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Police Investigators Share The Creepiest Unsolved Cases That Have Stayed With Them

Police Investigators Share The Creepiest Unsolved Cases That Have Stayed With Them

Cops are required to see humanity at its most awful every day. Whether it's pulling up onto a crime scene or pulling someone over, you're not witnessing people at their best. However, there are those days when the stars align to just give you the crappiest plate imaginable. Cases and victims in such terrible circumstances stick with you forever.

WARNING: Some cases involve sexual assault or mutilation.


Reddit user, Madamadamwasstolen, wanted to know what keeps cops up at night when they asked:

Crime investigators, what's the creepiest unsolved case you investigated that scares you to this day?

Cases Never Reported

I work as an investigator for the county medical examiner. The cases that always creep me out are the Jane and John Does, especially the younger ones. How could a family not report a loved one missing for 10, 20 or 30 years? Some of these cases are not suspicious so it's not like the family is worried about going to prison. We're looking at forensic genealogy to assist with some of the cases.

MobileTackle1

"No leads to this day. No suspects. No convictions."

Im a cop but this isn't my case.

The FBI believes that over nearly two decades a trucker or multiple truckers have been killing women and dumping their bodies along their routes.

In 2004 an FBI wonk notices a trend of bodies being dumped along a commercial trucking route in the south and submits it to a crime tracking database. Texas analyst picks it up and they find dozens of identical cases.

No leads to this day. No suspects. No convictions.

Voyska_informatsionn

To Much To Search Over

In a town close to me, a few years ago a little boy went missing. He was in a foster home with his siblings. There was apparent previous reports from neighbors of them wandering off frequently because they were left alone without food, breaking into garages I think. He was reported missing by the foster mom, she went on tv and everything I think I remember?

There was so many search parties, we live in the desert so theres a lot of open land. I stopped hearing things about it, eventually I asked one of my buddies who works in that PD and he told me they never got any real answers, they found remains years later that they believed to be his in a canal, but it had been so long not much was left, also they think wild animals had probably spread what was left of the remains around after all these years.

Desertfloraa

Worst Game Of Fetch Ever

https://weirdnj.com/weird-news/jeannette-depalma/

Guy let his dog out and it came back with a decaying limb.

When they went to search they found a makeshift alter.

Creepy stuff.

aurons_girl

Sounds Like A Brain Teaser That Might Never Be Solved

2 girls in their 20s round murdered in a their car. McDonald's food in their laps. Windows up. Doors locked. No sign of a struggle.

Was my last case I ever worked. 3 years ago. No suspects have been arrested.

Edit: I was an investigator for the medical examiner. My job was to document facts. Not solve the crime. Local law enforcement is responsible for the solving.

imahntr

Whispered Into The Wind

For a time my business contracted to a PI company that was made up of part time police officers. One case they told me about was a guy who simply vanished. Normal life, wife, kids, active in the community, gone out of thin air.

Over the years, there were verified sightings of him. There is recording of him over a year later at a bar in Omaha (bartender happened to be from the area where he disappeared and recognized the guy after he left).

Best anyone could tell is that he just wanted a new life and successfully started over.

tangobravomike

Crazy Historical Events That Sound Fake But Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

A Crime Against Nature

some one killed 50 dogs and left them on top of parked cars for a year, then it just stopped.

bradygrunch

Picked Up, But Never Returned

A local girl went missing about 2 years ago. Whole community and neighboring communities got involved. Had a hashtag they painted on car windows and everything, tried like crazy to find her. The parents still hold out hope, but I'm not convinced they really do, and it's devastating to watch. I have friends that know the family. I have 2 young girls, and this is a fear that my job forces me to take home with me, that one day they'll disappear and that's it. There are some trafficking hot-spots nearby. A week after that girl disappeared, I told my wife she was most likely already dead.

Four_N_Six

Miles And Miles Away

My father was a police oficer some time ago. While in school his platoon was called with every other policeman in region. A kid was missing. they were looking for him for quite some time, yet they did not found him. He was suposed to be somewhere in small forest near the town he was living in. Kid just sunk. After some time people would contact police and say that kid was seen almost 500 km away - alone. They had many suspects but all got they alibi. The case was open for almost 20 years and was closed like ten years ago.

Czakeros

The Ultimate Cat Burglar

I'm a retired police officer and this one scared me.

So I was sent to a house at 0300 one winter night for a prowler call. It was an old widowed lady who said a man was in her back yard watching her.

Usually this is dementia or who knows but we went. She let us in the front door and we went to the backyard to shine our lights around and look for anything. It was a mid size yard with a pond and lots of nice Japanese maples etc. Really well taken care of. Were were looking around for about 2 mins when I get to the back fence and I just felt odd. Like I was being watched it was a sense. I shined my light up on the top of the fence and there is a guy in a all black hoodie with the hood over his head perched on the fence not 3 feet from me just watching me. The instant I shined my light on him HE DOES A F-CKING BACKFLIP off the fence into the other yard and runs. We look over the fence to see what direction and he is inhumanely fast. Like odd fast.

We call in the calvary and surround the area and find not a footprint. This was winter and damp out, there needed to be something...but nothing.

A week later she calls and says hes back and dressed as a f-cking clown watching her. I drove as fast as I could there and never saw him. She would call every few days to say he was there but every time we never saw him again.

Never in my career was a suspect so nonchalant about us. People just dont sit and watch the cops approach them mere feet away then do backflips off the fence. It was so bizarre.

enrtcode

They Call It "Practice"

At my first department, someone was stringing up dogs in the trees behind houses with their throats cut and bled dry. Serial killer behavior, obviously just killing them to kill them. Worked on that case a couple weeks, but after four or five dogs, it just stopped and my bosses wouldn't let me work on it anymore with all the "real crime" going on.

I still think it was a future serial killer practicing.

TBLCoastie

What Else Can You Do?

Worked in forensics 2004-2008, mostly homicides and cold cases. Never forgot one where a baby was abused because a burglar threatened to kill the entire family if the parent didn't do it. Wasn't solved before I left and nothing came up on Google (never forgot names) The idea that someone out there free is that f-cked up or that someone would make that sh-t up is so disturbing to me.

13madrigal42

35 Years Later...

Back in the early 80's a 16 year old boy was walking home from a party about a mile from his house when he was intentionally hit by a vehicle and dragged by the vehicle before being dumped in front of his house for his father to find his body in the morning.

The police say they have suspects but not enough evidence to make any arrests. There are still posters all over the town and surrounding areas with his picture asking for information more than 35 years later. Really a tragic story that needs closure.

codaru2021

Something To Lose A Job Over

Almost an entire family on holiday shot as they pulled up to a beauty spot. One child only survived by hiding under her dead mothers skirt for 8 hours.

Was 6 or 7 years ago. Cost me the job I loved. Still unsolved, still haunts me.

PLTuck

Why'd you lose your job

TheDudesOpinion

Despite working on over 100 murder cases, this one really got to me. Was having persistent nightmares, the whole shebang. Let's just say the "support" I was given by my employer ended my career in investigation.

PLTuck

It's just the podcast crowd that's obsessed with cold cases.

Do you have similar stories? Share them in the comment section below!

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People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.