Mystery in History Disappearance of James Thompson Part 1

About the mystery in history involoving the disappearance of millionaire James Thompson including possible solutions.

MYSTERIOUS HAPPENINGS

The Event: The Disappearance of James Thompson

When: Mar. 26, 1967

Where: Malaysia

The Mystery: On a warm Easter Sunday, 61-year-old American millionaire James Thompson was vacationing with friends at the Malaysian resort of Cameron Highlands. With his companion Mrs. Connie Mangskau, an English-Thai businesswoman, and his hosts, Dr. and Mrs. T. G. Ling of Singapore, Thompson went to church that morning and then on a picnic. About two-thirty in the afternoon, the group returned to the Lings' resort home, Moonlight Cottage. The Lings and Mrs. Mangskau went to their rooms for a siesta, but Thompson, who seemed restless, went out on the veranda to sun himself. About three-thirty the Lings, who were resting but not sleeping, heard someone walking down the gravel road leading from the cottage to the resort's golf course. They assumed it was Thompson.

When the Lings and Mrs. Mangskau awoke from their naps, they couldn't find Thompson but were not concerned. Thompson had visited Moonlight Cottage before and had frequently gone for walks and hikes on nearby trails. Besides, Thompson, a former officer in the OSS--the predecessor of the CIA--had had intensive training in jungle warfare and survival during W. W. II and since then had become an avid jungle hiker and explorer in Thailand.

As dusk approached, the vacationers became slightly concerned, especially after they discovered that Thompson must not have planned a very long walk, for he was a chain-smoker and had left his cigarettes and lighter on the veranda. Also, the pills that he always carried to combat his occasional but extremely painful gallstone attacks were left behind. They were perplexed. Thompson could not have intended to go far without cigarettes and pills, and he knew that darkness came early, about six-thirty. He also knew quite well that it was cold and dangerous at night in the mountain jungles.

As night fell, the Lings called the local police. People at the resort and the local inhabitants were questioned, but nobody had seen the American that afternoon. Searchers went out with flashlights, but no trace was found of the millionaire. Thompson's friends continued to hope for his safe return; they knew he had been temporarily lost before during his jungle excursions in even wilder country. Except for the gallstones, Thompson was in good physical condition and was accustomed to outdoor hardships. However, morning came and Thompson did not return. In fact, he never returned, and no clue to his fate--no footprints, no personal articles, no body--has ever been found. Thompson had taken an Easter stroll into total oblivion.

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