People go missing every day. According to newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, this figure could be as high as 8 million people every single year. While some people are quickly found or return home of their own accord, others simply vanish into the night. Families are left wondering where their loved ones have gone while the police desperately try to put together any clues they come across. While a good number of people make it home safe and sound, others are never seen again.

The aim of this book is to examine the details of the missing. By looking into names, dates, backgrounds, causes, and explanations, we hope to gain insight into the myriad reasons people might have for disappearing. Of course, some people want to vanish while others have the decision made on their behalf. Murder, bankruptcy, gangsters, money, and love. Sometimes, the reasons are never known. What is clear, however, is just how difficult it can be to find someone who does not want to be found.

Some of these cases have become famous, some of them have become legendary. A few of them might be entirely unknown. We will cover the stories of people like James Squillante, Michael Rockefeller, Richey Edwards, and Bruno Breguet. We will meet gangsters, hitmen, rock stars, and regular working people. As we will discover, missing people come in all shapes and sizes. Often, though, it is the paths they take that differentiate them from the rest. These are a selected few of the most interesting, worrying, and captivating stories of people who have vanished.