In the winter of 1961, 41-year-old David Mines, a Rabbi from New York, embarked on a journey to visit his sister in Canada for her birthday. On the evening of Thursday, December 21st, he boarded a Greyhound bus in New York City, bound for Toronto. As an Orthodox Jewish man, his attire likely reflected his faith; he may have worn a grey suit with tzitzis, a red tie, black shoes, and a hat with a kippah underneath. He also wore round, dark-framed eyeglasses.
The bus had a scheduled stop in Syracuse, New York, before continuing on its route to Canada.
The following day, a significant development in his journey occurred when he contacted his sister. David called her from the Greyhound Bus Depot in Buffalo, New York, to inform her that he was scheduled for a bus change and would be arriving that afternoon. However, this would be the last time his family heard from him. While his luggage, containing his prayer books, arrived in Toronto as expected, David was not on the bus. The details of what happened between his phone call from Buffalo and the bus's arrival in Toronto remain a mystery. It is theorized that he may have disembarked the bus at the scheduled stop in Syracuse, though this has not been confirmed.
In the weeks that followed, a possible sighting offered a glimmer of hope, though it ultimately led to more questions. In a newspaper article from the time, another Rabbi, Solomon Shapiro, who was a Chaplain at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, reported seeing and speaking with David on January 19, 1962. According to Rabbi Shapiro, David was recovering from a state of depression. This information has led his family to believe he may have been a victim of amnesia or a psychiatric episode. The disappearance of David Mines is a case with lingering questions. His wallet and passport were never located, and despite the passage of many years, his whereabouts remain unknown. The New York City Police Department's Missing Persons Squad continues to hold the case, a poignant reminder of a man who set out on a celebratory journey and vanished along the way.Last Seen: Dec 21, 1961
