There's the case of Geminga which exploded 300,OOO years ago and one of its effect was to zoom its way across the sky (it originated in the Orion constellation and is now in Gemini).
What happened was that when it exploded, it didn't burst evenly all around its surface.
And it was pushed by a reaction force into one direction, at a very high speed!
The same could have occured to a nearby star.
That's why there's no trace of it.
I've also read that the Sun had other stars that originated with it but none are in our vicinity and we're alone in the gigantic ballroom that's the milky way, waltzing without partners.

Raoul