Duncan MacPherson during his time on the Islanders.

1. Was Duncan MacPherson killed at a ski resort?

Duncan MacPherson was a professional hockey player who was on the outs. A star defender early on, MacPherson was injury prone and his team The New York Islanders had just released him. He took a solo trip to Austria to busy old friends before beginning his new job as the coach of a Scottish hockey team.

When he didn't show up in Scottland, his family would begin what turned out to be a 14-year search.

The ski lodge had been insistent that MacPherson had returned gear he rented but were unable to prove it with any sort of records.

Until a construction worker found MacPherson's body in the snow, wearing the same gear he had rented 14 years prior. The family believes that the Ski Resort mistakenly ran over the hockey player and attempted to cover up the accident.

Police didn't allow much time to photograph the body, and an Austrian autopsy left much to be desired, but a Canadian doctor supported their claims from the photo below.

Adding to the mystery was a claim by Duncan that he had been contacted for potential work with the CIA.

This site dives much deeper into the mystery.

2. What shady stuff was Charles Morgan wrapped up in?

Charles Morgan was a successful investor in Tuscon, Arizona. He went missing from his family for two days. When he returned he had a handcuff around his leg and was unable to speak. His wife gave her side of the story.

I was in bed and the dog started barking. I got up, went to the door and opened it and there was Chuck.  He was missing a shoe and had one plastic handcuff around one ankle and a set around his hands. When he motioned to his throat, and didn’t say a word, I asked him, ‘Can you talk? Can you write?’ He shook his head, ‘yes,’ so I went and got a tablet and a pen. He wrote that his throat had been painted with a hallucinogenic drug and that the drug could drive him irrevocably insane or destroy his nervous system and kill him. I wanted to call a doctor and the police, but he was adamant that that would be signing a death warrant for the entire family.

Chuck recovered and alleged to his wife that he was working with the government to stop organized crime. Then he went missing again.

9 days later his wife received a phone call from a woman she didn't know.

“This woman said, ‘Ruthie?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Chuck is all right. Ecclesiastics 12, 1 through 8’. And then she hung up.”

Ecclesiatics 12: 1-8: Men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road.  Remember him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Chuck was found two days later with a bullet hole in his head that came from his own gun. In his underwear was a two dollar bill with strange scrawlings on it including the Bible verse given to his wife.

3. Why was the ancient city of Cahokia abandoned?


Cahokia was a Native American city with a population roughly the size of London. The city was located in what is now Illinois and was meticulously planned. It remains the largest earthen mound in North America. The city became a hub for trading by AD1050, but in 1350 it was abandoned by its people – and no one knows why.

Native American culture even seems to avoid talk of the city– it is not featured in their oral traditions.

Was it droughts or political problems that led the city to collapse? Or something more sinister? No one can say.

4. Which anonymous industry buys the most glitter?

This might be the most creepy mystery on the list, but it may be the most intriguing. A quote from a New York Times article about glitter sent the internet spiraling.

When I asked Ms. Dyer if she could tell me which industry served as Glitterex’s biggest market, her answer was instant: “No, I absolutely know that I can’t.”

I was taken aback. “But you know what it is?”

“Oh, God, yes,” she said, and laughed. “And you would never guess it. Let’s just leave it at that.” I asked if she could tell me why she couldn’t tell me. “Because they don’t want anyone to know that it’s glitter.”

“If I looked at it, I wouldn’t know it was glitter?”

“No, not really.”

“Would I be able to see the glitter?”

“Oh, you’d be able to see something. But it’s — yeah, I can’t.”

I asked if she would tell me off the record. She would not. I asked if she would tell me off the record after this piece was published. She would not. I told her I couldn’t die without knowing. She guided me to the automotive grade pigments.

What industry is using glitter without us wanting to know? Are we eating glitter in our food?

5.What happened to Katelin Akens?

Over 3 years after her disappearance, Katelin's story still puzzles investigators. The Virginia teen was meant to take a flight to Arizona but asked her ex-stepfather to be dropped off at the mall before to hang out.
Later she texted "I'm at the airport. Battery dying so won't be able to text for a bit."

Five hours later, two texts were sent from her phone.
"I'm staying with a friend"
"I need some time alone"

The texts came from Virginia. Investigators determined she never made it into the mall. Her luggage was found several days later by a road crew. Her ID, wallet, and glasses were inside, but her clothes and high school diploma were missing. It was clear the luggage had been thrown from a vehicle.

Her ex-stepfather wants nothing to do with the case and hasn't spoken to police in 2 years.