1974: The Earl Who Vanished: Lord Lucan Disappears After a Nanny Is Bludgeoned to Death
Sandra Rivett, nanny to the children of Lord Lucan's estranged wife, was beaten to death in the basement of a London house on 7 November 1974. Lucan's wife was also attacked that night and later told police it was her husband who had struck her and killed the nanny in the dark, apparently mistaking her for his wife.
On this day, 8 November 1974, Lucan's car was found abandoned at Newhaven, the ignition key still in place and bloodstains inside. He was never seen again. Despite decades of reported sightings from Africa to Australia and a police search that never closed, no trace of him has ever been found, and his name has become shorthand for a man who simply vanished.
