Whatever happened to—

1. “I found a book on how to be invisible” (Kate Bush, 2005)

2. “100 ways to disappear and live free” (Barry Reid, 1978)

3. “DISAPPEARANCE |ˌdisəˈpi(ə)rəns|
noun [usu. in sing. ]
an instance or fact of someone or something ceasing to be visible.
—an instance or fact of someone going missing or (in coded political language) being killed : the police were investigating her disappearance.
—an instance or fact of something being lost or stolen: an investigation is being carried out into the disappearance of the money.
—the process or fact of something ceasing to exist or be in use: the disappearance of grammar schools.”

4. Two-liner, at 180 kmh on the left lane, listening to “Don’t cry tonight” by Savage: “Whatever happened to Jochen Distelmeyer.” — “I don’t know.”

Q:
How is it possible to disappear?

A:
I don’t know. But the longer and deeper you dig into the conditions and caveats of the all-embracing, timeless, merciless Borgesian memories of the internet rhizoma, the more you begin you admire those people of (if moderate) public interest, who have managed to disappear and live free.

It is partly sad and partly a great relief to know a few people to have simply vanished from our collective or personal radar. Some vanish, some just chose not to publish, some may be prevented from doing so. Great voices turn silent, sometimes.
May they live on forever to lead a free and fulfilled life. Whatever happened to (in no particular order)

Jochen Distelmeyer,
Rüdiger Kurz,
Andreas Neumeister,
J.D. Salinger,
Arthur Rimbaud,
Endrick Gerber,
Steve Fossett,
Thorsten Krämer,
Ulrich Kallenberg,
Silke Besa,
Wilhelm Haefner,
Richey James Edwards,
Frank Morris.

Disappearing, of course, is a highly subjective process. If you object the rather arbitrary and personal list above or had a coffee yesterday with any of the names on it, this only proves my point: Basically, disappearing only takes place in the heads of those who might be looking for you. Most famous examples include Elvis Presley, Adolf Hitler, and—of course—the Lordsiegelbewahrer of disappearance, Bas Jan Ader.

For further reading on the subject matter, I recommend the beautiful piece by April Elizabeth Lamm, published in DER FREUND (2006) 7:20 (in English).