1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Chuck here on a Saturday with a little 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: mystery true crime episode served up for you. It's the 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,559 Speaker 1: disappearance of Lars Metonk and I think it's me Tonk 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: And if I'm not mistaken, Josh and I probably pronounced 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: it all sorts of ways because that's kind of what 6 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: we do, much to the annoyance of many of you. 7 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: We're very sorry, but I hope you enjoy it. Welcome 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 9 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and 10 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 2: there's Charles w Chuck Bryan over there, and there's Jerry 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 2: and this is Stuff you Should Know at another True 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 2: Life Mystery edition. 13 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: A True Life Mystery. 14 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, Okay, I don't want to say crime because I'm 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 2: not one hundred percent sure crime was involved. I'm sure 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 2: it still falls under the umbrella of true crime, but 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 2: it's a mystery, a disappearance, how about that? 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: Yeah? And this one is this can be frustrating to research. 19 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: And this is our caveat in that this situation, as 20 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: you will learn, happened in Bulgaria to a German Man 21 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: and that's part of the reason it's hard to get 22 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: great information. There are plenty of people on the Internet 23 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: telling this story with different details, and it's just sort 24 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: of one of those cases where like we can't get 25 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,759 Speaker 1: our hands on Bulgarian case files from the cops and 26 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: read it ourselves. So we did find a redditor who 27 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: did something last year who claims that he got information 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: from Lars's mother, who you're going to meet, Sondra. She's 29 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: not gonna be on the show. You're not going to 30 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: really meet her meet through our words. But you know 31 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: who knows this is someone on Reddit and all his 32 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: sources were in German, so I couldn't double check those either, right. 33 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I mean that's that's a caveat that works 34 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 2: for just about any true crime or disappearance case these days, 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 2: just because there's so many people who you know, take 36 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 2: it in a story and run it through their own grinder, 37 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 2: and you know, like you said, little details, little facts 38 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 2: get changed here, and then somebody else picks up the 39 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 2: same fact without double checking it, and now all of 40 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: a sudden, it's all over the place, and you can't 41 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,639 Speaker 2: tell if that's because it's real or because a bunch 42 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,799 Speaker 2: of people just repeated the same incorrect facts. So We're 43 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: gonna definitely do our best. But one of the things 44 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 2: about this story is there are enough, you know, totally 45 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 2: verified facts to it that you know, you don't really 46 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 2: need to get completely lost in the details. People have 47 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 2: gotten completely lost in the details, but they've still not 48 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 2: solved the case. That hasn't helped anybody yet, So just 49 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 2: the facts that are known are kind of strange enough. 50 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think it's it's always more comfortable for 51 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 1: us when it's like when there's a book that's been 52 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: written about it, published by like a real publisher. 53 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 2: Like Beverly Cleary. 54 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: It's not just internet dudes. But you know, a lot 55 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: of times these more recent sort of missing person cases, 56 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: it is just internet dude. 57 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 2: So you know, yeah, it is what it is. And 58 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 2: the dude that we're talking about is named Lars Matonk 59 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 2: and he's known as the most famous missing person on 60 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 2: YouTube because. 61 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: I hate that he is. 62 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 2: It's pretty bad almost. It should have probably just scared 63 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 2: us off of this episode to begin with. The because 64 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 2: you remember what was the name of that con, the 65 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 2: YouTube Convention. We went to that one time. 66 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: Oh, it was like Internet con, but it wasn't that. 67 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 2: It was close to that I can't remember. That almost 68 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 2: put me off of YouTube forever. 69 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: We blocked our memory bank as we did our biggest 70 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: show ever there in front of about twelve people. Yeah, 71 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: it was pretty bad, but I'll think of it. But 72 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: by the way, we should thank Dave Meischner, who's a 73 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: listener who turned me onto this quite a while ago. 74 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: So sorry it took so long to get to Dave. 75 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 2: So we're talking again. We're talking about Lars matonk and 76 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 2: he vanished from the face of the earth. As his 77 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 2: mom put it, it was like the earth just swallowed him up. 78 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 2: Back on July eighth, twenty fourteen, in a town, a 79 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 2: resort town in Bulgaria on the Black Sea called Golden Sands, which, 80 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 2: looking at pictures of it, it looks like a pretty 81 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 2: charming little place. Big con, that's it. It might as 82 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 2: well have been called Internet Con. Yeah, but did you 83 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 2: look at pictures of Golden Sands to get a feel 84 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 2: for the place? 85 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, looks like any lovely seaside hamlet. 86 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 2: Yeah. And I couldn't get the impression of whether it 87 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 2: was more like Deston or more like Panama City Beach. 88 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: I just couldn't. It seems like a big party spot, 89 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 1: if that's what you're wondering. 90 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 2: Okay, But like it also looked like it was fairly 91 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 2: like clean and well run and not just like you know, 92 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 2: just whatever kind of thing. I don't know, I place 93 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 2: it between the two from what I can tell, But 94 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 2: that's where that's where this event took place, where the 95 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 2: disappearance took place. It's actually Varna, Bulgaria, which is the 96 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 2: main town that Golden Sands Resort beach town is right 97 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 2: outside of. 98 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: Yeah. So as far as Lars, the young man who 99 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: would go missing, he was born in February nineteen eighty 100 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: six in northern Germany. He was an only child. He 101 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: was a handsome kid, very popular. He was athletic, he 102 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: was smart. He did well in school. After he ended up. 103 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: After he graduated, he ended up getting a job at 104 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: the GDFSUS power plant about one hundred miles from where 105 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: he grew up, fixing small electrical machines. He was an 106 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: engineer and it seemed like he had a really good 107 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: life and he enjoyed his job. He loved and this 108 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: will figure in so put a pin in this. His 109 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: one big love was his football club, his soccer team 110 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: that he followed, which is in you know, this is 111 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: not how they would pronounce it, but the Verder Bremen 112 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: football club. 113 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 2: Oh really, how would they pronounce it? 114 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 1: Well, it's always just a little more German, let's see, 115 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: you know, like the guy the Redditor, he narrates his 116 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: own documentary and he said it in a way that 117 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: I'm not even going to attempt. 118 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 2: Oh okay, all right, fine, So that whole football club 119 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,479 Speaker 2: thing actually plays a role in this because it may 120 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 2: be at the center of his disappearance. We're not one 121 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 2: hundred percent sure, but to kind of give you an 122 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 2: idea of what kind of guy Lars Metank was. Metank was. 123 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 2: His dad had a stroke a couple of years before 124 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 2: he disappeared, and his mom had to take care of 125 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: his dad full time. Lars was an only child, and 126 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 2: he would come home I guess about one hundred miles 127 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 2: from where he lived and worked almost every weekend to 128 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 2: help take care of his dad, which is not every 129 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 2: guy in their late twenties would do that, you know. 130 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 2: And apparently he was dedicated enough that his mom had 131 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 2: to kind of encourage him to go along with five 132 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 2: other friends of his two week long vacation at Golden 133 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 2: Sands in Bulgaria in July, the end of June beginning 134 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 2: of July. He wasn't going to go, and his mom said, no, 135 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 2: you should should totally go. You deserve a week off 136 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 2: like this, So he went. 137 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. So it's a big party scene. Like I said, 138 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: it is well known for young people from all over 139 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: Europe going to take advantage of the resort deals, all 140 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: inclusive places, the cheap booze, plenty of drugs to be had. 141 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: Lars was the life of the party. According to his friends, 142 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: I saw her anywhere from three to five friends. I 143 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: know for sure two guys, and I think these were 144 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: his high school mates who were most prominent, named Tim 145 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: Schultz and Paul Roman. But they were hanging out, going 146 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: to the beach playing soccer. The one weird thing that 147 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: I think people may have made too much about online 148 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: as far as internet sleuthing goes, is his friends remarked 149 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: that he didn't have much of an appetite on the trip, 150 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: was eating like soup and salad and fruit, whereas they were, 151 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: you know, as an all inclusive resort, so they were 152 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: just like feasting on everything. And I think they thought 153 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: it was odd that he wasn't, but I don't make 154 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: a whole lot about that. 155 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, neither did that one reditor or slash documentary and 156 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 2: who said that he apparently had kind of gotten had 157 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 2: been on a health kick, so he was kind of 158 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 2: watching what he ate a little more. Yeah, some people 159 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 2: have been like, there's your there's your answer right there 160 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:49,280 Speaker 2: that explains it at all. Yeah, basically, So, I mean 161 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 2: the week went by pretty uneventfully. I think one of 162 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 2: his friends later said on TV or in an interview 163 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 2: that it went by really quick. On one of the 164 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 2: I think that's second to last day, they went to 165 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 2: watch a World Cup match. The World Cup in Brazil 166 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 2: was going on at the time, and you may not 167 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,079 Speaker 2: know this about Europe, but they're really crazy about soccer, 168 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 2: so much so that they have their own word for 169 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 2: it football, which is goofy. But that's the way it goes. 170 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 2: And so they went to this bar rock bar or Okbaar, 171 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 2: which sounds like a cool place, and they watched the match, 172 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 2: i think Costa Rica and the Netherlands. And while they 173 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 2: were there, there were a bunch of soccer fans. They're 174 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 2: watching this from all different clubs and countries, and there 175 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,680 Speaker 2: were some kids I guess who were recent high school 176 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 2: graduates and were fans of FC Byron, which is the 177 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 2: rival to Verder Bremen, And I guess they kind of 178 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:54,079 Speaker 2: got into it verbally only with Lars and his friends. 179 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I also saw places that there was actual 180 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: physical confrontation. Oh yeah, you don't know for sure, but 181 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: we do know that it wasn't the biggest deal and 182 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: it wasn't the big fight that happened. Later on, after 183 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: this night out, the guys apparently go to this McDonald's 184 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,959 Speaker 1: which is kind of an open air order at the 185 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: open air window kind of thing, and Lars didn't want 186 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:20,960 Speaker 1: to eat because I guess he was on that health kick, 187 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 1: and he sort of just stood nearby while his two 188 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: buddies were ordering. They got their food, they turned around, 189 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: he wasn't there. They don't see him for the rest 190 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: of the night. But like I said, it's sort of like, 191 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: you know, spring break party central. So if one of 192 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: your friend disappears for the night and you're a bunch 193 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: of dudes, you might just think like, all right, well, 194 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: you know, maybe he ended up meeting somebody, or maybe 195 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: he just went out and partied some more. But it 196 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: didn't send up these huge alarms that he didn't come 197 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: back that night. 198 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, So when he did show up again, I don't 199 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 2: know if it was later that night or the next morning, 200 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 2: he said that he had been beaten up, actually jumped 201 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 2: by three or four Bulgarian guys, and that he had 202 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 2: gone to duck when one of them threw a punch 203 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 2: and had actually taken a punch in his ear, which 204 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 2: is a terrible place to get punched. And he said 205 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 2: that he was quite convinced that it was those kids, 206 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 2: those high school kids who were fans of Byron FC 207 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 2: Byron that they'd gotten into it with at the bar 208 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 2: earlier that night, because apparently they had said, this is 209 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 2: just I only saw this in one place that they 210 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 2: had said that they had shouted that it's easy to 211 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 2: get to pay somebody to beat other people up in Bulgaria. 212 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 2: And so this happened close enough and close enough proximity 213 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 2: to that other altercation that he just assumed that's why 214 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 2: those guys jumped him. I mean, there's apparently there was 215 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 2: no other explanation for it. So that was his story. 216 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 2: He showed up with an injured ear in the story 217 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 2: that he had been jumped by some local Bulgarians. 218 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, and his friends apparently didn't necessarily believe that story 219 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: because he wasn't you know, he didn't have black eyes 220 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: or a bloody nose or anything. He looked fine and 221 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: he was acting fine, so they weren't too sure about 222 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: that story. Again, with the internet, slose, I've seen people 223 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: saying that like he totally made up the story about 224 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:24,439 Speaker 1: the fight. But that is all just people speculating online. 225 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 2: I know, if you ever want to see people just 226 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 2: take a piece of information and then spin it to 227 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 2: the n degree the most extreme possible interpretation of it, 228 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 2: that you could do worse than hang out on the internet. 229 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: So he goes to a doctor, he gets the diagnosis 230 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: of a ruptured ear drum. Apparently went and saw a 231 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: specialist at a hospital who confirmed it, said you should 232 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: get surgery, and Lars is like, great, but I'm not 233 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: getting that here. I'm going to go back come to 234 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: Germany if I'm going to get surgery. 235 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 2: Ye. 236 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: And then this is sort of one of the keys 237 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:04,559 Speaker 1: is he was given biotic name cepheroxyme and he was 238 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: given the strongest possible dosage, which was about I think 239 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:09,719 Speaker 1: it was five hundred milligrams. 240 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,599 Speaker 2: Yes, and that's just a general I think a cephalexin 241 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 2: based antibiotic that doesn't really usually have many side effects, 242 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 2: and if it does have side effects, it's typically something 243 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 2: like an upset stomach. I saw that there's a condition 244 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 2: where it turns huge patches of your skin very dark 245 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,200 Speaker 2: all over the place, almost like your highlights have been shaded. 246 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:39,079 Speaker 2: It's really interesting to look at. But that has nothing 247 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 2: to do with any other anything that Lars exhibited, any 248 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 2: behavior exhibited. It's just antibiotics. I mean, if you've ever 249 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 2: taken antibiotics, you know that there's not really usually many 250 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 2: side effects to it. 251 00:13:54,080 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 1: Right, So Lars catches well, again, different information. I saw 252 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 1: that his friends were going to stay with him. He 253 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: insisted they leave. So his friends eventually do catch that 254 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: original flight out and Lars stays behind, you know, because 255 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: of his ear. He was a little concerned about obviously, 256 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: with changes in the atmosphere and on pressurization on a plane. 257 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: He didn't think it was a good idea. And I'm 258 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: not sure if that original doctor told him that might 259 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: have been a problem, but he knew it was going 260 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: to be a problem. 261 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 2: So a little bit about that original doctor. I saw 262 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 2: that from the redditor who said that he spoke to 263 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 2: the guys to his mother, that his mother said that 264 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 2: that Lars said that the doctor didn't really treat him. 265 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 2: The first one did and said you should go to 266 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 2: a specialist. But then when he went to the specialist, 267 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 2: a specialist said like wouldn't speak to him in English, 268 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 2: and Lars felt he had mocked him, and that apparently 269 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 2: Sondra thought that that was really significant because that was 270 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 2: not a word that Lars typically used. But he still 271 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 2: managed to get the antibiotic from doctor. The thing about 272 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 2: the perforated or ruptured ear drum is I was looking 273 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 2: on the internet, it turns out, and the National Health 274 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 2: Service says that if you have a perforated ear drum, 275 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 2: it would probably actually make flying more comfortable, not more dangerous. 276 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 2: So I can understand Lars being worried about that, not 277 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 2: being a trained medical professional, but if he's encountering at 278 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 2: least three other medical professionals in Bulgaria, you would think 279 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 2: one of them would be like, actually, no, you're actually 280 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 2: better off flying like this, or would at the very 281 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 2: least be like, you don't have to worry about that 282 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 2: at all. That's not a thing interesting yeah, so too. 283 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: All right, well, let's take a break and we will 284 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: come back and talk about what happened after his friends 285 00:15:45,640 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: left Lars alone in Bulgaria right after this, all right, 286 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: so Lars's buddies go back home to Germany. Lars is 287 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: left there by himself, which is pretty key as far 288 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: as understanding that they weren't worried about him. He wasn't 289 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: behaving weird. He seemed fine. He seemed like Lars. Otherwise 290 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: one of them probably would have raised some sort of 291 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: alarm bells and been like, hey, maybe we should stay here, 292 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: but they said he seemed to relaxed, he was in a 293 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: good mood, and so they took off. Being summer, Lars 294 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: had a hard time getting a hotel room because everything 295 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: was booked up and he was staying on extra, so 296 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: he ends up having to check into the Hotel Color 297 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: of Varna, which was a really cdy place that this 298 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: cab driver takes him to, apparently a lot of drug dealers, 299 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: a lot of sex workers, but that was kind of 300 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: the only place available, And we don't know a lot 301 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: about what happened that night other than these phone calls 302 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: and texts that he exchanges with his mom. 303 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 2: So one thing though about the hotel color I looked 304 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 2: at it. Trip Advisor gives it a four out of 305 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 2: five and booking dot Com has it at seven point 306 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 2: eight out of ten. And it is definitely cheap. I 307 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 2: think rooms are like twenty five American dollars a night, 308 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,439 Speaker 2: which is suspiciously cheap. And that yeah, there is like 309 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 2: probably some criminal activity there, but that it's not like 310 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 2: it's not like a trap house hotel or anything like that. 311 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,120 Speaker 2: But it was the fact that it was his only 312 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 2: option I think kind of tells you quite a bit 313 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:50,520 Speaker 2: too about it. Sure, So he goes to this hotel 314 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 2: he checks in. Apparently the person behind the counter made 315 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 2: a copy, a photo copy of his credit card, and 316 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 2: according to his mother, that did not sit very well 317 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:04,120 Speaker 2: with Lar. And at eleven PM, after he's checked into 318 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 2: the hotel, he calls his mom, I think it's the 319 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,360 Speaker 2: first phone first of many phone calls that evening, and 320 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 2: he tells her that he wants her to block his 321 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 2: credit card because he's kind of sketched out by this 322 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 2: hotelier who has made a photo copy of his card. 323 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 2: He's worried that they're going to use it for fraud 324 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:24,640 Speaker 2: and he can just unfreeze it when he gets back. 325 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 2: That's the first phone call he makes. 326 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, there ends up being another call where he has 327 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,840 Speaker 1: left the hotel. He said that he was hiding on 328 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,920 Speaker 1: a hill, and I think even said that he was 329 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: at risk of falling, So it must have been sort 330 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: of some sort of a really steep type of situation, 331 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: I guess. But he said that there were four men 332 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: after him that were trying to kill him, or that 333 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: intended to kill him at least, And he said, don't 334 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: call me back because my phone. I don't want my 335 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: phone to ring. I'm not sure I knew he didn't 336 00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 1: have his smartphone with him. He left that at home yea, 337 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: and brought sort of a cheaper phone, So I don't 338 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: know if it didn't have a way to turn the 339 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 1: ringer off or not, or if he was just not 340 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,640 Speaker 1: thinking clearly, but he said not to call him back. 341 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,440 Speaker 1: He eventually texts his mom what is Sarah? Fom five hundred, 342 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,679 Speaker 1: which was that antibiotic which you might think means like 343 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: he's feeling weird and like, what is this? 344 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 2: I've taken that to me says that if he was 345 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 2: behaving weirdly or experiencing some different behavior that he guessed 346 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 2: that that's what it was. That's the only explanation for that, 347 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,640 Speaker 2: because they found that he had taken three of them, 348 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 2: so he knew that he had that in his system, 349 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,680 Speaker 2: which I guess if he was acting weird, maybe that's 350 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 2: what he thought it was. That's what sticks out to me. 351 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think it was either that night or 352 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: the following morning. When he asks, I think it was 353 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: the following morning. You know, she had booked a flight 354 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,239 Speaker 1: home for him. He doesn't get back in touch with her, 355 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: which really worked. He's her. But the next morning he 356 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: does get back in touch. This is two days after 357 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 1: this bar fight. She's relieved. He says he's going to 358 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,479 Speaker 1: go to the airport and can he get five hundred 359 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,880 Speaker 1: euros wired, you know, money grammed or whatever? 360 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 2: Western you know what? 361 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: Did they have Western Union over there? 362 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 2: Yeah? Supposedly there's a real detail in there and that 363 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 2: it was Western Union. 364 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,160 Speaker 1: Well, what's the what makes Western Union important? 365 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 2: So his mother had never heard of Western Union and 366 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 2: Lars hadn't either, But apparently he talked to another German 367 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 2: tourist at the airport who had told him to use it, 368 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 2: and he was able to describe to his mom how 369 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 2: to use Western Union in a way that she understood 370 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 2: how to use Western Union after he explained it, which 371 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 2: said to his mom that he had his wits about him. 372 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 2: He wasn't out of his mind, he wasn't wasted on 373 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 2: drugs or anything like that. He was very much with 374 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 2: it mentally. 375 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,160 Speaker 1: All right. So he and I saw two different things here. 376 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: Either his mom urged him to go to the airport 377 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: doctor just to make sure he's good to fly, or 378 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,920 Speaker 1: there was some requirement that he do so. But either way, 379 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: he goes to the airport medical center. And this is 380 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: where things get a little confusing, because it's really all 381 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: over the place, whether or not he goes in right 382 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: away or whether he goes in later. But he apparently 383 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,920 Speaker 1: calls his mom tells her, hey, they said I shouldn't 384 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: fly or drive. But he hadn't even gone to see 385 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: the doctor at that point. And then once he does 386 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: see the doctor, the doctor ends up giving a few 387 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: different versions of what happened while he was in there, 388 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: which is either, you know, some people think that looks 389 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: really shady. I think it could have just been like 390 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,879 Speaker 1: at the time, this doctor, you know, you're not making 391 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:49,919 Speaker 1: some really big mental notes about the random patient that 392 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: comes in. 393 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,199 Speaker 2: Like, this guy's going to be an international mystery in 394 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 2: an hour. 395 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, So you know, it could have been innocent that 396 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: his story changed, or it could be shady. 397 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 2: It could be so so from what I saw, that 398 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 2: the doctor changes story three times, and that an airline 399 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 2: employee came in, and then later it was an airport 400 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 2: employee came in, which I think kind of across the internet, 401 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 2: became a construction worker because that the airport had recently 402 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 2: undergone or was undergoing renovations. And then I guess the 403 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 2: third story was that the doctor said that no one 404 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:27,879 Speaker 2: had come in, and that Lars had excused himself to 405 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 2: go to the toilet and did not come back. The 406 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 2: doctor was expecting to come back. He just never came back. 407 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 2: What the doctor didn't know if that was in fact 408 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 2: what happened was that Lars wasn't coming back because he 409 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 2: was sprinting through the airport and running out of the 410 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 2: airport and into the surrounding countryside. 411 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: Yeah. And then the version where someone does come in. 412 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: What that means is is that literally a human being, 413 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: another person walks into the examination room and apparently really 414 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,959 Speaker 1: freaked out. If that version is correct, really freaked out Lars, 415 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: who was already obviously feeling a little bit paranoid sure, 416 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 1: and was like, what is this person doing in here? 417 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: In the one version of the story, the doctor tries 418 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: to explain, Hey, it's just a construction guy, or no, 419 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,440 Speaker 1: this is an airline employee that's going to actually walk 420 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: you to the plane. It's a little frustrating to not 421 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: know the exact truth, but no matter what happens, we 422 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: do know that he sprinted from the airport because that 423 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: part is actually on YouTube and on CCTV, and that's 424 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,679 Speaker 1: why he's the most famous disappeared person on YouTube, because 425 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: it's very compelling to watch this young kid drop all 426 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: and you don't see him drop his stuff, but clearly 427 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: he walks in with a backpack and a duffel bag 428 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,879 Speaker 1: and he sprints with nothing in his hands at like 429 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: full twenty one year old athletic gallop out of there, 430 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:55,880 Speaker 1: as if someone is chasing him. 431 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 2: Yeah so, but there's a couple of weird things about it. 432 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,239 Speaker 2: If you watch the video, and again you can go 433 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 2: anywhere on the internet and see this. I think it's 434 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 2: a good thirty seconds of it cut together, that he 435 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,400 Speaker 2: is running in the airport, and then when he gets 436 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 2: outside he kind of like walks and then jogs a 437 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 2: little bit and runs some more. But then I saw 438 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,199 Speaker 2: somebody on I think I was read it too on 439 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:23,200 Speaker 2: a different post. Their Unresolved Mysteries group is just really good. 440 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,440 Speaker 2: But somebody pointed out that if you watch him, he's 441 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,679 Speaker 2: not really like looking behind him. He's not looking to 442 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:33,120 Speaker 2: see somebody coming after him, And it kind of puts 443 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 2: a different spin on things because you do think, well, 444 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 2: surely he's running for his life, but if you're running 445 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,199 Speaker 2: for your life, it does seem like you would be 446 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 2: a lot more concerned about who was coming after you 447 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 2: and would probably look behind you a little more. He 448 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 2: doesn't quite do that. Actually, it's a very strange run, 449 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 2: but it's also not like the run of a person 450 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,640 Speaker 2: who's out of their mind. That was what stood out 451 00:24:57,680 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 2: to me, is that he doesn't seem to at all 452 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 2: be out of his mind. 453 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, and another couple of details here that was tough 454 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: to verify. Supposedly, in the doctor's office he said, I 455 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: don't want to die here. I have to get out 456 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: of here. Don't know if that's true or not, but 457 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: supposedly that's what he said, and then the mom Sondra 458 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: evidently saw. She went over there to do her own investigating, 459 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 1: obviously right after it happened, and supposedly saw footage directly 460 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: from the airport that had a lot of different stuff 461 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,679 Speaker 1: that was not included in the footage that went to 462 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: the police, And she said in the footage that she 463 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: saw was that when he leaves the airport, he stands 464 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,159 Speaker 1: there like checks his pocket as if he's checking to 465 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: make sure he has his passport and his wallet and stuff, 466 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:51,960 Speaker 1: and kind of looks around and orients himself for a minute, 467 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: like should I go this way? Should I go that way? 468 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: If you look at other places on the internet and 469 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 1: you just look at that footage, it looks like he 470 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 1: just bolts from the airport and then continues to either 471 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: kind of walk or jog and never stops, never checks 472 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: his pockets, never orients himself at all. 473 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, So he actually walks within twenty feet of a 474 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 2: couple of cops who are standing talking to on another 475 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 2: in the parking lot. He walks past them, he goes 476 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 2: behind a sampile, and then eventually goes over I think 477 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 2: is it actually on camera him going over the fence 478 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,199 Speaker 2: or is it just presumed that he went over the fence. 479 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: No, it's on camera, but it's one of those things 480 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 1: where it's like they had to circle and highlight him 481 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: because he's so far in the distance. But he goes 482 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: over a barbed wire fence into a full bloom sunflower field, yeah, 483 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 1: which are very very tall and literally disappears, never to 484 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: be seen again now. 485 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 2: And on the other side of that sunflower field, very 486 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 2: importantly is the A two highway, so who knows what happened. 487 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 2: And then beyond that there's a lot of woods. I 488 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 2: wouldn't call it like the most densely forested place on earth, 489 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,359 Speaker 2: but there's a pretty decent sized woods around there. There's 490 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 2: also a lot of farm fields too that's exposed and 491 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,639 Speaker 2: out in the open. But there's a highway on the 492 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 2: other side of it, and that's, to me, is extremely important. 493 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: All right, should we take another break? Yes, all right, 494 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:13,880 Speaker 1: we're going to take another break and bring it home 495 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: with what happened from there and then some of the 496 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: theories about what happened to Lars Matonk. 497 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 2: So Chuck. Just to recap Lars Motonk has fled is 498 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:55,080 Speaker 2: a really good way to put it. The airport, leaving 499 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 2: behind in the doctor's office all of his stuff, including 500 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 2: his wallet, phone in passport. 501 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: Now is that verified. 502 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 2: I saw that basically everywhere, including. 503 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: Except for his speculating that she saw him checking as. 504 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't. I thought that was very confusing. But 505 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 2: I saw it in the sun which I realized is 506 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 2: not the most credible source, but sadly it is one 507 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 2: of the most credible sources when it comes to researching 508 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 2: this case. I saw it on a Yale article. It's 509 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 2: it's basically everywhere that his wallet, passport, and phone were 510 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 2: left behind. But I mean, that's a really good point, 511 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 2: like we're totally we're lost in the sunflower field. As 512 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 2: far as that stuff concerns, we we don't know. We 513 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 2: got to get our hands on the police report, and 514 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:48,120 Speaker 2: even that I read when when Lars's mom hired a 515 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 2: Bulgarian lawyer as an investigator, they got weird conflicting information 516 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 2: about you know, what was found with him or not, 517 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 2: or what was what was left behind him or not, 518 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 2: So even his mom probably couldn't say for certain what 519 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 2: was there. 520 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, I get the picture that it was a frustrating 521 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: experience working with the Bulgarian police it seems like Germany 522 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: got involved with Inner Pole, but they had some frustrations 523 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 1: as well. There's there's some speculation that they intentionally kind 524 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: of kept the story on the download because they didn't 525 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: want it to affect tourism. 526 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:26,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I could see that. 527 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,720 Speaker 1: Other people say that. Well maybe not that, but it 528 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 1: just wasn't widely known it was some German kid. It 529 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 1: wasn't all over the newspapers, and so people, you know, 530 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: they didn't necessarily even know what was going on if 531 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,400 Speaker 1: they saw this flyer, or they maybe not. Maybe they 532 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: didn't even run it on the evening news. 533 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, and so like if it was three weeks, four 534 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 2: weeks after the disappearance, that like news started to really spread, 535 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 2: or maybe news never really spread. If you were a 536 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 2: driver and you gave a kid a ride on the 537 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:03,440 Speaker 2: eighth two highway outside of the airport, you might not 538 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 2: have ever put two and two together. Or if you 539 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 2: saw some kid running through a field into the woods, 540 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 2: you might not have ever heard of Lars Metonk either. 541 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 2: So it's possible there's people out there with information who 542 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 2: just don't know to cough it up, although that's probably 543 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 2: exceedingly unlikely these days because of the exposure that this 544 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:27,719 Speaker 2: story's gotten. 545 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, one interesting tidbit is that they did find that 546 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: those five hundred euros were untouched in his account, and 547 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: I don't think we mentioned. I think some people speculate 548 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: the fact that it was five hundred euros on the 549 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:45,960 Speaker 1: nose and that it was Western Union and he had 550 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: never used it meant that he was being told by 551 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:54,040 Speaker 1: somebody to get five hundred euros wired via this way. 552 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: But again that's just internet speculation. 553 00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:58,959 Speaker 2: Well, I also saw that it was his mom's decision. 554 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 2: He just asked her to wire him some money, some 555 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 2: money she had decided that that was according to that 556 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 2: documentarian who knows, we really need to get Sondra matonk 557 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:09,320 Speaker 2: On here, dude. 558 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 1: One of the cool things that happened through this through 559 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 1: his mother investigating this is various leads came in over 560 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,320 Speaker 1: the years, like hey, there's this guy that speaks German, 561 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: he could be Lars. She would go check it out. 562 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,440 Speaker 1: There's this other guy. Over the years, she has ended 563 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:33,760 Speaker 1: up finding fifteen German expatriates in Bulgaria. Some were atticts, 564 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: some were mentally ill, some were actually reunited with her family, 565 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 1: some didn't want to be reunited. But she found all 566 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 1: these people, so like every time that happened, it gave 567 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:46,719 Speaker 1: her hope that even though the chances, you know, with 568 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,800 Speaker 1: a case like this is if you don't find this 569 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,280 Speaker 1: person within the first a few days or the first week, 570 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,959 Speaker 1: it's like very slim to no chance, all of these 571 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 1: things gave her hope that she could if she just 572 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,560 Speaker 1: kept at it, that she might eventually find her son. 573 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was really surprised to see that there was 574 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:06,280 Speaker 2: a statin here that said that something like only three 575 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,440 Speaker 2: percent of missing persons cases aren't resolved within the first 576 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 2: year in Germany, not even in Germany, but among German citizens. 577 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. 578 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought it would be a lot higher than that, 579 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 2: but that's actually not bad as far as I can tell. So, yeah, 580 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 2: one of those people, by the way, who was found 581 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:30,280 Speaker 2: that was thought to be there's like a whole thing 582 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 2: where people are following this case, and anytime something ends 583 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 2: up on the internet, it ends up being passed along 584 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:42,640 Speaker 2: to Sondra Matonk, who will basically post on her Instagram like, hey, 585 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 2: this was sent from this town. Can somebody go see 586 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 2: if they can find this homeless guy and get me 587 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 2: more pictures of them? So we can figure out if 588 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 2: it's Lars. Like she does this kind of frequently. There 589 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 2: was one where a guy turned up in Brazil who 590 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 2: looks a lot like Lars, but disheveled with the beard 591 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 2: and his haircut kind of crazy. Yeah, And that turned 592 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 2: out to be a different man who was missing from 593 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 2: British Columbia named Anton Pilpa, who was reunited with his 594 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,240 Speaker 2: family after five years. And they think that heke hitch 595 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,560 Speaker 2: hiked and walked from British Columbia down to Brazil and 596 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 2: then kind of lived around Rio. I think Rio on 597 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:25,600 Speaker 2: his own for a while during a mental break man. 598 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 1: So some of the theories over the years that have 599 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:32,719 Speaker 1: been formed, the one that seems the most obvious to 600 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 1: me is that along with the ear injury, there was 601 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: some sort of a head injury, maybe a concussion left 602 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 1: untreated that led to erratic behavior and paranoia maybe, and 603 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:49,240 Speaker 1: that you know, once he had left and had no 604 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: money and no phone and no passport, he sort of 605 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:56,920 Speaker 1: was just sort of perhaps lost his memory and lost 606 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,440 Speaker 1: in Bulgaria and still lost in Bulgaria. 607 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's entirely possible, especially if it was a head 608 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 2: injury that was getting worse and worse by the hour. 609 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 2: That could definitely explain the erratic behavior of leaving his 610 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:16,760 Speaker 2: stuff and running through the airport and jumping the fence 611 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 2: into a sun flower field, because if you think about it, 612 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:24,319 Speaker 2: everything up to that point you can explain by him 613 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 2: being intimidated in a hotel he didn't feel comfortable in 614 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 2: by some guys who aim to rob him, And even 615 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,560 Speaker 2: if those guys didn't aim to rob him, just him 616 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 2: thinking that they were going to rob him explains everything 617 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,359 Speaker 2: else up to that point. The thing that makes it 618 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:45,520 Speaker 2: inexplicable as far as I'm concerned, is him leaving the 619 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 2: airport the way they did and potentially leaving everything behind. 620 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 2: That throws everything out the window and actually makes the 621 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:55,760 Speaker 2: idea of a traumatic brain injury a lot more possible 622 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 2: in my mind. The problem is that if that's what 623 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 2: happened to him, it's really possible that he's up there, 624 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,960 Speaker 2: you know, out in the woods somewhere still and just 625 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:09,279 Speaker 2: hasn't been found and is dead probably by now. 626 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:11,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, Or I suppose he could have just you know, 627 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,640 Speaker 1: wandered into a town and assimilated. 628 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,160 Speaker 2: Well. His mom apparently does believe that he's still out there, 629 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 2: which is why She tries to shake down every lead 630 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:22,760 Speaker 2: she can, but thinks that he does have memory loss 631 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,239 Speaker 2: and that that's why he's still out there just and 632 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:26,799 Speaker 2: has never contacted her. 633 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 1: Another theory is that, you know, maybe everything he said 634 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: is true, Maybe there were men following him. Maybe it 635 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,280 Speaker 1: had something to do with that fight, and these guys 636 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:38,919 Speaker 1: that may or may not have been hired to beat 637 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 1: him up. Apparently the human trafficking in Bulgaria is a problem, 638 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:49,319 Speaker 1: and maybe you know, a young, handsome, fit man like 639 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: Lars could have been a target for human trafficking and 640 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,920 Speaker 1: that he really like had every right to be anxious 641 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: and nervous, because otherwise he seemed like he was okay. 642 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 1: It's all very confusing and frustrating. I can't imagine what 643 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,359 Speaker 1: Soandra Matonk has been going through for these years. 644 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:11,440 Speaker 2: So dude, just can't even I mean, when you had 645 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:14,200 Speaker 2: when you don't have closure like that, your imagination's left 646 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,640 Speaker 2: to just fill in whatever blanks. And you know, in 647 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:20,080 Speaker 2: a situation like that, people's imaginations tend to go to 648 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 2: the darkest places. I can't imagine the stuff that she's 649 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:25,439 Speaker 2: come up with or that people have suggested to her too, 650 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 2: you know, being caught up in it and forgetting like 651 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:29,480 Speaker 2: this is the mom, Like this is real to her, 652 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 2: this is her life. This isn't just something on the internet. 653 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:34,240 Speaker 1: So what about the trucker. 654 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 2: Oh so that's one of the leads that there was 655 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 2: a trucker in uh, what where was it? Brandenburg? The trucker. 656 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:46,640 Speaker 2: So there was a trucker that in twenty nineteen picked 657 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:48,520 Speaker 2: up a hitchhiker in Dresden and drove them all the 658 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 2: way to Brandenburg, I guess. And he said later on 659 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:56,799 Speaker 2: he didn't know about the Lars Matonk case at the time, 660 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:58,719 Speaker 2: but he said later on he found out about it 661 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,239 Speaker 2: and said, oh man, that's got to be the kid 662 00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:05,520 Speaker 2: that I picked up. And so his mom shook down 663 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:08,680 Speaker 2: the story, and I don't think that she ever got 664 00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:10,799 Speaker 2: in touch with the truck driver else. The truck driver 665 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 2: was just like, here's what I think, but I can't 666 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:15,839 Speaker 2: say either way, and I don't know where he went. 667 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:18,920 Speaker 2: So there's like a be on the lookout among you know, 668 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 2: Lars Matonk watchers in Brandenburg from that story. 669 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, there was another stuff like that that kept her 670 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:26,840 Speaker 1: going totally. 671 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:29,160 Speaker 2: I thought there was another one about a man in 672 00:37:29,239 --> 00:37:32,880 Speaker 2: Dusseldorf that the whole thing lasted for about two hours, 673 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,840 Speaker 2: that's how fast things get done. She posted pictures that 674 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:37,960 Speaker 2: somebody had sent her of a man, a homeless man 675 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:42,240 Speaker 2: in Dusseldorf, and asked for more pictures than they Within 676 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,440 Speaker 2: two hours, the COPT and Dusseldorf would picked the guy 677 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 2: up and verified that it was not Lars. 678 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think the head injury and loss 679 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,400 Speaker 1: of memory, like, he would want to get back to Germany. 680 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:55,759 Speaker 1: By all accounts, he had a good life, enjoyed his job, 681 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:01,359 Speaker 1: was a pretty happy guy and loved Germany. So like 682 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,840 Speaker 1: the idea of him choosing to stay there of his 683 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 1: own like sound mind, just doesn't seem likely at all. 684 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 2: No, and unfortunately that really strongly suggests foul play as 685 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,719 Speaker 2: a possibility. To the fact that he has not turned up, 686 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,200 Speaker 2: he has every reason to, like you say, turn back 687 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,919 Speaker 2: up again, get back to his life. Yes, I saw 688 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:26,839 Speaker 2: that this on the State Department's website for Bulgarian human trafficking. Like, 689 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,800 Speaker 2: Bulgaria does have a human trafficking problem, but it seems 690 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:36,719 Speaker 2: to be typically targeting Bulgarians, especially Romani people who end 691 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:38,919 Speaker 2: up getting forced to beg on the streets are forced 692 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:42,600 Speaker 2: into hard labor if you're a man, that it doesn't 693 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:46,600 Speaker 2: necessarily target tourists, and I think the Bulgarian officials would 694 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,200 Speaker 2: probably not put up with that because it would harm 695 00:38:49,239 --> 00:38:53,200 Speaker 2: tourism so dramatically. So it's fairly unlikely that like a 696 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,600 Speaker 2: blonde German guy named you know, Lars would be would 697 00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:59,200 Speaker 2: end up begging on the streets of France at the 698 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:02,239 Speaker 2: behest of the bulgar and mafia. And I also saw 699 00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:05,719 Speaker 2: another theory that he was a drug mule and he 700 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:07,799 Speaker 2: flipped out and was scared he was gonna get caught 701 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:12,239 Speaker 2: and ran out of the airport. What really kind of 702 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,040 Speaker 2: undermines that theory is that no drugs were found in 703 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:18,279 Speaker 2: his stuff, So it's possible he took drugs. A lot 704 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:20,320 Speaker 2: of people are like, well, clearly he was on drugs, 705 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:24,080 Speaker 2: Like why else would you do that. That's a possibility 706 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:26,719 Speaker 2: as well. But again, if you really look at some 707 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:31,680 Speaker 2: of his behavior, it, yes, the fact that he ran 708 00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:33,640 Speaker 2: out of the airport and jumped over a fence, that's 709 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 2: erratic behavior, but if you look at the way he 710 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:40,640 Speaker 2: was behaving during that erratic behavior, he's not acting erratic, 711 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:44,600 Speaker 2: if that makes any sense. It's just it's one of 712 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:47,480 Speaker 2: the most bizarre mysteries I've ever heard. So kudos to 713 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:51,800 Speaker 2: you and Dave Meischner for coming up with this one. 714 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,279 Speaker 1: Yeah. I knew nothing about it until Dave saent it. 715 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,799 Speaker 2: So way to go, Dave. Yeah, we need to spend 716 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,480 Speaker 2: more time on YouTube. I guess we totally missed this one. 717 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,439 Speaker 2: You can go back to VidCon right you got anything else? 718 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:03,400 Speaker 1: Nope? 719 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:05,319 Speaker 2: All right, Well, if you want to know more about 720 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:07,840 Speaker 2: Lars matonk go out and solve the mystery, will you 721 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,680 Speaker 2: at least for his dear mother's sake? And since we 722 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,160 Speaker 2: said his dear mother's sake, it's time for listener mail. 723 00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 1: I'm going to call this this is another kid writing in. 724 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:23,040 Speaker 1: This is actually from dad. My son Hans colored a 725 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:27,440 Speaker 1: picture of you podcasting today. None prompted nice. Which did 726 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:28,160 Speaker 1: you see this picture? 727 00:40:28,239 --> 00:40:29,239 Speaker 2: No? I got to bring it up. 728 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:31,960 Speaker 1: It was very cute, which I thought was awesome. I 729 00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:33,480 Speaker 1: said we should send it to Josh and Chuck, and 730 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,520 Speaker 1: his eyes lit up. He wrote out what he wanted 731 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:37,680 Speaker 1: to type in an email to you, and I thought 732 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:40,239 Speaker 1: it was better to just send you his note. I've 733 00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:41,799 Speaker 1: been listening to the show for the last ten years 734 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:44,319 Speaker 1: or so, and introduce my son a few months ago. 735 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:47,520 Speaker 1: We read books before bed, including yours, and then listen 736 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,520 Speaker 1: to the podcast as he falls asleep. I'm thankful that 737 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:52,400 Speaker 1: I'm able to share this with Hans. He's a smart 738 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:55,879 Speaker 1: kid with incredible memory, so we'll often bring up facts 739 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,080 Speaker 1: he's learned from you guys, which I had already forgotten. 740 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,400 Speaker 1: Nice and the picture what is adorable? 741 00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:03,960 Speaker 2: What's the name of the guy who sent it? 742 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:10,880 Speaker 1: I'm looking for Sam Okay And it's a picture with 743 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:14,080 Speaker 1: magic marker and you are sitting upright at a table. 744 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:16,839 Speaker 1: And he actually nailed it because you're on the left. 745 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:19,480 Speaker 1: Uh huh, you know back in the before times when 746 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:22,080 Speaker 1: we were actually in our studio. Yeah, he has it right. 747 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:24,279 Speaker 1: You're on the left. I'm on the right. I am 748 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:26,279 Speaker 1: it looks like I'm passing out though I'm kind of 749 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:31,160 Speaker 1: slumped over. But he's got two little microphones and then 750 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:34,120 Speaker 1: two little pieces of paper with a handwritten thing that 751 00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:37,680 Speaker 1: says notes, pointing at the paper and says, I listen 752 00:41:37,719 --> 00:41:40,319 Speaker 1: to your show almost every night. And then there's a 753 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:44,600 Speaker 1: handwritten letter which is great, which I'll read as best 754 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:47,520 Speaker 1: I can. I love your show, Chuck and Josh. Today, 755 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:51,080 Speaker 1: I listened to your SYSK about Earwax. I told my 756 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:55,800 Speaker 1: mom and had some of your tips. Hey, have you 757 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,680 Speaker 1: guys made a football episode like touchdown? But if not, 758 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,040 Speaker 1: can you make one? I listen to almost all the 759 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:05,600 Speaker 1: episodes except ones that my parents don't let me watch. 760 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 1: I also have your book. I have read some of 761 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:10,920 Speaker 1: the chapters in it and they are great. I like 762 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:13,800 Speaker 1: that you guys have different types of episodes, like short 763 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:18,160 Speaker 1: stuff and just regular episodes. I'm your biggest fan. I'm 764 00:42:18,239 --> 00:42:22,799 Speaker 1: the second grade. Yours, sincerely, and that is Hans's last 765 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:24,719 Speaker 1: name redacted because he's a kid. 766 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:27,520 Speaker 2: Hans. That was amazing. I'm going to find the picture. 767 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:29,000 Speaker 2: I haven't been able to find it yet, but that 768 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:32,080 Speaker 2: was a beautiful letter. And you have a super cool name. 769 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:32,600 Speaker 2: By the way. 770 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:36,520 Speaker 1: Yes, I love it, and thank you Dad, Sam and 771 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:39,359 Speaker 1: whoever else is in the family helping to support the show. 772 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:40,319 Speaker 1: We really appreciate it. 773 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:42,440 Speaker 2: Yep. Well, if you want to get in touch with us, 774 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:45,759 Speaker 2: like Hans, maybe try drawing a picture. What are you 775 00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:49,799 Speaker 2: waiting for? We love pictures. You can send them off 776 00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:56,839 Speaker 2: to us here at Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 777 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:00,640 Speaker 1: Stuff you should know is a production of iHeartRadio, more podcasts, 778 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:04,320 Speaker 1: My heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or 779 00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,120 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.