In 1980, 56-year-old coal miner Zigmund Adamski left his home to walk to the store. He never made it there, and police could not find him. There was nothing suspicious in his recent behavior, and he had no known enemies. Five days later, a body was discovered on top of a coal pile in a town 25 miles away. It was identified as Adamski's.
Unfortunately, that was the only question in this case anyone was able to answer. The more everyone studied the business, the weirder it got. For one thing, how did he get up there? It would have been extremely difficult for anyone to climb up the coal pile, particularly since recent rains had left it greasy and slippery. For someone with Adamski's health issues, it would have been impossible. Although the body was still wearing the jacket Adamski donned before leaving his house, his shirt was missing, along with his watch and wallet. (Those items were never found.) There were strange oval burn marks on the back of his head, neck, and shoulder.
The autopsy established that Adamski died on the day his body was found, sometime between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm. There were no physical injuries found, aside from those odd burns. The pathologist thought they were caused by some sort of corrosive substance, but he could not say what it had been. The burns had been covered with a gel which the doctor was also unable to identify. All he could say was that Adamski probably died of a heart attack. "Natural causes" was the final verdict in this most unnatural case.
Adamski had been missing five days, but his body only had one day's beard growth. The case was closed after the autopsy, yet so many questions remained that locals came up with a scenario that fits all the known facts, but is still unbelievable. Read Adamski's story at Strange Company.
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