When a man from one of the most prominent families in the world decided to go digging around in an unknown tribe’s territory, the worst was bound to happen.
But his disappearance has continued to remain a mystery for 61 years, and even his last words were debated.
Michael Rockefeller, the son of former US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, was an avid world explorer, and became so obsessed over tribal art work that he decided to take the plunge and contact a tribe of cannibals.
In November 1961, the 23-year-old was on his second expedition of Dutch New Guinea (now West Papua), an Indonesian province on the island of New Guinea, and expected to be welcomed with open arms again like the first meeting.
Sailing along with anthropologist René Wassing, they were on the long journey to the southwestern part of the country, which is the Asmat region.
But in their 40-foot canoe, the pair capsized around three miles from the shore.