Tumblr

Linkedin

GitHub

·

What Was Troubling Lars Mittank

Something serious was going on with 28-year old Lars Mittank in July of 2014. What was his first trip out of his native Germany and supposed to be a relaxing vacation with friends took a turn for the worse on the day before he was scheduled to fly home. Lars was involved in a confrontation at a bar over sports, resulting in an injury that prevented him from traveling from Bulgaria back to Germany with his friends. 

Lars was clearly troubled by something, as the days that followed demonstrated that he was on edge, paranoid, and convinced that people were after him. 

This came to a head on the day that Lars planned to finally return home to Germany. Lars began to shake and in a desperate act, abandoned his luggage and sprinted from the airport, hopping a fence in the process–all caught on surveillance footage that has been viewed online more than 16 million times. 

So, who or what was troubling Lars Mittank in July of 2014? Were his actions the result of a head injury more severe than originally thought, or did Lars get involved with people with nefarious intentions, who ultimately caught up with him?

Join Elaine and I as we discuss the unsettling case of Lars Mittank, dubbed “The Most Famous Missing Man on YouTube”.

Sources:

Lars running from Varna Airport on July 8, 2014

Wikipedia page

Article referenced in episode

Photo of Lars Mittank:

2 responses to “What Was Troubling Lars Mittank”

  1. Pierre Brossard Avatar
    Pierre Brossard

    Hello girls, my name is Pierre and I’m from France.
    I just listened to your podcast and you did a good job.
    Given that the issue of a dispute over football was brought up, I would like to give you some insight
    I have lived in Greece and Bulgaria in the past and boy these guys do love football (or soccer, for our american friends).
    In the majority of the Balkan countries (and in many other countries in Europe as well) there are football fan clubs that follow their favorite football clubs and support them. Some of these clubs just support their team and that’s it. However there are some other fan clubs that do engage in shady activities, including racketeering and drug dealing. Many of their members work as bouncers or in private security teams. So, in many ways, those fan clubs are structured and function just as a gang, that’s why there have been issues in many Balkan countries over the last 50 years (for instance, a 19 year old man was killed in Greece last year just for supporting another football club ). Also we have to keep in mind that due to corruption that exists in those countries, authorities tend to turn a blind eye on some of these illegal activities, as higher up members of these clubs do have connections with the wealthy business-people that run those teams, who, in their turn have good political connections.
    All I want to say is that, it is possible that Lars could have messed with the wrong people over football and that resulted in them chasing him. A simple dispute about football could have sparked some serious fight. He maybe also wanted to buy drugs from them, who knows?
    There are many theories around his mysterious disappearance it’s true that it’s difficult to try and find out what happened. However, having seen how those “fan clubs” work, it is likely that Lars was a victim of them.
    Thank you for finishing long post, keep up the good work!
    TL/DR: Lars could have been chased and killed over football, many football fan clubs can be violent.

    Like

    Reply
    1. Megan Avatar
      Megan

      Hi Pierre,

      First of all, thank you for taking the time to listen to the podcast! I really appreciate that. And second, thank you for sharing your insights on this case. This is really helpful in understanding what could have happened to Lars. Since we have finished the episode, I have started to believe more that the scenario you describe above is most likely.

      Thank you again for listening–don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s another case you’d like to hear!

      Best,
      Megan

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

All episodes

Get updates

Spam-free subscription, we guarantee. This is just a friendly ping when new content is out.

About the Podcast

Welcome to “Public Domain Stories,” where John Doe and Jane Doe explore the boundless creativity of the Public Domain. Join us weekly as we reimagine classic literature, characters, and movie scripts in exciting new ways.

Uncover fresh adaptations that honor tradition while embracing modern perspectives. Join the conversation and discover the magic of storytelling with us.

PocketCasts

SoundCloud

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

RSS Feed

Designed with WordPress

Description of the photography depicting the podcast authors John and Jane Doe, November 2022.