Last July, two 14-year-old boys from Florida went sailing on a routine fishing trip, and were never seen again. The story of the disappearance of Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos had quietly dimmed in the media when the boys’ families called off their privately-funded search effort. It has since been brought to light again, as new information has been uncovered, including the discovery of the submerged 19-foot boat belonging to Stephanos, which was located 100 miles off the coast of Bermuda.

Since the boat’s finding, reports have been made and new evidence is being investigated to try and gain answers. Though final video footage of the teenagers were released as they took off for their fishing trip, no one has any clue what may have happened to them.

This story and others like it are horrible in that no one truly knows the truth, and the worst fate is often presumed. At the same time, the mystery behind the disappearance presents an intrigue we can’t help but follow. Whether it be stories like Cohen and Stephanos’ disappearance, the 2014 mystery of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, or even the disappearance of Natalee Holloway over a decade ago, these unsolved mysteries stay in our minds. The uncovered details as well as the missing pieces of the puzzle not only spook the public, but make them even more sympathetic to the victims and their families. Sometimes even the most gory and gruesome of crimes do not stick with the public like the story of an unsolved disappearance. Media coverage (and perhaps sensationalism) of these mysteries fuel the public’s interest in them, and the more evidence pops up, the more they wish the whole story be unveiled.

Timing is everything with mysteries. When the initial buzz of the disappearance starts to wear off, it seems we forget it even happened. All it takes then is a new clue or lead in the mystery to reel us back in again, often with as much interest as before. However, timing is also the worst component. As the weeks, months, and years pass by, that once-ignited hope,

optimism, and determination to find the missing slowly starts to dim. Even when this is the case, we still can’t seem to get enough of these real-life mysteries, no matter how much we wish we could fight it.