Of missing persons, few are more notoriously unique than New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, who, on the evening of August 6, 1930, waved goodbye to a couple he had just dined with and vanished into the night. No credible explanation has been forthcoming—until now.
Meanwhile, Judge Crater was reportedly seen far and wide—as an amnesia victim in Missouri, a traveler on trains and ocean liners, a monk in a Mexican monastery, and so on and on. He was reported driving different cars in a variety of states—although he had never learned to drive and instead rode in taxicabs or his own chauffeured vehicle. Nightclub jokes proliferated, such as “Judge Crater, call your office.” And the phrase “to pull a Crater,”meaning to disappear, became common. Stated one writer, “No missing man has ever had more doubles” (Clapp [1961] 2017, 2). (See also Nash 1978, 189.)