My first loss was a Centauri(?) Jayhawk (18mm) about 28 years ago. I'd flown it numerous times, but on it's third flight one day (on a B motor, just like the first two that day) it caught a thermal on the way back down and was blown over a road (four lane street) into the next section of the park I was flying in... last saw it about 40-50' up from 600-700' away... me and two friends searched for it for about an hour but never found it.
Then, my old Orbital Transport and two other 3FNC rockets were lost, not to the rocket gods, but rather to a cleaning woman (either my mother or ex-wife... I don't even know when they went missing).
As a BAR (since June of this year), my daughters and I have lost:
First launch day ...
- Alpha III (Miranda, age 8, 1st rocket... two perfect A8-3 flights, went for a B6-4, chute popped, and it went even higher and a gust of wind took it about 700-800' into a crowded section of the park, where I believe someone decided to keep it (I lost sight of it about 20' from the ground, falling behind an overpass... it wasn't anywhere around when my older daughter and I got there a minute or so later).
Next day (after hitting the hobby shop to get Miranda another rocket)...
- Wacky Wiggler (Rebecca, age 11, 1st rocket... nice A8-3 and B6-4 flights yesterday and a B6-4 flight (though had to repair the shock cord after the three flights)... fourth flight on a C6-5, over-corrected for wind and it came down in the lake... recovered after 45+ minutes in the water and it will fly again, though with a modified engine mount and kevlar shock cord).
- Gold Chrome Dome (Miranda's 2nd rocket... two nice A8-3 flights, then used an A8-5 and the ejection charge didn't blow until the rocket was about 20' from the asphalt headed downwards... broke off all the fins and zippered the body tube a bit, but it is probably repairable)
Several launches later (the Snitch is a very fun rocket!)...
- Athena (Rebecca's 2nd rocket... she worked on it for quite some time, finishing it beautifully... a nice first flight on an A8-3 and the tallest tree (45') around our launch field reached up and grabbed it... haven't looked for it for about three weeks (vacation, etc.) but it is probably still there... lowest branches on the tree are about 15' up... Rebecca wanted me to get her up to those branches with climbing ropes, but I eventually said no).
I like the idea of a list of rockets lost... (not sure why... it is rather morbid, in a sense).