PopLuxe

On July 8, 2014, a routine trip home from Bulgaria turned into one of the internet's most enduring missing-person mysteries. Twenty-eight-year-old German tourist Lars Mittank had been vacationing with friends at the Golden Sands resort near Varna when a fight during the trip left him with a jaw injury and a ruptured eardrum. While his friends returned home, Mittank stayed behind to recover and booked a later flight.

In the days that followed, his behavior became increasingly unusual. He reportedly told his mother that he was frightened and believed people were following him, while also asking her about his medication and telling her to block his bank cards. Hotel surveillance footage later showed him behaving erratically, including hiding inside an elevator before leaving the hotel during the night.

On the morning of July 8, Mittank arrived at Varna Airport for his flight. During a consultation with an airport doctor, he discussed his medication and appeared increasingly uneasy. At one point, a construction worker entered the room. Moments later, Mittank suddenly stood up, abandoned his belongings and ran out of the office.

Security cameras captured the final known images of him as he left the airport grounds. He climbed over a fence and ran toward a wooded area nearby. Then he vanished.

Extensive searches followed, but investigators found no confirmed trace of Mittank. His disappearance has since attracted enormous attention online, particularly because surveillance footage captures his final moments so clearly. Numerous theories have circulated about what caused him to flee, ranging from fear and confusion following his injury to the possibility that he believed he was in danger.

What happened after Lars Mittank ran into the Bulgarian countryside remains unknown. More than a decade later, his family is still without an answer about where he went or what happened to him after those final moments at Varna Airport.