Michael Rockefeller's disappearance linked to cannibal peoples thought to be part of revenge killing

Michael Rockefeller's disappearance is still a talking point even to this day.

Some believe the son of New York Governor and former US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller - and the great-grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller - died from the hands of a cannibalistic tribe, while others think he lived on with the peoples.

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It all started in November 1961, when a 23-year-old Michael went on an expedition in the Asmat region of southwestern New Guinea, now a part of the Indonesian province of Papua, with Dutch anthropologist, René Wassing.

The pair were sailing a 40-foot canoe about three miles from shore when the boat was swamped and overturned.

Wassing was later spotted in the Arafura Sea and was rescued. However, Rockefeller was never seen again.

If we play along with the theory that he made it to shore, the pair were believed to be staying at the Otsjanep village.

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Journalist Milt Machlin visited the area in 1969 and, after investigating the circumstances, believed that Michael was killed.

His theory stemmed from the fact that several leaders of the village were killed by Dutch patrol years earlier in 1958, which he thinks started the tradition of revenge killings against those from the 'white tribe'.

He believes that the tribe killed Michael in a tit-for-tat revenge cycle.

Wrong time, wrong place.

Another theory is based on a mysterious photo of one white man rowing with the tribe.

Some have speculated that the man could have been Rockefeller.

Malcolm Kirk, the photographer who captured the footage, has given his take on the mind-boggling theory - and he's a little sceptical.

He said: "I can’t say I was particularly aware of a light-skinned figure in one of the canoes, but I do recall coming across a reference to an albino male when I glanced through my journal a few weeks ago."

Malcolm Kirk/National Geographic

Documentary maker Fraser Heston, whose 2011 film The Search for Michael Rockefeller investigated the disappearance, is more open minded.

He says in the documentary: "This shot of a bearded, light-skinned Caucasian paddling in a canoe full of naked Asmat warriors begs more questions than it answers.

"The resemblance to Michael Rockefeller, an accomplished canoeist who wore a beard, is obvious."

Speaking about Michael's last photos, Carl Hoffman, who wrote the book, Savage Harvest, on Rockefeller's disappearance, said: "So in that crazy, eerie, strangeness, Michael had photographed the people who would later kill him."

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