Lars Mittank Flees Varna Airport in Terror — Never Seen Again

On July 8, 2014, 28-year-old German tourist Lars Mittank arrived at Varna Airport in Bulgaria to fly home after a holiday. Days earlier, he had been involved in a minor bar fight and sustained a ruptured eardrum. His doctor advised against flying, so his friends flew home without him. What happened next was captured entirely on airport security cameras. Lars visited the airport doctor complaining of anxiety. When a construction worker entered the room, Lars suddenly began to tremble violently. He screamed "I don't want to die here!" — then bolted. Airport cameras show him sprinting through the terminal at full speed, abandoning his luggage, his wallet, his passport, and his phone at the doctor's office. He was filmed vaulting a perimeter fence and disappearing into a field and wooded area beyond the airport boundary. In the days before his flight, Lars had called his mother whispering in terror, claiming people were trying to kill him. He had asked her to cancel his credit cards. Hotel security footage showed him pacing corridors, ducking in and out of elevators, and constantly looking over his shoulder. One theory holds that the antibiotic Cefprozil he was prescribed is known to cause rare psychotic episodes. Whatever the cause, Lars Mittank has never been found. His case went viral, making him one of the most recognized missing persons in Europe.