I have a great-uncle who disappeared. Family tradition stated that he disappeared while selling Bibles home to home.
This intrigued me and made me wonder what happened. So, I began digging deeper.
So, how did I dig deeper?
![](https://i0.wp.com/alookthrutime.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/coal-1626368__340.jpg?resize=300%2C225)
- Checking the census records, I discovered he’d worked as a miner, but had been unemployed for three months the year before.
- I began to research mines in the area he lived and discovered a wealth of information I did not know.
- I searched mine accidents, to determine if he’d disappeared in one of these. Many times names were not given of those killed, so I could not rule this out as an option.
- I searched for a death certificate but found none.
- I went back to the newspapers of that area and searched from 1910-1920 for missing people, mining accidents or bodies found in that area. I found nothing conclusive.
- I read on the life of a door to door Bible salesman.
- I conducted Google searches for missing people in the area this uncle lived
![](https://i0.wp.com/alookthrutime.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/rock-1839298__340.jpg?resize=300%2C200)
Sadly, none of my searches turned up any concrete evidence about what happened to this uncle, but my mind did not stop. I began to create my own hypothesis, which included.
- He had a heart attack, stroke or health issue and was not found
- Foul play or harm was brought to him
- He fell or tripped and died
- He may have fallen into a hole in the ground and could not get out
- He could have been killed in a mining accident {but it’s more likely the family would have been aware of this}
So, all of these are hypothesis to work with. I don’t know if I will ever find the answers, but sometimes the fun comes in the hunt.
What strange circumstances have you researched? Did you have concrete answers?