America’s most influential family, the Rockefellers may be hiding more than meets the eye. They have influence in some of the most lucrative industries in the world, and yet a mystery ensues behind close doors. Michael Rockefeller, the great-grandson of the Standard Oil co-founder tycoon is still missing after many years, allegedly. 

 The extremely wealthy 23 year-old Michael Rockefeller, grew up as the privileged son of New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. In 1961 he decided to embark upon a seven month long expedition to New Guinea’s Asmat tribal homeland, and was thought to never to be seen again. The Asmat tribe was just recovering from its primitiveness. The tribe’s spirits, and customs, surrounding the Asmat-born men and women of the tribe has remained a mystery separated from modern civilization by many natural barriers such as rivers, mountains, and jungles. 

To many people’s dismay, the Asmat people lived like they were in a different period in history and Michael Rockefeller had his sights set on uncovering the uncertainty surrounding their lifestyle. This way of life provided a stark contrast to all that he knew, therefore he was almost obsessed with uncovering the truth behind it. He alongside his Dutch companion nervously dove head first into their journey unsure what they would find. 

Michael, like his father Nelson, also enjoyed a privileged childhood. He was provided the best education that any child could dream of. Though Michael obtained a B.A. in History and Economics, he did not pursue a life his father expected of him or approved of. His father rather wanted him to take over the family business, but the contrary, Michael decided to follow his passion for the arts. This passion brought him on this journey of which he never got to finish as planned nor to live out his full potential.  

Before the passing of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Michael Rockefeller’s grandmother, had commissioned the establishment of a Museum of Modern Arts, which Nelson, decided to populate with primitive arts as a kind of passion in which Michael connected to. It inspired Michael to explore the depths of the unknown and retrieve the art and the stories and share them with the world. 

Michael Rockefeller was a cultured and often clean-shaven young man. However, during his many trips, hunting for primitive arts, he regularly transformed into an unkempt and fully bearded man.

It is said that no trace of Michael Rockefeller was found after he was separated from is Dutch guide. Many search parties were sent out over the course of two weeks, from airplanes to ships, helicopters and more, money was no object in the attempts to discover the whereabouts of Michael.

World-renowned historian of cannibalism among primitive tribes of the world—Carl Hoffman—stumbled upon a picture of Michael in the early 2000s, nearly 40 years later, that revived investigations into the details of the young chap’s death. Many believed that this featured photo is indeed Michael Rockefeller.

During Hoffman’s 2011 visit to Asmat, 50 years after Michael was declared missing, he had a very similar experience as the young heir from half a century ago.

Hoffman, like Michael, is a history major and learned about the story of the Rockefeller missing heir after seeing a picture of him. A backstory about Micheal’s life helped Hoffman discover that he had been to Asmat before he went missing.

While there have been records of ritual wars, killings, and intertribal cannibalism, Hoffman believes that the natives of Asmat were merely being a civilization of their own.

As a historian, Hoffman could tell that there is a missing link between the official report of Michael Rockefeller’s death and what really happened to him.

About a decade before Michael’s landing at Asmat, Dutch missionaries had been living with the natives without any confrontations or reported deaths and without any armed protection.

Despite lacking the advanced tools that often litter the workshops of primitive artists, natives of Asmat have been credited for their expertise in wood carving.

After consulting with the Dutch National Museum of Ethnology, Michael set off on an exposition to collect the best Asmat carvings he could lay his hands upon. All the collections were to go to the museum in New York.

The Asmat people believe every occurrence is a product of some previous action, and they make most of their decisions based on this premise. Consequently, they are a people prone to vengeance, reciprocating deeds done to them—good or bad. It’s not savagery; it’s just their culture.

When a Westerner witnesses a communal clash between two tribes in Asmat, they naturally conclude that the folks are being crude in their approaches to life and existence.

An important item in the Asmat culture that helped Hoffman understand these trends of beliefs and activities among the natives is their artistic wood carvings.

Michael went on his third visit to the Asmat villages and tribes with adventurous objectives. His chief goal was to collect enough artifacts from the various tribes of Asmat to start an exhibition back in New York. In fact, he planned to publish a book on Asmat culture with the little information he had gotten from his visits.

Michael went for his third visit to the 13 villages of Asmat in the company of one adult—René Wassing, and two teenagers. With items like cloth, tobacco, steel axes, and fishing line, he went from village to village and tried to strike a bargain for artifacts that he assessed as adequately portraying the Asmat culture.

Michael was quite captivated by the artistry and stories behind Bisj poles that he bought four pieces of those 20-foot artifacts during his first visit. He took them back to the US, and they are still on display to date at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Michael, Wassing, and the two teenagers departed from Agats, the closest hub town to Asmat, on November 17, 1961. Sadly, their boat capsized the next day; the two teenagers are natives and familiar with the waters, so the 15 miles swim to the shore was easy enough for them.

Wassing was spotted from the sky and rescued on the afternoon of the same day Michael tried swimming to the shore. He was sure Michael made it to the shore alive and ruled out any possibility of him having drowned. Wassing affirmed that Micheal improvised floats before swimming out to the shore.

While there was no concrete conclusion on what happened to Michael, the search was officially called off on November 28, and the Rockefellers reluctantly returned to New York, all in a mournful state.

By the 2000s, when Hoffman visited Asmat, ritual killings and the predominant culture of vendetta had been phased out, and Catholicism already had a stronghold in the region.

Amates arranged for the best lodging he could get for himself and Hoffman: the schoolmaster’s house. It was during their first night there that Kokai—Amates’ brother—came calling. Amates introduced Kokai and Hoffman while serving as an interpreter for the duo.

It is true that Hoffman had chanced upon confidential documents—reports on the investigation commissioned by the Dutch government—about Michael’s disappearance. However, no one could draw conclusions from its findings without laying hands on concrete evidence.

It happens that in 1957, six men from the Otsjanep tribe of the Asmat went on a dog-hunting expedition with a group of hunters from the Omadesep tribe. Dog teeth were a symbolic currency among Asmat people, and dog hunting was a sign of bravery.

After over 100 Asmat natives wound up dead in the conflict, Max Lepré—the Dutch comptroller of the region—decided to wade in.

Yes, his intent was to scare the stubborn men of Otsjaneps to subjection, but they wouldn’t go down without a fight. On February 6, 1958, Lepré visited the Otsjanep tribe with a detachment of armed men.

There was a roughly three-year gap between Lepré’s killing of the Otsjanep men and Michael’s disappearance, but there is an obvious and direct correlation between the two incidents.

Michael’s companion, Wassing, was quite confident he made it to shore. If he indeed made it to shore and encountered Otsjanep men, they made have interpreted it as fate finally giving them a chance at vengeance.