Case file · High strangeness
Aimee Semple McPherson vanishes
On 18 May 1926 the famous Los Angeles evangelist disappeared while swimming at Venice Beach and was presumed drowned. Five weeks later she stumbled out of the desert at Agua Prieta, Mexico, saying she had been kidnapped.
1926 CE · 33.99, -118.48 · status: disputed
The account
A grand jury investigated; reporters claimed she had been seen with a former employee at a Carmel cottage. Charges of conspiracy were dropped in 1927.
The sceptical view
Investigators doubted the kidnapping story; her shoes showed little wear for a long desert walk.