Trust is a hard thing to come by in this world, as can be seen when looking into this first bizarre case. 2011, Japan. 27-year-old Mayumi Arashi, was at home with her father, her sister, and her 18-month-old baby. At one point in the afternoon, she became visibly flustered and uncomfortable. She quickly made her way out the front door, saying that she had plans to meet an old classmate of hers. Day became night, and the young mother still hadn't returned home. Worried about her well-being, her family began searching for her. Mayumi's sister, Yoko, contacted the former classmate Mayumi said she was meeting. Lo and behold, no such meeting had taken place, and the classmate said that the two of them had never agreed to meet to begin with. Mayumi had lied, but why? Later that evening, Yoko discovered a note left by Mayumi. She brought it to the attention of the police. The note mentioned a man known to the media as "A." It read as follows: What on earth was this cryptic message supposed to mean? What was Mayumi hinting at? An affair of some kind? How had this "A" betrayed her? So many questions raised by such a short note. In addition to finding this message, Yoko also stated that she had received a call from A himself. Apparently, he claimed to have met with Mayumi in the afternoon when she disappeared, and said that he wanted to go to jail if Mayumi ever turned up dead. Another cryptic clue. Was A trying to express that he felt guilty, if Mayumi killed herself? Or was he hinting at the fact that he had killed her? The next morning, the police were able to track down A. They saw him walking into a forested area carrying two cartons of juice. They pursued him into the woods, but lost track of him. They haven't been able to find him since. It definitely seemed like something sinister had happened to Mayumi, be that suicide, abduction, or murder. Still, at least the case was progressing. That was mostly thanks to Yoko who, up to this point, had collected most of the clues. Then, the mystery took an unexpected turn. The case blew up on the internet after an interview with Mayumi's father was posted by a Japanese news station. It wasn't what he said in the interview that made it go viral. It's what was spotted in the background. There, posted on the wall behind Mayumi's father, was a note. The note was in Mayumi's handwriting. It read: Nobody knows what this mysterious note is referring to, or why it was put there. It wasn't addressed during the interview. And apparently, the news team didn't even notice it, despite it being clearly visible. It's difficult to find sources for this case which aren't in Japanese, but there are some interesting theories being discussed online. Whatever the case, it's obvious that somebody's lying, and at least one member of Mayumi's family knows more about her disappearance than they're letting on. Ah, Texas. Good food, blue skies, and huge open spaces with patchy cell signal. It was August 8th, 2013, just before midnight. After an argument with his wife, 26-year-old Brandon Wilson left his home in San Angelo. Needing some time to cool off, he hopped in his truck and began the journey to his father's house. He would never make it to his destination. Brandon ran out of gas on highway 277, near Bronte. Stuck there without any options, he called up his brother, Kyle, saying that he needed a lift to the nearest gas station. Kyle and his girlfriend agreed to help Brandon out, and began making their way to him. For some unknown reason, Brandon didn't wait for his brother in his vehicle. Instead, he ended up in an undisclosed field. Then, he made this 911 call. The exact transcript of the call is up for debate, and it's particularly hard to make out what he's trying to say at the beginning. Some think he's saying that a state trooper pulled some guys over, and others distinctly hear the word, "sniper." It definitely sounds as if there's someone else with Brandon, as well. One thing does become clear when analyzing the audio, though. In the background of the clip, there are at least two audible gunshots. [Slowed-down replay of audio clip] The police eventually arrived at the scene, along with Brandon's brother, Kyle. Brandon's truck had been left at a crooked angle on the road, posing a serious hazard. It seemed as if he had left in a hurry. Whatever had had happened to Brandon, he was still alive at this point. Kyle received a call from his desperate brother. The signal kept going in and out, making it difficult to understand what Brandon was trying to say. What Kyle did understand though, was that his brother was in a field 10 minutes up the road, and that he was bleeding. Things may have gone very differently that night, had a simple misunderstanding been avoided here. You see, the police weren't at the scene because of the call Brandon had made to 911. They were there because of another caller, who had complained about his truck in the road. Kyle himself had no idea his brother was in danger. He thought that Brandon was hiding from the police, since he had an outstanding warrant from 2 years ago. As such he thought that his brother was bleeding because he had scratched himself on a bush, and made no mention of the call to the deputies he was standing with. After some time, the lawmen drove off, saying that they'd have the vehicle towed in the morning. Kyle and his girlfriend spent some time searching for Brandon, but found no trace of him. They figured he'd gone off to a gas station. It wasn't until the next morning that everyone realized Brandon was missing. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. The money in his bank account hasn't been touched, and his cell phone has been completely inactive. From what I've heard, the area around Bronte is known for being a bit of a no-man's land. Did Brandon witness something, he wasn't supposed to? Some sort of cartel activity? It's possible. Others think that he was high on drugs, hence why in the call, he seems to make very little sense at the beginning. Then, there are those who think that he's the victim of a police cover-up. The land he disappeared on is owned by the sheriff, whose wife also runs the local newspaper. The sheriff is not allowing any more searches on his land, and Brandon's name rarely crops up in the paper. If he did indeed say that a state trooper pulled some guys over at the beginning, is it possible that, in some way, the authorities are involved in his disappearance? Well, whoever Brandon did run into that night, he was more scared of them than going to jail. Hence why he specifically asked the operator for the cops, despite his outstanding warrant. Whoever Brandon did run into that night, and whatever they did with him, we'll likely never know. This entry is a little bit different to the others. The evidence is a video of the entire crime, taken by the perpetrators themselves. For reasons that will become obvious, I'm only going to describe the footage rather than show it. In 2015, a mobile phone was found in the back of a Fijian taxi. On it was an extremely disturbing video taken somewhere in the Indian Ocean. The found footage was then posted online. In the video, we can see at least four unarmed men floating in the sea. Some of them cling to an upturned wooden boat. The men are surrounded by a number of large tuna fishing vessels. There's screaming and shouting as the men swim for their lives. To begin with, it's not obvious why. Then, over the ship's loudspeaker, a chilling command: "Shoot." Guns are cocked, and bullets fired. One by one, the men in the water are picked off by those on the ships. One of the victims even raises his hands in surrender, only to be shot in the head. He disappears under the water for a moment, and then bobs back up to the surface, the ocean around him turning a dark shade of red When all of the men in the water are dead, the killers pose for a selfie. Prosecutions for sea crimes like this are extremely rare. Some estimate it to be less than 1%. According to maritime security officials, hundreds are killed at sea every year for that reason. Looking at the size of the boats in the video, there must have been dozens of witnesses on board. Despite this, the killings went unreported. As of right now, the identity of the killers remains unknown, as does their motive for killing their defenseless victims. This could have been a territorial dispute, the settling of a grudge. Maybe even the execution of a group of pirates. One thing's for definite though— this was murder. You can find the video quite easily online, but I seriously suggest you don't go looking for it. As you can imagine, it's quite graphic in places. 32 years ago, the body of a disabled pensioner was fished from the Darling River in southeast Australia. The dead man's name was Ali Sonmez, and he was riddled with bullet wounds. He'd been shot above each of his eyes, once in the back of the head, and in several other areas of his body. This wasn't just any old murder. This was an execution. But, why would anyone feel the need to kill a decrepit old man in such a violent fashion, and then so callously toss his body into the water? This seemed more like a mob hit than anything else. But Ali had no connection to organized crime, nor did he appear to have any real enemies. By all accounts, he was a family man, a pillar of his local community, and the kind of guy who had helped those in need. Still, we all harbor a few dark secrets, don't we? Some darker than others, I suppose. Ali was last seen outside a post office at Merbein at about 6:30PM. An eyewitness saw him arguing with a male and two females. What this argument was about remains unknown. These comp-fit photos show what they looked like. The man and two women then drove off in a green Holden HQ with a white roof. It's believed, that at some point after this argument, Ali was abducted. He was then taken interstate. The rest you can fill in with your imagination. The only other clue that the cops have been able to unearth is a mysterious photograph found in the glove box of Ali's car. The picture is of a mustachioed man in a tank top smoking a cigarette. Nobody has ever been able to identify him. Not Ali's friends, or family, or any of the general public. In my opinion, he certainly bears a resemblance to the man Ali was seen arguing with. The police believed that Ali was probably abducted by someone he knew, Huh. It certainly seems like he knew this guy, seeing as he kept a picture of him in his car. Like Ali, the man appears to be of Turkish descent. What connection could there have been between the two men? Did Ali have a dark past that came back to haunt him? Was he involved in something he shouldn't have been, but managed to keep it a secret from everyone he knew? Most importantly, who exactly is the elusive man in the photograph? All of these questions have remained unanswered for the past three decades. And, unfortunately, that seems unlikely to change. Even with a $100,000 award up for grabs. "Without a doubt there are people in the community who know what led to the death of Mr. Sonmez," said minister of police Michael Gallagher. Whether those people come forward is another matter entirely. The year was 1961. Michael Rockefeller, member of the esteemed and powerful Rockefeller family, was a keen adventurer and ethnology enthusiast. Despite living an extremely privileged and comfortable life back in the States, the young Rockefeller had become restless. He craved— no, needed a change of scenery, and where better, he thought, than one of the most remote places on the planet? Netherlands, New Guinea. While on an expedition studying the Asmat people who lived there, Rockefeller's boat was swamped and overturned, about 3 miles from the coast. The two guides on board swam back to get help, leaving Rockefeller and his companion, René Wassing, to cling to the boat on wait for rescue. This "rescue" was slow in coming. After being stranded for two days at sea, the pair had drifted approximately 12 miles from the shoreline. Despite this, Rockefeller decided to take his chances. He jumped in the water and made for dry land. His companion was rescued the next day. But, despite an intensive search and rescue effort, Rockefeller was never seen or heard from again. At the time this was a major headline, and as such, there's been a huge amount of speculation over the years. The mystery is, what happened to him? Well, the obvious answer is that he either drowned, or died from exposure. Given that he was 12 miles from the shore, that makes a lot of sense. But Rockefeller was in great shape, and was still very young, only 23 when he went missing. Many believe that he made it to dry land, only to be captured by the Asmat people. Since head hunting and cannibalism were practiced by the tribe, it's thought that he may well have been killed and eaten. Indeed, there does appear to be quite a lot of evidence supporting that. One thing's for certain though: Michael Rockefeller died that day in 1961. Everybody agrees on that. That is, everybody agreed on that, until a piece of video footage that, was filmed in 1969 recently resurfaced. It was captured close to where Rockefeller would have landed had he made it to shore. The footage shows 17 cannibal war canoes making their way across the water. For a brief moment, one member of the tribe stands out, his face partly covered by blue war paint Could this be Rockefeller? The accomplished canoeist who wore a beard? Is it possible that he was accepted by the tribe, and adopted their ways to survive? There are, of course, many skeptics, saying that the Asmat people would have definitely eaten an outsider. There are also those who say that this could just be an albino member of the tribe. Still, this image gives some credence to the theory that Rockefeller survived his ordeal. If this is indeed Rockefeller, is it possible that he could have been saved? After 8 years, would he have wanted to be? It's unlikely the young man's fate will ever be definitively proven. But this photo definitely makes the mystery more intriguing. Just last month in Khabarovsk, East Siberia, a large bag was discovered, washed up on a small island in a river. it was discovered by fishermen in the area, who noticed that something suspicious was poking out of it. Inside, they found 54 severed human hands. Of course, when such a morbid discovery is made, the inevitable slew of theories start getting bounded around. Some people speculate that the hands were being collected by a Russian serial killer. Others think that Chinese gangsters are responsible, since the hands were discovered a mere 20 miles from the Chinese border. A few even believe that the local Russian government was somehow involved. Perhaps the most gruesome theory though, is that a syndicate of organ harvesters have been killing people, stealing their innards, and then hiding the severed hands of their victims, so that the bodies can't be identified via their fingerprints. Officially, the Russian police have stated that the hands are simply from a forensic lab. In the biggest understatement of the century, they say that the hands were inappropriately disposed of. They also stressed that nothing nefarious was going on. Despite this reassurance, many Russian netizens remain unconvinced by this explanation. They believe that the handling of the appendages isn't in keeping with how a forensic lab would operate, and that the bag was too suspiciously placed to not be criminal. The hands appeared to have been stripped of their fingerprints. However, the local authorities have said that one hand still has an identifiable set. They're currently being analyzed. As of right, now nobody is certain who the hands belong to, or why exactly they were left on the small island in the first place. Hopefully, after the surviving set of prints have been examined, we'll have a conclusive answer. This is the Haiku Staircase in Oahu, Hawaii. To locals, it's ominously known as the Stairway to Heaven. Built in 1942, the perilous trail consists of nearly 4,000 steps, and leads climbers to the top of the Ko'olau mountain range. It's closed to the public, the entrance blocked and guarded. Still, that doesn't stop the occasional thrill-seeker from sneaking onto the structure. One such adventurer was Daylenn Pua, better known as "Moke." On the 27th of February, 2015, the 18-year-old left his grandmother's house, saying that he planned to go hiking. She warned her grandson to stay away from the Stairway to Heaven. She had seen on the news that it was a forbidden trail. But you know how teenagers react when you tell them not to do something. At 11AM, Moke texted her a picture from— you guessed it— the Stairway to Heaven. He'd disregarded her warning and was making his way up the lonely trail. Not a wise move, she thought, but at least he was staying in contact. As he ascended the mountain, he continued to update his social media pages, and sent his family pictures of his journey to the top. Unfortunately, it seems he didn't make it all the way up. Moke sent this one final picture to his family. After that, all communication ceased. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. When his family realized he was missing, they immediately contacted the authorities. The navy and the Honolulu fire department combed the area thoroughly. After an arduous five-day search, they found no trace of the young man. He had simply vanished off the face of the earth. "Well, that's no mystery," you might be saying to yourself. "The boy must have just fallen from the mountain on his way up." Indeed, that's what everyone initially thought. The thing is he wasn't that far up the mountain when he took his last picture. He wasn't in an area that was difficult to search. And... He wasn't alone. Did you notice anything unusual in Moke's last picture? After examining it in greater detail, investigators spotted something out of place. There, hidden in the bushes, was the shape of a crouching man. The question is: Who is he? Was this just another adventurer on his way to the top? Some guy who was out exploring the area? Because of the way the man's crouched and partially hidden by the foliage, many people believe that he has something to do with Moke's disappearance. It's certainly easy to see how people can draw that conclusion. Moke made no mention of the man in the final message to his family. He may not have even realized that someone was following him up the mountain. Whoever this man is, he's yet to reveal his identity to the police, despite their best efforts to track him down. More than likely, he is innocent of any wrongdoing. But why hasn't he come forward? At the very least, he must have seen Moke in the moments leading up to his disappearance. Does he not want to admit that he was on the forbidden trail? Whatever the case, if Moke did die accidentally on the mountain, his body still remains unfound. Volunteers occasionally groomed the area in search of his remains. Hopefully, his family can find closure. Hey guys, Lazy here, and thank you very much for listening. Well this was an interesting little collection, um, I tried to cover some mysteries which haven't really been done before. Hopefully, you hadn't heard of these ones. It's getting a little tricky to find mysteries that haven't been covered. Especially with so many horror creators on the site nowadays. If you happen to come across any interesting mysteries which haven't really been talked about all that much, then please do tip me off, you know, send me an email. I'd really appreciate that. Coming up this Sunday, I have a marathon to run in support of Teenage Cancer Trust. So, don't expect to hear from me before then, but after that I'll be back to making videos. And hopefully, my legs will recover very quickly. If you'd like to support me on this, then you can find a link down below in the description to my donation page, And all of that money will go to helping teenagers suffering with cancer. Anyway, guys, I hope you enjoyed this one and if you did, be sure to smash that like button, or I'll smash you. And I'll hopefully see you in the next one. Until then guys, you all stay spooky. And remember: The best things happen in the dark.
