1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: It's an image that is just it's horrifying and almost 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:05,679 impossible to wrap your head around. 3 00:00:05,759 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 2: It really is. 4 00:00:06,639 --> 00:00:11,279 Speaker 1: Picture this. It's mid morning, July eighth, twenty fourteen. You're 5 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,919 looking at security footage from Varna Airport in Bulgaria, and 6 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,600 a twenty eight year old German Man, Lars Midtank, just 7 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:20,120 starts sprinting. 8 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,839 Speaker 2: Not walking, not jogging, a full on desperate sprint across 9 00:00:23,839 --> 00:00:24,600 the terminal and. 10 00:00:24,519 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: He's dropping everything his passport, his wallet, his phone, his cash, 11 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:29,120 I mean, everything. 12 00:00:28,719 --> 00:00:30,679 Speaker 2: That makes you you then, and this is the part 13 00:00:30,719 --> 00:00:33,119 that just gets me every time he vaults an eight 14 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:34,240 foot perimeter. 15 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,119 Speaker 1: Fence with sense topped with jagged, nasty barbed wire. 16 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 2: And just vanishes into this dense yellow maze of six 17 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,759 foot tall sunflowers, and he's never seen again. 18 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: That single moment, that thirty second clip is why investigators 19 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,119 in online communities have called Lars Midtank the most famous 20 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:51,399 missing person on YouTube. 21 00:00:51,439 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: Oh easily. That clip of pure visible panic has been 22 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,079 viewed over sixteen million times. It's the primal nature of it, 23 00:00:59,119 --> 00:01:02,600 the total and in men of self just to survive. 24 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,000 It's what makes this case so uniquely unsettling. 25 00:01:05,359 --> 00:01:08,439 Speaker 1: Welcome to thrilling threads. Today we're diving into a case 26 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,599 that doesn't just ask where did he go? It asks 27 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:15,599 a much deeper question, what could possibly cause a person's 28 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,640 reality to shatter so completely so quickly? 29 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:21,439 Speaker 2: And our mission for you is to really unpack this 30 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,959 incredibly complex and often contradictory pile of sources that surround 31 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,040 Lars's final seventy two hours. 32 00:01:28,239 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: We're going to analyze how a simple holiday trip spiraled 33 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:37,000 into this perfect storm of physical trauma, isolation, and possibly 34 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,640 some very serious neuropharmacology. 35 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, we've pulled in everything. We've got precise timelines from 36 00:01:41,879 --> 00:01:45,120 his family documenting his growing terror almost hour by hour. 37 00:01:45,159 --> 00:01:47,879 We have forensic reports, medical case studies. 38 00:01:47,439 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: And so many conflicting eyewitness accounts for both the official 39 00:01:50,319 --> 00:01:53,519 investigators and the whole world of online salutes who've been 40 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:55,040 obsessed with this case for years. 41 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 2: So we need to look really critically at what we 42 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,079 can confirm was real, the injuries, the fear, the pill, 43 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,040 and what likely only existed inside his mind during that 44 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:04,599 acute delusion. 45 00:02:04,719 --> 00:02:06,439 Speaker 1: So before we get into the chaos, we have to 46 00:02:06,519 --> 00:02:10,000 establish who Lars Nittank was before all this. Right the baseline, 47 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,159 he was a twenty eight year old power plant technician 48 00:02:12,199 --> 00:02:18,080 from Germany. Yeah, and by all accounts, he was a calm, friendly, peaceful. 49 00:02:17,599 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 2: Guy, the picture of stability. He had a good stable job, 50 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,840 was very close with his parents, and importantly had absolutely 51 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,400 no documented history of any mental illness. 52 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,759 Speaker 1: And that stability is so key because it just makes 53 00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:32,400 his collapse so much more dramatic. 54 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 2: It does. And it's also important to clear something up 55 00:02:35,159 --> 00:02:38,319 that became a bit of misinformation online pretty fast, this 56 00:02:38,439 --> 00:02:42,039 idea that Lars was some naive tourist who got overwhelmed. 57 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:43,879 Speaker 1: Oh right, I've seen that, like this was his first 58 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:45,159 time out of the country. 59 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,719 Speaker 2: Exactly, But family timelines show he was actually a pretty 60 00:02:48,719 --> 00:02:52,719 experienced traveler. He'd been to Norway, Turkey, Egypt. 61 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: So this wasn't some kind of culture shock. The environment 62 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:55,919 wasn't the issue now. 63 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 2: The only thing that was new was the type of vacation. 64 00:02:58,719 --> 00:03:01,800 The trip to Golden Sands in Bulgaria was his first, 65 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:07,199 let's say, disco and beach party style vacation. Okay, and interestingly, 66 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,639 some sources say he wasn't even all that keen on 67 00:03:09,719 --> 00:03:12,159 going in the first place. He apparently stepped in to 68 00:03:12,199 --> 00:03:14,319 take a friend spot at the last minute. 69 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,639 Speaker 1: So he's already in a high stimulus environment that maybe 70 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,560 he wouldn't have chosen for himself even before anything went. 71 00:03:19,479 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 2: Wrong precisely, and his friends noted a really subtle physical 72 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,759 sign that something was a little off right from the 73 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,400 first few days at their hotel. What was that his appetite? 74 00:03:30,719 --> 00:03:33,800 They said, While he seemed relaxed and was socializing, he 75 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,800 just wasn't eating much at all, only occasional soups or salads. 76 00:03:38,479 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: Which they probably just chalked up to the summer he 77 00:03:40,319 --> 00:03:40,879 eat or something. 78 00:03:41,039 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 2: Of course, that's the logical explanation, but in retrospect, forensic 79 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:49,319 psychology looks at these things a sustained decreased appetite like that, 80 00:03:49,759 --> 00:03:52,719 it could be an early physiological stress response. 81 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: The body knows something is wrong before the mind does. 82 00:03:55,479 --> 00:04:01,039 Speaker 2: It could be or even a very quiet prodromal phase, 83 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,400 like a pre symptomatic stage of a developing medical issue. 84 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,240 It's the very first, very faint crack in that staple 85 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:09,879 exterior we were talking about, and. 86 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: The event that really shattered it, that moved him from 87 00:04:12,159 --> 00:04:15,800 minor stress to a full blown crisis happened on the 88 00:04:15,879 --> 00:04:17,199 night of July fifth. 89 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 2: During the FIFA World Cup quarter final Netherlands versus Costa Rica. 90 00:04:21,199 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: A football match. 91 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,959 Speaker 2: A football match. Lars was a huge fan of the 92 00:04:24,959 --> 00:04:28,079 German club s V Verder Bremen. He was at a 93 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,519 place called the Ministry of Cocktails bar and got into 94 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,319 a verbal argument with four other German tourists who were. 95 00:04:35,199 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: Fans of the rival team, FC Bayron Munich. 96 00:04:37,639 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 2: You got it, a very typical heated sports argument. Sources say. 97 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,399 His friends jumped in pretty quickly, The situation calmed right 98 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,160 down and they all left without any further issue. The 99 00:04:48,199 --> 00:04:50,120 tension seemed to have completely. 100 00:04:49,639 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: Gone away, but then hours later, in the early morning 101 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,040 of July sixth, the real trauma happened. 102 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,759 Speaker 2: Right Lars got separated from his friends near McDonald's around 103 00:04:58,759 --> 00:05:00,800 four am. He was going to walk back to the 104 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:01,399 hotel by. 105 00:05:01,399 --> 00:05:03,439 Speaker 1: Himself, and when he shows up at the hotel later 106 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,680 that morning, he has significant visible injuries, a jaw wound 107 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,680 and a confirmed ruptured ear drum. 108 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 2: In this this is where the story starts to fracture, 109 00:05:12,879 --> 00:05:15,560 where the paranoia really begins to take root, because the 110 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,800 cause of the injury is the first huge point of contention. 111 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: What did he say happened? 112 00:05:20,439 --> 00:05:23,399 Speaker 2: Lars claimed he'd been assaulted by four men, but not 113 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:25,839 just any four men. He claimed they were locals who 114 00:05:25,879 --> 00:05:28,680 had been specifically hired by the Bayern Munich fans he'd 115 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,279 argued with hours before. 116 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,959 Speaker 1: Wow, okay, that's a leap from a verbal spat in 117 00:05:35,079 --> 00:05:37,040 a bar to hiring a hit squad. 118 00:05:37,319 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 2: It's an incredible leap. His own friends admitted they were 119 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,600 immediately suspicious of the story. Investigators look at a claim 120 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,920 like hired assailants over a sports argument and see it 121 00:05:46,959 --> 00:05:50,759 as statistically just wildly improbable. 122 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,439 Speaker 1: It sounds more like an early sign of a persecutory delusion. 123 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 2: That's exactly how they framed it. It just doesn't track, 124 00:05:55,639 --> 00:05:58,199 So we have this divergence right away. The physical damage 125 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,519 is real, the ruptured ear drum is a fact, but 126 00:06:00,639 --> 00:06:02,639 his interpretation of the event. 127 00:06:02,519 --> 00:06:05,639 Speaker 1: Suggests his mental framework was already compromised. He was already 128 00:06:05,639 --> 00:06:08,920 seeing the world through this lens of targeted persecution exactly. 129 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,439 Speaker 2: Even if he just fell or got into a random, 130 00:06:11,519 --> 00:06:15,920 unrelated scuffle, his mind immediately assigned this complex, sinister agency 131 00:06:15,959 --> 00:06:19,360 to his earlier antagonists. The world was already closing in 132 00:06:19,399 --> 00:06:19,920 on him. 133 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,879 Speaker 1: So the next day, July seventh, the physical pain from 134 00:06:22,879 --> 00:06:25,199 the ear drum is getting worse. He goes to see 135 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:26,319 a local doctor. 136 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 2: And this is the moment where the medical intervention, the 137 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,519 very thing that's supposed to help him, might have actually 138 00:06:31,519 --> 00:06:33,079 pushed him right over the edge. 139 00:06:33,199 --> 00:06:36,439 Speaker 1: The diagnosis confirmed the perforated ear drum YEP. 140 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:41,399 Speaker 2: Doctor borisnadj Deenow gave him very clear instructions, do not fly. 141 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,959 The cabin pressure could make the injury much much worse, 142 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,240 maybe cause permanent damage. 143 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,399 Speaker 1: And he prescribes him an antibiotic. 144 00:06:48,879 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 2: A five hundred milligram second generation cephalosporin. Family documents identify 145 00:06:54,199 --> 00:06:58,319 it as either ceffrazil or seferoxim. The doctor also referred 146 00:06:58,360 --> 00:06:59,560 him for potential. 147 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: Surgery, which refused immediately. 148 00:07:01,439 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 2: Instantly, and his reasoning was actually quite rational, which is 149 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,600 part of the tragedy here. He was worried about his. 150 00:07:06,519 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: Career as a power plant technician, right He. 151 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 2: Was worried that a long recovery or permanent ear damage 152 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,319 would jeopardize the regular mandatory health checks he needed for 153 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:15,800 his job. 154 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,279 Speaker 1: So a rational choice to refuse the surgery ends up 155 00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:22,639 leading him down this incredibly irrational path that's. 156 00:07:22,399 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 2: The chilling part. And then he insists his friend's flight 157 00:07:25,199 --> 00:07:27,839 home that day without him. He tells him to be fine, 158 00:07:27,879 --> 00:07:30,439 He's covered by insurance. He'll just catch a later flight. 159 00:07:30,839 --> 00:07:34,399 Speaker 1: And that isolation. That's the real pivot point, isn't it. 160 00:07:34,439 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 2: Absolutely? The dark Hour, as some have called it, truly 161 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,279 begins here. He's now alone, injured, anxious about his job, 162 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,040 and about to start taking a potent medication in a 163 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,160 foreign city. All his anchors are gone. 164 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: Let's follow that timeline. On the seventh, he leaves the 165 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,000 hospital and he buys his prescription. Apparently he had to 166 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:54,560 go to two different pharmacies to get it. 167 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 2: He did. Then he withdraws two hundred levs in cash 168 00:07:57,959 --> 00:07:59,879 and takes a taxi to a place called the Hotel 169 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:00,879 Color near the. 170 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:05,519 Speaker 1: Airport, which sources really emphasize was a terrible choice of location. 171 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 2: For someone already anxious. It was the worst possible choice. 172 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,040 It was in a rundown known to be dangerous part 173 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,560 of Varna. The receptionists who checked him in immediately thought 174 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,920 something was off. She said he seemed really agitated and flushed, 175 00:08:18,279 --> 00:08:19,959 and she initially just assumed. 176 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,519 Speaker 1: He was drunk, and the hotel itself was not great Now. 177 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,199 Speaker 2: Reports from other guests later mentioned things like break in attempts, 178 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:29,959 and that you could easily buy drugs like cannabis at 179 00:08:29,959 --> 00:08:30,680 the hotel bar. 180 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,039 Speaker 1: So even if Flyers wasn't doing any of that, the 181 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,200 general vibe of the place would have just fed right 182 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,200 into his paranoia. 183 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:38,919 Speaker 2: It would have driven his stress levels through the roof. 184 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,080 And all of this culminates in the first clear sign 185 00:08:42,279 --> 00:08:45,679 of a full blown delusion, the financial panic. 186 00:08:45,799 --> 00:08:49,279 Speaker 1: The phone call to his mother, Sandra. He's whispering. He 187 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,080 tells her he's terrified that he's convinced someone as trying 188 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:53,399 to rob or kill him. 189 00:08:53,759 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 2: And here's the bizarre specific detail that really signals the delusion. 190 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,000 He tells her he believes the hotel receptionists managed to 191 00:09:01,039 --> 00:09:04,000 clone his credit card. Why and he instructs his mom 192 00:09:04,039 --> 00:09:07,679 to block the card immediately. His thinking was that if 193 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,519 he denied his pursuers any financial gain, they just lose 194 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:12,919 interest and leave him alone. 195 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,399 Speaker 1: His mother tried to reason with him right saying it 196 00:09:15,399 --> 00:09:17,559 would be a huge pain to get it reactivated for 197 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:18,039 his flight. 198 00:09:18,159 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 2: She did, but Lars was insistent, so she did it. 199 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:23,399 She blocked the card. And that's the action of a 200 00:09:23,399 --> 00:09:25,960 man who feels like his entire identity is under attack. 201 00:09:26,399 --> 00:09:28,919 It's a clear signal he's broken from reality. 202 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,919 Speaker 1: So the hours between that night July seventh and the 203 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,679 morning of the eighth are just filled with chaos and 204 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,559 conflicting reports. It shows how hard it was to piece 205 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:39,000 together what was really happening. 206 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,039 Speaker 2: It really is. Let's start with what was happening at 207 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,879 the hotel color. Some sources claim that the hotel CCTV 208 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,879 captured Lars pacing the hallways, looking out windows, even hiding 209 00:09:49,919 --> 00:09:51,159 in the elevator. 210 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: Classic paranoid behavior like he's monitoring for a. 211 00:09:53,759 --> 00:09:57,639 Speaker 2: Threat exactly, But this is a major point of conflict. 212 00:09:57,879 --> 00:10:01,000 Other more detailed timelines often and the ones compiled by 213 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,559 the private investigators his mother hired, they strongly dispute that 214 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:08,679 any usable CCTV footage from that hotel even exists. 215 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: So that could be a rumor that just got baked 216 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:10,919 into the story. 217 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,919 Speaker 2: It's very possible. These counterclaims say he was only there 218 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,120 for about three hours from ten pm to one point am, 219 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,000 and never even left his room. So the basic facts 220 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:21,440 of his movements are up for debate. 221 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 1: But what we know for sure is that at one 222 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,080 point am he suddenly leaves the hotel, and he takes 223 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:28,440 all of his luggage with him. 224 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,399 Speaker 2: Yes, and this is the beginning of that crucial dark hour. 225 00:10:31,519 --> 00:10:33,879 He's gone for a full ninety minutes and we have 226 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,120 absolutely no idea what he was doing or where he 227 00:10:36,159 --> 00:10:36,799 went during that. 228 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: Time, and when he surfaces again, the terror has just 229 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:41,120 gone to a whole new level. 230 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,879 Speaker 2: At two thirty am, he calls his mother again, whispering 231 00:10:45,039 --> 00:10:48,080 just pure terror in his voice. He tells her the 232 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,639 four men are still after him and that he's hiding 233 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:51,440 somewhere high up. 234 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:53,799 Speaker 1: So that confirms it. He's on the run, he's outdoors, 235 00:10:53,799 --> 00:10:54,440 and he's hiding. 236 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,039 Speaker 2: He is and this leads us to the single most 237 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,559 important piece of evidence suggesting a pharmacological pause. 238 00:11:00,399 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: For all this, the antibiotic text. 239 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,759 Speaker 2: The antibiotic texts. At three point zero six am and 240 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,919 again at three fifteen am, Lars texts his mother the 241 00:11:09,039 --> 00:11:13,960 exact same panicked question, cefzil five hundred. What is it? 242 00:11:14,159 --> 00:11:18,159 Speaker 1: That is just it's a huge clue. He himself is 243 00:11:18,279 --> 00:11:21,080 questioning the medication. Ciphisil five hundred is the brand name 244 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:22,320 for the drug he was prescribed. 245 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,679 Speaker 2: He's likely experiencing these terrifying new symptoms and the only 246 00:11:25,759 --> 00:11:28,639 new thing in his system is this pill. The paranoia 247 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,399 is so intense that his mother, Sandra, makes the decision 248 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,600 not to call him back. Why she was afraid that 249 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,360 the sound of his phone ringing would give away his 250 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,519 hiding spot to the men he believed were hunting him. 251 00:11:37,639 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: Oh man, the fear he must have transmitted over the 252 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,320 phone for her to make that call. 253 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 2: It must have been palpable. And his physical distress just 254 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,919 continues right into the morning. Around five point am, he's 255 00:11:48,919 --> 00:11:51,960 seen near the beach, still panicking, and he gets picked 256 00:11:52,039 --> 00:11:53,159 up by a taxi, a. 257 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: Taxi that already had another passenger in it. 258 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,039 Speaker 2: It did. The driver said he felt he had to 259 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:00,279 stop because Lars looks so distressed, And both the driver 260 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,759 and the other passenger, who happened to be a Bulgarian 261 00:12:02,799 --> 00:12:07,080 social worker, gave a key piece of physical description. They 262 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,720 both noticed that his pupils were fully dilated. 263 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:11,639 Speaker 1: That's not just anxiety now. 264 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 2: That level of dilation is a major clinical sign. It 265 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:20,240 suggests extreme shock, a massive adrenaline dump, or the influence 266 00:12:20,279 --> 00:12:24,200 of some kind of psychoactive substance. It's the undeniable physical 267 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,279 proof of the storm raging inside his head, which. 268 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: Brings us right to the central question of this entire case. 269 00:12:30,519 --> 00:12:33,159 What caused this was it a physical brain injury from 270 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,559 the fight, or was this an acute severe psychosis brought 271 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:37,399 on by the medication. 272 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,799 Speaker 2: Let's break down theory a first, a traumatic brain injury 273 00:12:40,919 --> 00:12:44,159 a TBI, or maybe even an intracranial hemorrhage an. 274 00:12:44,159 --> 00:12:46,320 Speaker 1: ICCH from the hit that ruptured his ear. 275 00:12:46,279 --> 00:12:49,679 Speaker 2: Dro exactly that kind of blunt force trauma could easily 276 00:12:49,759 --> 00:12:52,879 have caused an undiagnosed concussion or something much worse, like 277 00:12:52,919 --> 00:12:54,600 a slow bleed on the brain. 278 00:12:54,399 --> 00:12:58,159 Speaker 1: And head injuries can absolutely manifest in these bizarre behavioral ways. 279 00:12:58,279 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 2: They can delirium behavior that looks just like psychosis. These 280 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,200 are all known symptoms of an ICH. But we have 281 00:13:06,279 --> 00:13:08,759 to weigh this theory against how long he's been missing. 282 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 1: What do you mean? 283 00:13:09,879 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 2: Well? Forensic analysts point out that something like ninety percent 284 00:13:13,399 --> 00:13:17,840 of untreated symptomatic ICH cases are fatal with about thirty days, 285 00:13:18,759 --> 00:13:21,919 So if Lars had a severe brain bleed, it's statistically 286 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,799 very unlikely he would have survived for years without any 287 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:25,639 medical intervention. 288 00:13:26,159 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: So, while the head trauma is a definite factor, a 289 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,879 fatal ICCH doesn't quite fit with the complete lack of 290 00:13:31,919 --> 00:13:33,480 remains over such a long period. 291 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,919 Speaker 2: Correct, But we can't discount the direct symptoms of the 292 00:13:36,919 --> 00:13:41,080 perforated ear drum itself. That alone can cause intense vertigo, 293 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,519 severe anxiety, and crippling tonitis. That constant loud ringing in 294 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,240 your ear. I can't imagine for someone who is already 295 00:13:48,279 --> 00:13:51,240 stressed and paranoid having that relentless noise in your head, 296 00:13:51,399 --> 00:13:55,320 plus the disorientation from the vertigo. One source said it 297 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,200 could genuinely drive you mad, and I believe it. 298 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: Okay, So let's move to theory B, the one that 299 00:14:00,879 --> 00:14:03,799 seems to explain the texts and the sheer terror so 300 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,639 directly antibiotic induced psychosis. 301 00:14:06,759 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 2: Right, We're talking about sef prozil or seperoxium. These are 302 00:14:10,639 --> 00:14:13,279 second generation cephalosporins. 303 00:14:12,639 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 1: And the key factor here is what The key. 304 00:14:15,039 --> 00:14:17,519 Speaker 2: Factor is that these specific drugs are known to be 305 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:21,200 able to cross the blood brain barrier, the protective layer around. 306 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: The brain, and once they're in there. 307 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:27,399 Speaker 2: In rare susceptible individuals, they can trigger severe neuropsychiatric effects. 308 00:14:27,919 --> 00:14:32,639 The clinical term is organic psychosis. We're talking intense panic attacks, 309 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,960 deep seated paranoia, delusions, hallucinations. 310 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: Which maps perfectly onto what Lars was experiencing. Paranoia about 311 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,399 being followed delusions about his credit card, panic about the 312 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,679 medication itself. What's the chemical process that causes that. 313 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,399 Speaker 2: It's believed to be caused by the inhibition of the 314 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,600 brain's main brake pedal. That's the Gabba receptor. Gabba is 315 00:14:52,639 --> 00:14:56,559 the neurotransmitter that calms down your brain's activity, especially in 316 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:57,720 your emotional centers. 317 00:14:58,039 --> 00:15:00,879 Speaker 1: So these antibiotics can basically shut down the brakes. 318 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 2: That's a great way to put it. It removes the 319 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:07,080 breaks on the brain's emotional system. The limbic system, which 320 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,200 generates your fight or flight response, just goes into complete overdrive. 321 00:15:11,399 --> 00:15:14,919 Speaker 1: So the threats he's perceiving, like the rival fans hiring hitman, 322 00:15:15,559 --> 00:15:18,840 they feel chemically absolutely real inside his. 323 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,879 Speaker 2: Head precisely, And this isn't just a theory. The sources 324 00:15:21,919 --> 00:15:25,399 point to clear medical case studies of this exact bizarre 325 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:26,879 reaction happening to other. 326 00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:28,919 Speaker 1: People, like the one about the thirty five year old woman. 327 00:15:29,039 --> 00:15:32,559 Speaker 2: Exactly a documented case where a woman was prescribed sepharroxeme. 328 00:15:32,759 --> 00:15:37,559 She became violently irritable, had auditory hallucinations, and developed these 329 00:15:37,639 --> 00:15:39,879 incredibly specific bizarre delusions. 330 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:40,879 Speaker 1: What was her delusion? 331 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 2: She became convinced there was a snake living inside her abdomen, 332 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,360 and that she needed emergency surgery to have it removed. 333 00:15:47,799 --> 00:15:50,840 And the most critical part is that her psychosis completely 334 00:15:50,879 --> 00:15:54,639 disappeared within two weeks of stopping the antibiotic. 335 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: Wow, a snake in the abdomen, That specific illogical belief 336 00:15:59,399 --> 00:16:03,399 is so eerily similar to Lars being convinced a hotel 337 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,600 receptionist could clone his credit card. 338 00:16:05,799 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 2: It shows you that organic psychosis doesn't just create general fear, 339 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,440 it creates specific, bizarre and utterly convincing threats. 340 00:16:13,639 --> 00:16:15,559 Speaker 1: And this is the most maddening part of the whole case. 341 00:16:15,799 --> 00:16:18,639 We hit this massive contradiction, the question of whether he 342 00:16:18,679 --> 00:16:19,480 even took the pills. 343 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 2: This is the conflict that keeps the case open. Doctor 344 00:16:22,759 --> 00:16:25,840 Costa Kostov, the airport doctor who saw Lars right before 345 00:16:25,879 --> 00:16:28,759 he ran, He initially claimed that Lars had not filled 346 00:16:28,759 --> 00:16:32,240 his prescription. What he said, the medication was found completely 347 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,360 untouched in Lars's abandoned luggage, which of course led investigators 348 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,879 to dismiss the whole pharmacological theory at first. 349 00:16:38,639 --> 00:16:41,200 Speaker 1: But his mother and the PIS have a very strong. 350 00:16:40,919 --> 00:16:44,399 Speaker 2: Counter claim, a very strong one. They argue that Lars 351 00:16:44,519 --> 00:16:47,600 did buy the pills. Remember he went to two pharmacies 352 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,279 to get them, and that the blister pack they recovered 353 00:16:50,279 --> 00:16:53,120 from his luggage had either one or three pills missing. 354 00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:56,759 Speaker 1: Plus he texted his mother at three am asking what 355 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,600 Cepsil five hundred was. That alone seems to prove he 356 00:17:00,679 --> 00:17:03,120 was at least thinking about it, if not had already 357 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:03,559 taken it. 358 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,279 Speaker 2: And the private investigator's evidence goes even further. They raised 359 00:17:07,279 --> 00:17:10,480 doubts about the airport doctor's credibility in general. How So, 360 00:17:10,759 --> 00:17:14,119 apparently doctor Kostoff changed his story multiple times about the 361 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,240 identity of that construction worker, the man who walked in 362 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:19,079 and triggered Lars's final. 363 00:17:18,799 --> 00:17:21,960 Speaker 1: Flight, So that throws suspicion on his earlier claim about 364 00:17:22,039 --> 00:17:24,759 pills being untouched. Maybe he was just trying to simplify 365 00:17:24,759 --> 00:17:26,039 the report for the authorities. 366 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:30,079 Speaker 2: It's possible. So we're left with this impossible choice, an 367 00:17:30,079 --> 00:17:34,400 official doctor's claim versus a mother's investigation, pharmacy receipts and 368 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,640 missing pills. Did the trauma break him or did the 369 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,519 treatment for the trauma break him? The answer is locked 370 00:17:40,559 --> 00:17:44,519 away in that missing blister pack. So despite this absolute 371 00:17:44,559 --> 00:17:46,359 crisis he's going through in the middle of the night, 372 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,559 Lars still manages to do something functional. On the morning 373 00:17:49,559 --> 00:17:52,079 of July eighth, he gets himself. 374 00:17:51,799 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: To the airport great. He arrives at Varna Airport at 375 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,359 six a m. And his first logical move is to 376 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,319 try and fix the financial problem he created for himself. 377 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 2: By blocking his own credit card exactly. 378 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,839 Speaker 1: He calls his mom to arrange a Western Union money transfer, 379 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,279 and he tells her he's covered in dirt, which confirms 380 00:18:09,319 --> 00:18:11,400 he really had spent the night hiding outside. 381 00:18:11,559 --> 00:18:13,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's trying to get cash, and he's there to 382 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,640 get permission to fly. He goes to see the airport 383 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,519 doctor cost A cost Off to get clearance, and. 384 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 1: That consultation lasted an unusually long time forty two. 385 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,359 Speaker 2: Minutes it did, which suggests the doctor was really concerned 386 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,079 in trying to properly assess him. He described Lars as 387 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:30,160 being anxious and restless. 388 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,799 Speaker 1: So anxious, in fact, that the doctor made him sign 389 00:18:32,799 --> 00:18:36,599 a document taking full responsibility for any potential ear damage 390 00:18:36,599 --> 00:18:37,119 from the flight. 391 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:39,759 Speaker 2: So he's just moments away from getting on a plane home. 392 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:44,200 He has his documents, his luggage, a ticket, official clearance. 393 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:45,440 The system was working. 394 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,279 Speaker 1: But then while he's still in that medical office, the 395 00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:52,400 whole system just overloads. A third person, a construction worker, 396 00:18:52,759 --> 00:18:53,400 walks into the. 397 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 2: Room, an innocent, routine event. The airport was under renovation, 398 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,240 but for Lars, this was it. This was the final trigger. 399 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: The ultimate confirmation of his worst fear. 400 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:05,839 Speaker 2: He instantly starts to tremble and he screams, I don't 401 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:07,799 want to die here. I have to get out of here, 402 00:19:08,039 --> 00:19:10,880 and then he just bolts. He sprints out of the room, 403 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:11,680 leaving everything. 404 00:19:11,759 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: Those words, I don't want to die here he perceived 405 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,119 the airport. The one place that meant safety in escape 406 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:19,759 is the sight of his own execution. 407 00:19:20,039 --> 00:19:24,680 Speaker 2: And that absolute abandonment of everything passport, wallet, phone, cash, luggage, 408 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,079 that is the forensic signal we cannot ignore. 409 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,039 Speaker 1: It's what forensic psychology calls a panic flight response. 410 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 2: It's a complete regression to primal survival instinct. You stop 411 00:19:35,759 --> 00:19:37,880 being a person with a job and a family. You 412 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:42,200 become a hunted biological entity. The only objective is to 413 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:44,359 escape an immediate mortal threat. 414 00:19:44,559 --> 00:19:47,920 Speaker 1: Leaving the phone, that's the ultimate act of self erasure, 415 00:19:48,039 --> 00:19:49,480 cutting off all contact. 416 00:19:49,599 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 2: And then, of course we have the CCTV footage, the 417 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,599 actual visualization of that terror. 418 00:19:54,799 --> 00:19:57,519 Speaker 1: It's a roadmap of pure escape. He sprints down the 419 00:19:57,599 --> 00:20:00,000 terminal right past check in pass secure. 420 00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:02,799 Speaker 2: Then once he's outside sources note, he slows down for 421 00:20:02,839 --> 00:20:05,640 a second to a jog, like he's trying just for 422 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:07,720 a moment to blend in and not draw attention. 423 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: But the fence is the real testament to his state 424 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:10,720 of mind. 425 00:20:10,799 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, an eight foot perimeter fence topped with barbed wire, 426 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,079 and he just scales it. That requires such an overwhelming 427 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,519 rush of adrenaline that you'd be numb to pained obstacles 428 00:20:20,559 --> 00:20:21,480 to everything. 429 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,079 Speaker 1: And then he drops into that sea of sunflowers, and 430 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,440 in an instant he's gone. He transforms from a man 431 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,480 trying to get home into a digital ghost, forever running 432 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,160 from a threat that only he could see. 433 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,400 Speaker 2: So the search operations starts immediately, but it's instantly crippled 434 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,799 by the geography, the one thing nobody could have planned for. 435 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: He didn't just run into an open field. He ran 436 00:20:42,759 --> 00:20:47,440 into an environmental trap, a massive field of sunflowers Helianthus 437 00:20:47,559 --> 00:20:48,000 n os. 438 00:20:48,559 --> 00:20:51,839 Speaker 2: And in July, these plants are at their absolute peak, 439 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,720 one and a half to two meters high. 440 00:20:53,799 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: We call that agricultural occlusion. The density of the stalks, 441 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,559 the high canopy. It creates a visually impenetrable wall. It's 442 00:21:00,599 --> 00:21:02,240 a living yellow. 443 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 2: Maze, which is a complete nightmare for search and rescue. 444 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:07,319 A searcher on the ground could walk within a meter 445 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:08,599 of a body and never see it. 446 00:21:08,839 --> 00:21:11,119 Speaker 1: So if he collapsed just fifty feet into that field, 447 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,559 he might as well have been fifty miles away exactly. 448 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,279 Speaker 2: And for someone already disoriented and paranoid, the field itself 449 00:21:17,319 --> 00:21:20,559 makes it worse. It's disorienting. You can think you're heading out, 450 00:21:20,599 --> 00:21:22,799 but you're actually just going deeper in. 451 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,680 Speaker 1: And the initial thermal imaging was useless right right. 452 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,559 Speaker 2: The dense foliage created a thermal barrier, so it couldn't 453 00:21:28,559 --> 00:21:29,839 pick up any heat signatures. 454 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: But despite that massive challenge, the search did give them 455 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,720 some clues about where he went. After the field it did. 456 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,079 Speaker 2: They brought in molecular dogs and they successfully tracked his 457 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,319 scent right across the sunflower field, and their path was 458 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,119 later corroborated by motorists. 459 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:46,640 Speaker 1: People saw him on the E seventy highway. 460 00:21:46,559 --> 00:21:49,599 Speaker 2: Several people, but the tragedy is they just thought he 461 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,640 was a drunk German tourist walking home from a party. 462 00:21:53,079 --> 00:21:55,839 Nobody stopped, Nobody intervened. 463 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: So we know he made it out of the field 464 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,920 and onto a major road. His direction was west northwest 465 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,440 toward the highway and maybe a more rugged area called 466 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:05,319 the stone forest. 467 00:22:05,319 --> 00:22:08,839 Speaker 2: So bid Camani. Yes, And here's the truly baffling part 468 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,599 that keeps this whole mystery alive. Despite extensive searches with dogs, 469 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,400 drones and people on foot, they found nothing, absolutely nothing, 470 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,559 not a scrap of clothing, no biological remains, no equipment, nothing. 471 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:25,160 The total lack of any trace is statistically just confounding. 472 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:27,880 Speaker 1: If he died from exposure or an injury somewhere in 473 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,359 that initial search zone, his body should have been found. 474 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 2: It should have been. The lack of recovery forces us 475 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,519 to consider some other possibilities. 476 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: Like what well. 477 00:22:35,839 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 2: One, he somehow made it across that immediate search grid 478 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,759 and disappeared into the vast countryside beyond it. Two, he 479 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,279 was picked up by a car on that highway. The 480 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:47,880 dog tracks did seem to disappear near the road. 481 00:22:48,079 --> 00:22:51,519 Speaker 1: And the third option involves the geography, but in a different. 482 00:22:51,279 --> 00:22:54,319 Speaker 2: Way the water. It's possible his remains were concealed in 483 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,160 an unusual way, like in the large Lake Varna, which 484 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,920 is south of the airport or and it's a grim 485 00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:02,960 thought scavenging by wildlife. 486 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: Fox's semi feral dogs. 487 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,319 Speaker 2: But even then, forensic analysts would expect to find scattered 488 00:23:07,319 --> 00:23:10,519 bones or at least fragments of clothing, and we have nothing. 489 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:13,599 The total absence of physical evidence is what makes this 490 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,039 case so hard to solve. 491 00:23:15,519 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: So when you put all of these tangled, contradictory threads together, 492 00:23:19,799 --> 00:23:23,559 Lars Mittank's disappearance really is this tragic perfect storm. 493 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,279 Speaker 2: A perfect storm of biological and environmental bad luck. Let's 494 00:23:27,279 --> 00:23:28,880 synthesize the four main elements. 495 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:29,680 Speaker 1: Okay, what's first. 496 00:23:29,839 --> 00:23:33,400 Speaker 2: First, the biological catalyst, the blunt, forced trauma to his 497 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,920 ear that created the initial vulnerability, whether it was a 498 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,000 minor concussion or the start of a major psychiatric event. 499 00:23:40,279 --> 00:23:44,799 Speaker 1: Second, the psychological stressor the forced isolation in that seedy 500 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,680 part of Varna. Mixed with the pain and the paranoia 501 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,400 about his job, it just created this negative feedback loop 502 00:23:51,519 --> 00:23:52,000 of fear. 503 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:57,160 Speaker 2: Third, the final trigger, the construction worker walking into the office, 504 00:23:57,319 --> 00:24:00,680 a completely routine event that acted as the final snap, 505 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,839 the terrifying proof that his pursuers had finally cornered him. 506 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: And fourth, the environmental trap that massive sunflower field. It 507 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,279 provided the perfect visual cover, letting a person in a 508 00:24:13,319 --> 00:24:14,920 full panic flight just. 509 00:24:15,519 --> 00:24:18,680 Speaker 2: Vanish, and that leads to the theories about his ultimate fate. 510 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,960 They really fall into three main categories. The most common 511 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,799 one is a complete mental breakdown followed by death from exposure. 512 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,759 Speaker 1: This theory suggests he just ran until he couldn't run. 513 00:24:28,599 --> 00:24:31,640 Speaker 2: Anymore, pretty much that he suffered an acute psychotic break 514 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,039 ran until exhaustion, dehydration, or heatstroke took him, and he 515 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,480 died while hiding somewhere in the vast countryside. It explains 516 00:24:38,519 --> 00:24:41,079 the run and the abandonment of his identity, but. 517 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: Again it doesn't explain the complete lack of a body. 518 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:45,400 So let's look at the second theory, the one his 519 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,559 family holds onto amnesia and survival right. 520 00:24:49,079 --> 00:24:51,680 Speaker 2: This theory suggests the trauma from the head injury or 521 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,480 the medication caused profound memory loss, and that Lars is 522 00:24:55,559 --> 00:24:57,279 still out there somewhere. 523 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:01,160 Speaker 1: Wandering, maybe homeless, maybe in an institution, unable to communicate 524 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:01,680 who he is. 525 00:25:02,319 --> 00:25:04,759 Speaker 2: It's the only theory that really aligns with the years 526 00:25:04,759 --> 00:25:07,720 that have passed without any remains being found, and it's 527 00:25:07,759 --> 00:25:10,960 strongly supported by a very compelling alleged sighting. 528 00:25:11,279 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: This is just a few months after he disappeared. Right 529 00:25:13,279 --> 00:25:14,920 October twenty fourteen. 530 00:25:14,759 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 2: Yes, near a small village called Slennichevo, a Bulgarian prostitute 531 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,160 reported seeing a man she was absolutely convinced was Lars, and. 532 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: His behavior was bizarre. 533 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,759 Speaker 2: Extremely he was hiding behind bushes when cars would pass, 534 00:25:28,039 --> 00:25:30,680 and he refused her services, claiming he lived in a 535 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,359 big hotel nearby, a hotel that didn't exist. 536 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,839 Speaker 1: But the detail that gives this sighting so much weight 537 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:38,599 is the non public characteristics she reported. 538 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,079 Speaker 2: That's the key. She was so sure it was him 539 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,559 that she told the private investigator about a specific physical 540 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:49,359 characteristic of Lars, a detail the family had intentionally kept private, so. 541 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: There's no way she could have known it from. 542 00:25:51,079 --> 00:25:55,759 Speaker 2: The news none. That details strongly strongly suggests the man 543 00:25:55,839 --> 00:26:01,079 she saw was Lars. Disoriented, delusional, but physically alive and 544 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:02,880 surviving month after he. 545 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,880 Speaker 1: Ran from the airport, and that sighting keeps that hope 546 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,000 alive for his family. Finally, we have to touch on 547 00:26:09,039 --> 00:26:11,839 the third more sinister theory, foul play. 548 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 2: We do human trafficking, organ harvesting, organized crime. These theories 549 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:16,960 always come. 550 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 1: Up, but they don't really fit the facts here, do they? 551 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,640 Speaker 2: It's difficult to make them fit. If organized crime was 552 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:23,960 really after him, they had so many chances to grab 553 00:26:24,079 --> 00:26:26,759 him quietly at the hotel or on the road. Instead, 554 00:26:26,799 --> 00:26:29,319 his last known act is to run through the most public, 555 00:26:29,559 --> 00:26:33,720 most surveilled place possible, the airport. A plan abduction just 556 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,599 doesn't line up with what we see on that video. 557 00:26:35,799 --> 00:26:38,160 Speaker 1: And through all of this we have to acknowledge the 558 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,240 incredible ongoing struggle of his mother, Sandra. 559 00:26:41,519 --> 00:26:44,400 Speaker 2: Her dedication is just relentless. She's still funding the search, 560 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,000 working with pis, publishing those age altered photos. She holds 561 00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:50,119 firmly to the belief that Lars is alive and that 562 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,519 the medication caused all of this. Her fight really embodies 563 00:26:53,559 --> 00:26:56,319 the heartbreaking limbo of these unresolved disappearances. 564 00:26:56,599 --> 00:27:00,839 Speaker 1: Lars Mittank's final moments. They remain one of the most visible, 565 00:27:01,039 --> 00:27:04,680 most confounding missing person cases of the digital age, and 566 00:27:04,759 --> 00:27:06,799 it's all because of that one viral video. 567 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 2: It is we have sources for every single day of 568 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,440 his final trip. We have medical opinions that critical conflicted 569 00:27:13,519 --> 00:27:16,599 evidence about the pills, and we have undeniable video proof 570 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,240 of his total psychological collapse and. 571 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,759 Speaker 1: A decade later. The only thing we're missing is a 572 00:27:21,759 --> 00:27:25,759 physical trace of him. That image a healthy young man 573 00:27:25,839 --> 00:27:28,680 sprinting barefoot over a barbed wire fence to escape an 574 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,559 enemy nobody else can see. It's just a stark reminder 575 00:27:32,559 --> 00:27:34,039 of how fragile our minds can be. 576 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 2: He really is a digital ghost, just perpetually running in 577 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:38,200 that security camera loop. 578 00:27:38,279 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 1: The strongest theory suggests his disappearance was the result of 579 00:27:41,279 --> 00:27:44,680 an internal collapse, a psychotic break, or a TBI. But 580 00:27:44,759 --> 00:27:47,039 I keep coming back to the last words he screamed, 581 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:48,839 I don't want to die here. I have to get 582 00:27:48,839 --> 00:27:49,279 out of here. 583 00:27:49,559 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 2: His mind, no matter how broken it was, was pushing 584 00:27:52,039 --> 00:27:54,880 him toward what it thought was survival, not self destruction. 585 00:27:55,279 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: So we want to know what you think. Considering the 586 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,960 sunflower field, the highway, that compelling sighting months later, and 587 00:28:03,039 --> 00:28:06,519 the total lack of remains, what do you believe. 588 00:28:06,839 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 2: Did Lars Mitteng succumbed to his psychological state alone in 589 00:28:09,759 --> 00:28:12,640 the Bulgarian wilderness, or did he somehow manage to survive 590 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,480 his own terror and just disappear into the fabric of 591 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,079 Eastern Europe, lost to a memory lapse that drove him 592 00:28:18,079 --> 00:28:20,279 away in the first place, Let us know your stand 593 00:28:20,279 --> 00:28:21,279 on this chilling thread.