How did my objects disappear?

Question

Playing single player (vanilla 1.6.4), I left the game running while I went out for approximately 2 hours. Before leaving I put all of my valuables into 2 chests just in case I died. There was a crafting table in between the two chests. I left the game unpaused in an attempt to farm cacti while I was gone.

I left myself parked in the same room as the two chests.

When I came back, both chests, the crafting table, and the ladder that was used to exit the room I was in were all gone. A few of the stone blocks in the same room also seem to have moved. There is a one block hole in the floor that wasn't there, and there is an extra block in a spot on the wall that wasn't there.

I know that I didn't die because I still have everything that was in my inventory. I know that the game time was advancing because I have more cacti and all of my plants grew.

There is no damage to the room I was in that would indicate an explosion and as far as I know it would not have been possible for any mobs to get in.

Every other section of my house is in the exact same state as it was when I left, including my enchanting room which was in the next room over (no door in between)

How could my chests, a crafting table, and a ladder simply vanish over the course of 2 hours while I left the game running?

I tried using task manager to kill the game and re-launch it but that made no difference.

Answer 1

Honestly, it sounds like a creeper exploded and you survived it but the chests and ladder did not.

2 hours is plenty of time for it to happen and then have all the items despawn after the chests break.

Answer 2

First off, let me just say that I feel your pain. ;)

Secondly, I wanted to try and add a little more explanation to clear up some lingering doubts about whether or not this was a creeper, since it almost certainly had to be...

You mention a "ladder that was used to exit the room." Did this ladder lead outside or to somewhere creepers could spawn? If so, that must be where the creeper got in. When mobs are pathing around to find you they can actually climb ladders if they happen to run into them. I have experienced first-hand a creeper descending a ladder into a room with me and, may I say, it is one of the most terrifying things I have ever witnessed in Minecraft.

I'm guessing you were wearing decent armor, which would explain why you survived the explosion and your nearby chests didn't. Incidentally, do you happen to remember exactly what you had in your inventory before you went AFK? If you still had space to hold things, it's quite possible that you may find yourself holding some of the items that were in your chests. If they blew up from a creeper explosion, some may have been thrown near enough to you that you picked them up, while the rest sat around until they despawned.

As for the extra block on the wall, I'm guessing it was a dirt or grass block. The only way a block can be added anywhere like that is through being placed by an Enderman. They can pick up and place back down certain blocks. If your room is 3 or more blocks high, an Enderman could have easily teleported in there to place it.

Answer 3

Might have been an Enderman attack...