Someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the United Kingdom. Many leave of their own accord; some suggest circumstances of murder. For the family of the missing, the constant feeling of not having closure and all the questions can affect them for many generations. In many ways, a missing person in the family can have more prolonged effects than having a family member murdered.

Some missing person cases can remain unsolved for eternity, and the questions will always remain. Some, like the case of missing toddler Ben Needham, are solved many years later. A builder on his death bed confessed to accidentally killing Needham, giving the family closure after twenty-five years.

These three cases are some of the more controversial. Some you may have heard of, as they are all infamous in their way. However, each of these cases has never been solved. The family is still trying to answer the question — what happened to their loved one?

Lord Lucan

Lord Lucan is the most famous of missing person cases. Most people have heard of him; not everyone will know the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Although well-known in life, it was through his disappearance that he reached a level of infamy not experienced by many.

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance

Richard John Bingham was the seventh Earl of Lucan. As a young man, he enjoyed the good things in life. He had a rich circle of friends and frequented the Clermont Club, a casino run by his friend John Aspinall. When he married Veronica Mary Duncan, many were concerned about the match; however, the couple seemed happy at the start. However, after the birth of their third child, she developed depression and started to act erratically.

With her husband’s constant gambling, the couple separated. Lady Lucan, taking residence in Belgravia, London, with the children and a nanny. What commenced was a fierce custody battle for the three children who Lord Lucan adored.

On the night of 7th November 1974, a man broke into Lady Lucan’s residence and bludgeoned to death Sandra Rivett, the children’s nanny. The assailant then went on to beat Lady Lucan, causing severe head injuries. From this point, Lady Lucan tells the story that as the beating commenced, she looked into her estranged husband’s face. She would state that she managed to get him to calm, fearing for her life, he stopped the attack. When his back was turned, and she saw her chance, she escaped Lord Lucan, running to a local pub for help, at which point Lord Lucan disappeared.

Lady Lucan would later identify her husband as the assailant, and her evidence would result in him being named the murderer of Rivett in the June 75 inquest. However, many people call this testimony into question. Theories range from the fact that her head injuries were so severe that she couldn’t possibly have identified her attacker, seeking revenge on her husband, she implicated him. Others suggest Lord Lucan may have rescued her, and she mistook him for the assailant.

Police were interested in Lucan as a possible perpetrator from the moment the crime was reported. The fact he was not immediately available did not seem to bother them, as they expected as a gentleman he would arrive the next day, a lawyer with him to answer questions. When it became apparent that he was not going to appear, they approached friends and were met with a wall of disapproval. The wealthy elite was honest in their opinion; they would help their friend if he asked for it, regardless of any crimes he may have committed. When police found a car in East Sussex owned by Lucan, covered in blood with a replica weapon in the boot, the public convicted the peer in his absence.

The many theories for the disappearance

Many theories abound with regard to his disappearance. Since he was last seen, various people have claimed to have seen him in multiple countries. One idea was that he was a hippy in India; this theory was later proved false. It is clear that with the rich friends Lucan had, he would not have found disappearance difficult.

Other theories are that he committed suicide, a friend shot him or that he drowned off Newhaven. One of the theories I like the best is that he was fed to the tigers by his friend. The Aspinall Foundation, having two zoos near me, which we visit regularly. Have I seen the tiger that munched a peer?

One of the most comprehensive and believable theories is one that his son has spoken about. He believes his father, short of money through gambling debts, paid someone to rob the Belgravia house. When the robbery went wrong, and Rivett walked in on him, the robber attacked her and Lucan’s wife. Having waited in the car for the paid robber to come back, Lucan knew there was a problem and entered the property to see what was going on. When he found Lady Bingham, he tried to save her life which is where she mistook him for the assailant.

Lady Lucan made a full recovery from her injuries but sadly died alone, estranged from her children. The mystery of where Lord Lucan went remains unsolved. In 2015, Lucan was declared dead, and the title of Lord Lucan was passed to his son.

Mary Flanagan

Flanagan is famous as it is the oldest missing person case to remain open. The case has remained unsolved since 1959. Flanagan’s siblings still hope that one day they will get the closure they deserve.

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance

Flanagan was sixteen when she went missing on New Years Eve 1959. She was one of four children to an Irish Catholic family living in London. She was a hardworking young lady who had several jobs, one of these being in the local Tate and Lyle factory.

It is thought that Flanagan had a boyfriend at the time known as Tom, the details are vague, and several surnames have been accredited to him from McGuiness to McKinty. His occupation ranges from Navy officer to labourer.

The week before her disappearance, Flanagan argued with Tom, and it is reported possibly her father. Her sister reports finding her in tears in bed and being told by her sister that she would end the relationship.

The morning of the party, Flanagan overslept for work, which was extremely unlike the hardworking teenager. When she eventually got up, she got ready, kissed her family goodbye (another unusual occurrence) and headed towards West Ham tube station. It was the last time she was seen.

The many theories for the disappearance

The next day when Flanagan did not return home, her family went to the Tate and Lyle factory, only to find that Flanagan had not been at work for two weeks, even though she had been giving the impression of work to her family. This led to the theory that she was leading a mysterious double life. Did she have another boyfriend who she had run off with?

Another similar theory is that she ran off with her current boyfriend, Tom. Tom helped with the search for Flanagan for a couple of days, only to stop, which seemed unusual. People would ask if he knew the location of Flanagan, was he meeting up with her? Another more sinister theory; did he kill her and know she would never be found?

Theories also included that she ran away because she was pregnant. Coming from a strict Catholic family, would it have been better to disappear rather than have a baby or abortion? Did the family arrange an illegal abortion that went wrong, causing her death?

Many theories have been suggested for her disappearance, none have been proved. Unidentified bodies are always checked against her DNA; however, no matches have been successful at the moment.

Rebecca Coriam

Coriam is a case that is not only fascinating but highlights a significant problem with crime investigation at sea. Having read the article from Edward Anderson on who has jurisdiction in space, it is clear that the argument of jurisdiction at sea is just as confusing. This lack of clarity lead to Coriam being one of many cases that remain unsolved.

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance

Born in 1987, Coriam was a lively, enthusiastic girl who was hard working. So it was no surprise to her family when she worked for Disney aboard their cruise ship, the Disney Wonder. Having passed the interview in 2010 and attended the four-day Disney training, she was given the job as a youth worker on board.

She boarded the boat in Los Angeles, where her parents reported she had good communication with them throughout. Sadly she had to return home for two weeks when her grandfather passed away. She rejoined the ship on 22nd March 2011 and sailed along the Mexico coast.

On the night of her disappearance, she went to the bar with friends and then walked back to her cabin. When she failed to show for her 9 am shift, personnel paged her, she never responded. They checked CCTV and observed her on deck one, the crew deck, that evening. She was making a phone call where she appeared to be upset. Another employee is seen to stop to ask if she is okay. Once she hangs the phone up, she is seen to run her hands through her hair and then to look for something in her back pocket. It is the last time she is seen.

Not being able to locate her on the ship, the parents received a phone call to say that Coriam was missing at sea.

The many theories for the disappearance

The parents met the boat as it docked, but were instantly surprised that no police were there to meet it. At the time of docking, Coriam had been missing for three days. The parents boarded the cruise liner through a back entrance as Disney wished to keep this incident away from the new passengers boarding. Unfortunately, there was limited time to investigate as later that evening, the ship departed for another cruise.

It is clear to anyone who views this case that Disney did a lot to keep the subject away from the media and hush its circumstances up. The ship’s captain reported that he thought Coriam went up to the fifth deck where she got too close to the edge and that a large wave swept her overboard. However, weather reports at the time show that there was no abnormal weather to support this theory.

Reports that she could have taken her own life from the same deck are also unlikely, as the deck has an extensive rail and ledge, which would have made jumping very difficult. However, one of the theories that Disney or the police never entertained was that Coriam had been murdered.

An interesting theory, which I am drawn to, is that Coriam was removed from the boat by human traffickers. Two months after she went missing, the police noticed activity on her credit card; they failed to investigate this. Was the card used by Coriam herself or a person of interest? Further to this, in September 2011, her family noticed that someone had changed her Facebook password. Again the police failed to look into this.

This failure of policing is common in these cases. There is a limited responsibility for cruise ships at sea. When an incident occurs, there is no law enforcement on board, so it can sometimes be days before anyone official views the crime scene. There is also the question of whose jurisdiction the incident comes under; in this case, would it be the Mexican police as she went missing off their coast, American police as the ship sailed from LA, or British police as Coriam was British.

A British journalist who interviewed the crew members about the incident states that they were cagey and defensive as if they were hiding something. He is convinced that Disney knows more about what happened than they are admitting. He states the fourth deck is more likely to be where any incident occurred due to the lack of cameras. The parents of Coriam sued Disney for their lack of investigation into the disappearance. Disney settled the case out of court of an undisclosed sum.

These are three cases amongst many famous missing person cases. One that I have written about previously and most people have heard of is Madeline McCann. As with all these cases, many theories abound about what happened to those that seem to have vanished. It is sad that where ever there is a missing person, a family is grieving without a body. A family that sees their loved one in every stranger they pass on the streets.