The Weird Disappearence of Lars Mittank (Unsolved Case)

One of the strangest disappearances occurred in July 2014 in Bulgaria.

A shocking incident with CCTV footage turned viral, making Lars Mittank known as “the most famous missing person on YouTube”.

The mystery behind Lars Mittank’s disappearance is further augmented as we live in an era of communications and surveillance technology reaching significant levels.

Even with the current state of our technology and the CCTV video, Lars Mittank remains missing for over eight years.

Many scenarios are imaginable, and we all hope Lars is alive, but perhaps he is also in need of help. His family hired a private investigator but to no avail.

There is no lead to his whereabouts, despite reports of possible sightings.

We analyze the shocking details and possible sightings, keeping in mind that Lars Mittank had never had a psychotic or nervous episode and had never demonstrated signs of mental issues before.

Whom Was Lars Mittank Running From?

Here is the CCTV footage released to the public:

What led to this incident, though?

Mittank Vanished From The Face Of The Earth

In June 2014, German national Lars Joachim Mittank traveled with his friends for summer vacations at the resort city of Golden Sands, located on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Until the final day before they departed, Mittank was in a good mood, and his companions described how he was having fun with them.

July 6th, 2014

A confrontation happened during the last night of the friends’ vacation.

While they were having fun at a local bar, Mittank got into a dispute with another party of tourists, also from Germany.

They left after the incident, but while wandering in the city, Mittank abandoned them without saying anything, probably upset over the incident.

July 7th, 2014, Morning

They only found him again the next morning when it was also the day of their departure.

Upon finding him again, Mittank had a strange story to share.

He informed them how four men of Bulgarian or Russian descent beat him up after their separation.

He also added that the Germans he confronted at the bar the night before had them hired to hit him.

His friends had doubts about this story. It appears that Lars Mittank got injured in his jaw and ear, so he visited a physician that prescribed him Cefprozil 500mg, an antibiotic that treats bacterial infections.

The doctor also told him he shouldn’t fly for a few days.

However, some media also report that Mittank was diagnosed with a possible concussion.

His friends wanted to stay with him, but he insisted he would be all right, so they left as planned, with Mittank delaying his return to Germany for a couple more days.

Mittank also had to check out the same day with the rest, and he moved to a cheaper hotel closer to the airport.

July 7th, 2014, Afternoon

After his friends departed, Mittank’s behavior became unusual.

First, he called his mother (Sandra Mittank) and whispered to her that a group of unspecified people was following him and trying to hurt him, either rob him or kill him. He also asked his mother to call his bank and cancel his credit cards.

After that peculiar phone call, Mittank started acting paranoid, as the CCTV cameras in his hotel later showed he was moving into the hotel corridor up and down and even hiding inside an elevator.

At one point he texted his mother asking about the drug Cefprozil 500 the doctor prescribed him the day before.

His behavior was not normal, and he seemed to be getting worse.

According to the police, he left the hotel at 1 am for one hour. He returned and probably stayed in his room as no other camera spotted him.

July 8th, 2014

The following morning, Mittank took a taxi and went to the airport, where he also texted his mother, mentioning he was at the airport.

He immediately visited the airport’s doctor (Dr. Kosta Kostov) regarding his ear infection. The doctor examined Mittank and cleared him to fly back home.

However, as Mittank was waiting at the office, a man who had just entered the room made Mittank overly tense.

That was a construction worker. Apparently, renovations were taking place at the airport, and perhaps construction workers were all over the place.

Mittank immediately stood up and yelled:

”I don’t want to die here. I have to get out of here.”

For no apparent reason, he panicked, screamed, and started running out of the airport, leaving his bag and backpack on the floor. The police discovered in Mittank’s luggage his cell phone, wallet, and private documents (his ID, and passport).

Mittank, during this paranoid delirium, left behind all of his identification papers. He dashed out of the airport and even climbed a fence to escape, but nobody was after him.

Examining The CCTV Recording Again

This was the last official sighting of Lars Mittank, but let us have another look at the video:

Witnesses observed him climbing a barb-wire fence and running from the airport area into nearby woods.

After that, Lars Mittank vanished from the face of the earth.

One thing we can notice from the CCTV footage is how Mittank, after exiting the airport gate puts his left hand in his pocket, in search of something.

It seems he could have been carrying something with him. He holds his hand in his pocket for enough time to make us consider that his pocket is not empty.

It is a move people make when they run, aiming to secure something we hold in our pockets so it does not drop.

It immediately stroke my attention that this small detail might mean something. What things do we carry in our pockets? Our keys, some money, perhaps a wallet or a mobile phone.

Important items that we carry with us, but not in our luggage. Especially not when traveling, since thefts of items within our luggage occur at an alarming rate in all airports.

Was Lars Mittank Paranoid Or Was There Someone After Him?

These are characteristics of a delusional disorder, but if we look at Mittank’s history, he never had such incidents. Usually, symptoms exist, but perhaps in his case were not apparent.

Mittank felt threatened and hid in an elevator at his hotel. He started running after he felt threatened while waiting in the doctor’s room.

Perhaps Lars’s symptoms appeared way earlier. In Germany, he lived (2 and a half hours) far from his mother for years. Thus she could not have observed any signs. Sometimes these symptoms appear at a young age, stop for some time, and reappear in adulthood.

According to psychologists, Mittank suffered from a first-break psychosis incident. Perhaps the head injury caused him a concussion, which led to that psychosis.

The rest scenarios that surface on the internet have low odds, still, they also contain facts we cannot ignore.

Suspicions emerge over the use of hallucinogenic drugs that may have caused such a reaction, although perhaps there’s something more in this. Certainly, Bulgaria is not the best place to pick a fight.

The Bulgarian mafia is notorious, and some places in that country are dangerous. Tourists are a target of petty criminals like pick-pocketers since they are vulnerable, easy prey, carrying valuable devices and money with them.

However, the story Mittank told his friends makes little sense.

He said that four eastern Europeans beat him up, after German tourists hired them for this reason, because of their earlier confrontation.

His friends didn’t buy this story, but perhaps they should have been more concerned about his mental health. In their defense, they probably didn’t know how to handle Mittank’s delusions.

Moreover, it makes little sense to stay behind alone for two more days after such an incident.

Yet, Mittank convinced his friends to leave without him when they offered to stay with him. His friends were the only ones who could protect him if he actually felt threatened.

It appears his persecution syndrome appeared when his friends left the country.

Were Hallucinogenic Drugs Involved?

We have no information about Mittank using drugs ever.

Maybe he used narcotics, perhaps with his friends. However, it is also possible he was drugged unknowingly, at the bar, before his confrontation with the other German tourists.

Some drugs can have severe side effects, although hallucinations don’t last for two consequent days.

We can trace his breakdown at the bar they visited during the last night of their vacation.

Did someone secretly put hallucinogenic substances in his drink that night? That would explain the rest of his behavior for a few hours.

These “trips” can last up to 12 hours. However, Mittank was only getting worse the following days.

Perhaps during his paranoid delirium, he feared they could also become targets.

Lars might have had problems, and medication or substance abuse caused him to behave erratically, perhaps making him even suffer from memory loss.

Possible Sightings

Numerous cases of reported sightings have been investigated but led nowhere so far. Typically, this is not a great indication, but after all these years, perhaps the appearance of Lars Mittank has changed significantly.

He was athletic, had fishing and hunting skills, and perhaps his instincts helped him survive. The mental issues he was facing, though, can be detrimental to anyone’s chances.

While chances are not in favor of Lars, he could have survived, perhaps having lost his memory. Maybe he wandered for a while, or he found people like him living in the streets in another country.

I’m sure his mother has already contacted hospitals and mental institutions in many locations, perhaps this would be the best shot we get to find him alive.

A Medical Detail (but probably irrelevant)

I noticed that Lars Mittank seems to face a rare condition called Horner’s Syndrome.

However, this is (probably) unrelated to the psychotic incident.

A doctor can validate or exclude this condition by examining more photographs of Lars.

Usually, a doctor will instantly identify Horner’s syndrome by physical inspection or by examining more photographs like the one above.

Horner’s syndrome can sometimes present severe migraines, treated by specific anti-inflammatory drugs. These strong painkillers can have some side effects, although we don’t know if he was taking any such medication and which substances exactly they contained if he was.

This is information nobody else published anywhere. I can’t be certain this is Horner’s either, but only a doctor can diagnose it.

I shared this finding as perhaps this is something his family should know.

Closing Thoughts

Lars Mittank is a case nobody can forget after watching the airport video.

Anyone with information related to the case can contact the german police or the Facebook page created by Lars’s mother.

Lars was raised in Marne, Germany as a one-child.

He was an engineer with a steady job at GDF Suez Powerplant. He loved sports and was a fan of the football team Werder Bremen.

If I understand correctly from german media sources, Lars’s mother has moved to Bulgaria searching for Lars every day there.

Here are some links on social media about Lars created by his mother:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Findet Lars Mittank

Everyone hopes Lars is found alive. We can’t give up hope on him.

We have learned about people with mental issues traveling long distances by walking, or hiding in trucks, and located after many years.

A similar case to Mittank is the vanishing of Anton Pilipa. Anton was found in Brazil five years after his disappearance.

I believe Lars Mittank is alive, and his loved ones will locate him.

When they do, I will write about Lars again.

Content published in this article is used for research purposes and falls within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If you are, or represent, the copyright owner of images used in this article, and have an issue with the use of said material, please notify me.

• Originally Published at Medium, on my profile: "Ex Cathedra"

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