In January 1887, a scrawny, 60-year-old carpenter left his home in Rhode Island on a mission.

Ansel Born had a derby hat on his head and over $500 cash in his pocket.

And with that money, he was going to buy himself a farm.

He first off had his nephew store in Providence.

He then stableed his horse and visited his sister in town.

After parting with her, he walked on.

But then something strange happened.

On the corner of Dorrance and Broad Street's in town, a freight wagon suddenly crossed

Born's path.

And by the time it left the intersection, Ansel Born had vanished.

A few days later his family posted a missing person notice in the local paper.

It described Born as an ex-preacher with gray hair and a scragally gray beard.

The notice also described Born as, quote, prone to attacks of a peculiar kind which rendered

him temporarily insensible.

Basically, Born had amnesiac fits.

He would start walking somewhere, a block or two away, and would suddenly wake up three

miles distant, having no idea how he'd gotten there.

He also suffered from fainting fits, probably a euphemism for seizures.

Still, the attacks never lasted long.

And Born had certainly never vanished entirely.

His horse remained stable for three weeks while his family searched.

Eventually his nephew and sister swallowed hard and admitted what must have happened.

...