RACING through the airport screaming “I don’t want to die”, Lars Joachim Mittank appeared to be running for his life.
The 28-year-old’s chilling final movements were captured on CCTV at Varna Airport in Bulgaria following a lads holiday.
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Lars was seen vaulting over a two metre fence before disappearing into woodland next to the motorway.
Tragically, he was never seen again.
The mysterious circumstances surrounding Lars’ disappearance led to the dubious title of the “most famous missing person on YouTube“.
His eerie case has also spawned dozens of conspiracy theories as sleuths pour over the unsettling footage in a bid to solve the riddle.
But no one has ever been able to establish whether Lars was the victim of a gruesome murder or simply suffering from the effects of a head injury he sustained before the horror.
The disturbing tale began in July 2014 when Lars jetted off on a lads holiday to Bulgaria from his native Germany with five pals.
But the day before the group were due to fly home, he got into a row with some other German nationals while drinking in Varna.
Lars left his friends outside the bar and disappeared into the night.
He didn’t return to the hotel until the following morning where he claimed he had been beaten up by four men – causing him to suffer an injured jaw and ruptured ear drum.
As a result, Lars was given antibiotics and advised by a doctor not to fly home with his pals.
Although they insisted on staying with him, Lars reassured them he was fine on his own and later checked into the Hotel Color Varna near the airport for one night.
But it was here that his behaviour began to spiral after he made a chilling phonecall to his mum Sandra.
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Through whispers, Lars told his mum that people who wanted him dead were following him as he urged her to cancel his credit cards.
Sandra later revealed: “I thought, god, my son is in danger. I could hear his heart pounding over the phone.
“He said people were trying to rob him or kill him.”
At 1am, he was seen on the hotel’s CCTV cameras pacing up and down the hallway, hiding in a lift and looking out of windows dotted along the long corridors.
Lars also randomly left in the early hours before returning an hour later but there is no clue where he went.
He called Sandra again the following day to tell her the people hunting him down were getting closer before making his way to the airport.
It was here the strange case really reached a head after Lars met with the airport physician to check up on his injuries.
Despite being told he was fit to fly, Lars’ bizarre antics were caught on camera as he was overheard saying: “I don’t want to die here.
“I have to get out of here.”
He then dropped a bag containing his passport, phone and wallet on the floor and ran as fast as he could down a corridor and out of the airport.
Once he hopped a fence, Lars disappeared into a nearby forest and was never seen again.
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It has never been established what triggered his paranoia – drugs, a reaction to his medication for his eardrum, or a head injury from the fight.
Bulgaria is also a country with high levels of human trafficking and organised crime – leading some to speculate he was really was being chased.
Police launched an investigation into Lars’ disappearance but never turned up any concrete leads.
Lars had an interest in the outdoors and had previously gone hunting and fishing but experts say it is unlikely he would have been able to survive for so long in the wild.
His anguished family even hired a private investigator in the hope of finding answers but the search is ongoing.
Mum Sandra confirmed Lars had no history of mental illness and believes he is still alive but may have lost his memory.
A potential breakthrough came in 2016 when police in Brazil tweeted a photo of a bearded man they found walking barefoot along a highway.
The picture matched an age progression image of Lars but the man was later identified as a missing Canadian aid worker.
Timeline of horror – how Lars vanished into thin air
Feb 9, 1986: Lars is born in Berlin, Germany
June 30, 2014: The 28-year-old travels with five friends to Varna, Bulgaria, for a lads holiday.
July 6: On the day before the group were due to fly home, Lars gets into a fight with rival football fans.
July 7, AM: He goes to a doctor for an injured jaw and ruptured ear drum. Lars is advised not to fly and prescribed the antibiotic Cefprozil.
July 7, PM: Lars’ pals fly home at his insistence and he checks into the Hotel Color Varna for one night. That evening, he calls mum Sandra and tells her people are either planning to kill or rob him.
Lars is seen on CCTV pacing up and down the halls, looking out of windows and hiding in a lift.
July 8, 1am: He leaves the hotel before returning an hour later. It is not clear where he has been.
July 8: Lars makes his way to Varna Airport to fly back to Germany. He texts his mum to say he has arrived before going to see the airport doctor. Lars is “erratic and nervous” but is advised he can fly home.
A construction worker then entered the doctor’s office – causing Lars to yell: “I don’t want to die here. I have to get out of here”.
He is then captured dumping his belongings and fleeing the terminal.
Once outside, Lars is seen climbing a fence and running towards a forest where he vanished.
Then, three years later, a German truck driver who gave a hitchhiker a ride from Dresden to Brandenberg came forward.
He revealed how the man resembled an older version of Lars but again the potential development came to nothing.
Lars would now be 38 and despite the dead ends and increasingly warped theories, Sandra remains committed to finding her son.
The mum continues to post updates on the ‘Find Lars Mittank’ Facebook page and prints out thousands of missing person fliers.
Speaking previously, Sandra said: “There’s a good chance he’ll come back. He just needs my help.”
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