by Natalie Dundas
In 1978, twenty-three year old college student Steven Kubacki merely months away from graduating college. Kubacki was living in Michigan, studying German and History. During his time in college, Kubacki was known to be an accomplished outdoorsman, who had a love for skiing. On February 20th of 1978, Kubacki wanted to go on a day trip, skiing in an area called the Michigan Triangle, the Bermuda Triangle of the area, so to speak.
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One day into Kubacki's trip, snow-mobiles come across a trail of ski tracks that lead up to the edge of Lake Michigan, stopped abruptly, and were paired with a set of skin poles - but no owner. Initially, it was speculated that the owner fell into the Lake, and called the Police. At around the same time, Kubacki's loved ones realized that he should have returned from his trip, but had not, and called to police to report Steven missing. The two items are connected, and a massive search is launched for Kubacki, the efforts focussed on the tracks and ski equipment, but there is no evidence of Steve. The search is eventually called off, and family and friends of Kubacki are told that he must have called into the hypothermic lake, and succumbed to some sort of injury.
Steven knocks on his father's door 15 months later, May 5th, 1979.
Steven had no recollection where he had been for the 15 months he had been missing, or how much time had passed. He claimed he had "woken up" in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 700 miles from his father's home. Kubacki stated that he was wearing clothes that did not appear to be his own, 40 dollars, new glasses, and sneakers. Like out of a cheaply made thriller movie, Steven had maps, hitchhiking sings, and other items from different parts of the country, including California, Chicago, and Utah, based off the items in this backpack. Additionally, Steven had come to in a shirt from a Wisconsin Marathon, and claimed that he felt like he had done a lot of running.
Many believe that the cause of Steven's lack of memory could be amnesia, which is unlikely because amnesia usually does not occur for this long of a period. Others believe that the area Steven was in when he ent missing spoke volumes, as the Michigan Triangle had previously been connected to shipwrecks, "UFO" sightings, and other disappearances. It is also possible Steven could have adopted a false identity and started a new life, but this poses questions as to how he could have done so, and why.
Regardless, Steven refuses to give up much more information than he has, and so this case remains up to the eye of interpretation.
References:
https://ellenkilloran.substack.com/p/the-misappearance-of-steven-kubacki
https://www.toptenz.net/10-unsolved-missing-411-cases.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbcxPOgriJU&t=409s