declined by nearly half by 2021. In 2014, there were an estimated 90,000 people missing in the United States at any given time, with about 60% being adults, and 40% being children; in 2021, the total number of missing person cases was around 520,000. Per a 2017 report, the U.S. states of Oregon, Arizona, and Alaska have the highest amount of missing persons per 100,000 people. In Canada, the population is around one tenth of the United States; so the number of missing-person cases is smaller, but the rate per capita is higher with an estimated 71,000 reported in 2015. Of these missing Canadians, 88% are found within a week, while roughly 500 individuals remain missing after a year. In the United Kingdom, a 2024 estimate stated that 170,000 Britons go missing every year. In some countries, such as Japan, the prevalence of missing persons is not commensurate with known data, as significant numbers of missing individuals go unreported to authorities. However, it was estimated in 2025 that 70,000 to 90,000 Japanese go missing every year.

2000s

2000

+DatePerson(s)Age when disappearedMissing fromCircumstances 2 February 2000 25Grozny, RussiaAn Ingush insurgent fighter last seen alive on 2 February 2000. Yandiev is known to have been captured by the Russian Army prior to his disappearance, although his ultimate fate remains unknown.14 February 2000 9Shelby, North Carolina, U.S.Degree was last seen in the early morning hours of 14 February 2000, while running into a woodlot off North Carolina Highway 18 on a rainy and very windy day. Some of her personal effects were found three days later in a nearby shed, and her backpack was found buried away in August 2001. No other signs of her have been found since then, and theories have ranged from running away to foul play.13 March 2000 23Bellingham, Washington, U.S.Roberts, a native of Durham, North Carolina, embarked on a cross-country road trip to northern Washington in early March 2000. Her car was found wrecked and abandoned some days later off the Mount Baker Highway. She had last been seen in a restaurant at a local shopping mall on 13 March. According to one report, she was seen walking disoriented around a gas station in Everett shortly after her car was discovered, and she has not been seen or heard from since.17 March 2000 68Kanungu, UgandaKibweteere, a leader of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, is believed to have died on 17 March 2000, but in 2014, the Uganda National Police announced that reports were received that Kibweteere was hiding in Malawi.25 May 2000 45Bukit Batu Lawi, MalaysiaA Swiss traveler who lived with the Penan people of Borneo during the 1970s and 1980s, Manser became an internationally prominent activist in the fight for the Penan's land rights, and opposition to logging and rain-forest destruction. He was in the country illegally, and was continually hunted by authorities and escaped numerous times under gunfire. He eventually escaped the country in disguise and went on a world tour to raise awareness about the Penan, including founding a nonprofit organization. In 2000, against all advice, he covertly re-entered Borneo. Manser was last seen in the jungle near Bukit Batu Lawi, a 2,000-m limestone pinnacle in Sarawak. Manser stated his intention to climb the pinnacle alone. The Penan mounted a search and rescue mission after he failed to return; he has not been seen since.23 June 2000 40Montreal, QuebecRoy was a wealthy Hells Angels member and Canadian gangster who disappeared on 23 June 2000 from Montreal, Quebec, and has not been seen since. He is believed to have been murdered.7 July 2000 27Minsk, BelarusBelarusian journalist and cameraman Zavadski disappeared on 7 July 2000 at Minsk National Airport and was presumably murdered.August 2000 19Cambridge, EnglandAl Maktoum, an Emirati member of the Dubai ruling family who fled to the UK to live a less restrictive life, was abducted on the streets of Cambridge by four men hired by her father, flown back to Dubai, and has not been seen since.8 December 2000 22Dublin, IrelandDeely was returning home from a work Christmas party in Dublin. He was seen talking to an unknown man outside his office. At 4:14 a.m. CCTV footage shows Deely walking past what was then the AIB bank on the corner of Baggot Street Bridge and Haddington Road in the direction of his apartment. About 30 seconds later, the footage shows a man dressed in black passing by the bank. In December 2023, Gardaí Síochána said that they tracked down this man and believe he is not linked to the disappearance of Deely and was not the same person waiting outside the bank. Despite numerous appeals over many years since his disappearance, Deely's whereabouts are still unknown.

2001

DatePerson(s)Age when disappearedMissing fromCircumstances 2001Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi60London, EnglandShahi, a Pakistani religious scholar and founder of the Messiah Foundation International, an organization dedicated to spreading religious studies, disappeared from public view around 2001 while residing in London. Various rumors surround his disappearance, including that he died in 2001 or 2003.2 January 2001 26Grozny, ChechnyaMurdalov, a student, left his home on 2 January 2001, saying he would return, but never did. His parents tracked him down at the police station where an official promised that he would soon be released, but they have not seen their son since. According to witnesses, Murdalov was subsequently severely beaten while in police custody, and his fate remains unknown.18 January 2001 4Miami, Florida, U.S.Wilson, a foster child of the Florida Department of Children and Families, disappeared on 18 January 2001 in Miami. She was not reported missing until 2002, when she became the focus of an investigation into neglect and mismanagement in the organization.6 March 2001 Asami Chida16Hokkaido, JapanA high school student who disappeared while travelling to her part-time job at a bakery.4 April 2001Shaina Kirkpatrick3Portland, Oregon, U.S.Kirkpatrick and Henson were sisters who disappeared with their mother, Kimyala Henson, on 4 April 2001. Henson's body was found partially buried near Pyramid Lake on 28 April, but the fate of Kirkpatrick and baby Henson remains unknown.Shausha Henson2 months11 April 2001 20Skidmore, Missouri, U.S.Perry disappeared outside his home. A female friend was helping him clean in preparation for his father's return from the hospital; she stated he told her he was taking a pair of jumper cables to an exterior shed. He never returned. In 2004, while investigating Jack Wayne Rogers on unrelated charges, a message board post from his computer was discovered detailing a first-hand account of Perry's alleged rape, torture and murder. Rogers denies involvement in his disappearance, and Perry's whereabouts remain unknown.17 May 2001Alissa Turney17Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.Turney was last seen by her stepfather around midday on 17 May 2001 after supposedly arguing with him. While the circumstances surrounding her case remain unclear, Turney's stepfather was later charged with her supposed murder. However, in July 2023, all charges against him were dismissed. Alissa's body has still not been found.10 June 2001Aleksandr Khazanov22Brooklyn, New York, U.S.Khazanov, a Russian–American mathematical child prodigy who was one of the youngest students to submit a perfect paper for the 1994 International Mathematical Olympiad, went missing after going out with his mountain bike, leaving behind a letter claiming that he was "going to the library". At the time of his disappearance, he was suffering from depression and drug addiction.13 June 2001 19Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.Jolkowski failed to show up at a local high school, where he had arranged to catch a ride to work with a friend. The last confirmed sighting of Jolkowski was by a neighbor, who reported seeing Jolkowski carrying trash cans into his garage about 30 minutes prior to when he was to meet at the high school.12 July 2001Tot Tran Harriman57League City, Texas, U.S.57-year-old Tot Tran Harriman was last seen leaving her son's residence near League City, Texas in her 1995 Lincoln Continental on 12 July 2001. She had been visiting relatives in both League City and Corpus Christi. Neither Harriman nor her vehicle have been located.30 July 2001 25Aachen Hauptbahnhof, GermanyKerton, a British student nurse from Broadstairs, Kent, disappeared in Germany on 30 July 2001. She was last seen by her fiancée's mother at Aachen Hauptbahnhof station, intending to travel to Ostend.10 September 2001 31New York City, U.S.Philip, a physician, was last seen 10 September 2001 on surveillance-camera footage from a store near her Lower Manhattan apartment. Due to the proximity of the World Trade Center, and her medical training, her family believes she perished trying to help victims of the next day's terrorist attack. A court agreed, and she is officially considered to have died that way. The ruling was not unanimous, and no proof of her death has been found.11 September 2001 34Smithboro, New York, U.S.Harris was last seen leaving her boyfriend's apartment late on 11 September 2001. She had gone there after work to return to her home in nearby Spencer, where she and her wealthy husband were nearing the end of a bitter divorce. The next morning, her abandoned car was found on the road near her driveway. State police manpower and resources were limited at first, as they had been diverted to New York City in the wake of the terror attacks. Over the course of three trials, her husband was tried, convicted, and later had his conviction overturned. He had reportedly made threats and there was blood evidence in the garage, although a body or weapon was never found. September 2001 47United StatesA naturalized U.S. citizen, Atta was an alleged militant from the Palestine Liberation Organization suspected to be responsible for a 1986 bus bombing. Initially believed to be one of the hijackers responsible for the September 11 attacks, Atta was later proven not to have been on board any of the four planes used in the attacks. His current whereabouts are unknown.30 September 2001 Pascal Zimmer5Saarbrücken, SaarlandZimmer, a German boy, disappeared from Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany, on 30 September 2001 and has not been seen since.13 November 2001 Abigail Blagg6Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S.Blagg disappeared during the murder of her mother and has not been seen since.

2002