Why did my iMac arbitrarily delete files on my hard drive?

Sometime in the early hours of 1/17/14, my iMac deleted files arbitrarily from my hard drive, mostly some data files and files that were in my download folder. At least that is all I have found thus far. Fortunately, Time Machine backups are available to re-copy them back, and I can tell it happened after the last back-up of 1/16. What would make these files diaappear on their own? In my Data files folder, it eliminated some but not all the files (no seeming rhyme or reason). The first "bad" back-up on 1/17 (with the missing files) would have occured at night when the hard drive and monitor are asleep. I am running Mavericks 10.9.1 on new iMac

Please read the warranty paperwork that came w/your computer.
You have 14 days to return the computer w/no questions asked.
You have 90 days of FREE phone tech support on top of your standard 1 year warranty unless you also purchased AppleCare which gives you an additional 2 years of coverage plus FREE phone support.
Strongly suggest that you take FULL advantage of the above before it runs out.  Let Apple deal w/the problems.
If you DIY and mess up, your warranty will be VOIDED!

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