The MV Joyita left Samoa on October 3, 1955, bound for the Tokelau Islands with 25 people aboard, including a doctor, a government official, and two children.
Built with a cork-lined hull that made her nearly impossible to sink, the ship never arrived at her destination, and an air and sea search turned up no trace of her.
Five weeks later, a passing merchant ship found the Joyita drifting over 600 miles off course, half-submerged and completely deserted.
Her radio was damaged, her lifeboats were missing, and cargo had shifted, but no sign of the 25 people aboard was ever found.
Constructed in Los Angeles as a luxury yacht for a Hollywood film director, later requisitioned by the US Navy as a patrol boat.
The ship leaves Apia for the Tokelau Islands, running on only one engine after a last-minute mechanical failure.
Joyita fails to arrive; officials at Fakaofo report her missing and a search is launched.
A six-day air and sea search fails to locate any trace of the vessel or her 25 passengers and crew.
A merchant vessel spots the Joyita listing and half-submerged, hundreds of miles off her intended course.
Investigators find the ship deserted, with lifeboats and most passengers' belongings missing.
Cork lining inside the hull gave Joyita extreme buoyancy, making her disappearance especially puzzling.
The radio was functional but limited to a range of about two miles due to faulty wiring, likely preventing any wider distress call from being heard.
All lifeboats and life jackets were gone, suggesting the passengers and crew abandoned ship deliberately.
Blood-stained dressings were reportedly found aboard, hinting at an injury or medical emergency before the disappearance.
Investigators believe flooding or fear of sinking may have caused the group to abandon a ship that, ironically, could not sink.
If passengers took to overloaded rafts, they may have been lost to exposure, currents, or open water in the days that followed.
A single working engine and a reportedly overloaded cargo hold may have caused a crisis that forced the group off the ship.
Some have speculated hijacking or violence aboard, though no physical evidence has ever supported this theory.