The enduring mystery of the disappearance of Eilean Mor lighthouse keepers
One of Scotland s most famous mysteries, what happened on the Flannan Isles in December 1900.
The lighthouse on the remote Flannan Islands (Image: Marc Calhoun)
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Three lighthouse keepers at Flannan Lighthouse on Eilean Mòr, Scotland, disappeared on December 15, 1900
On Boxing Day it was discovered that James Ducat, Thomas Marshall and Donald MacArthur had vanished
Search party climbed 160 steps up the cliffside and found a door ajar, an untouched meal and a toppled chair
Locals suggested one keeper murdered the other two and then thrown himself into the sea in a fit of remorse
Tales emerged that the men had been snatched by a sea serpent or taken away by a passing haunted ship
The mystery has never been solved and still remains one of the most puzzling in Scottish maritime history
this guy. i have no reason to trust him. i don t know where he is coming from. from jim s point of view, maybe this will be the person who is able to get somebody to listen. with the case at a dead end and duckett headed toward execution, marshall frank had an idea. he said i ve got a friend that used to work for the miami herald. and i had read edna buchanan s stories before over the years. and so i knew who the name was. and so i felt excited. edna buchanan was a pulitzer prize winning crime reporter for the miami herald. an outstanding reporter, one of the best i ve ever known. i wanted to tell her what the story was that i had for james ducat. marshall frank kept calling me. i had known him. he had been a source of mine over the years and he said he found this case where he is convinced the man on death row was innocent. i was dubious because if the wrong person is convicted it is usually someone who is poor, minorities, not a white cop. and i kept saying, well, how