Tanja Muhlinghaus disappeared October 21, 1998 from Wuppertal, Germany.
Media - https://www.crimewatchers.net/media...tal-germany-since-21-october-1998-age-15.277/
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Germany TANJA MUHLINGHAUS: Missing from Wuppertal, Germany - 21 October 1998 - Age 15
- Thread starter Akoya
- Start date
Tanja Muhlinghaus disappeared October 21, 1998 from Wuppertal, Germany.
Media - https://www.crimewatchers.net/media...tal-germany-since-21-october-1998-age-15.277/
Akoya
Well-known member
The Doe Network:
Case File 1237DFDEU
12apap2
2 Right: : Age Progressed
Tanja Muhlinghaus
Missing since October 21, 1998 from Wuppertal, Germany
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: March 11, 1983
Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 175 cm (5'9")
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Dark blonde hair, with light blonde streaks; green-blue eyes.
Marks, Scars: She has a pierced navel, her right ear is pierced once, her left ear is pierced twice.
Clothing: A black jacket (leather imitation), tight trousers and brown shoes.
Circumstances of Disappearance
Tanja left home as regular in the morning to go to secondary school in Oberbarmen, but she never arrived there. Neither did she return home, so her parents reported her missing the same evening.
The next day, her parents received a letter in which Tanja said she would return within 3 weeks and her parents should care for her pets in the meantime. A further letter arrived on 26 October, there Tanja wrote, she was fine and that it would make no sense looking for her.
Both letters were posted in Dusseldorf. Police had the handwriting analyzed and it was determined to be Tanja's. After that she was never heard from again.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Kriminalpolizei Wuppertal
Kriminalkommissariat 12
+49 (0) 202-284-0
Source Information:
Verschwundene Kinder
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Akoya
Well-known member
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMyst ... der_weird/
Around 18 years ago Tanja Mühlinghaus went missing from her hometown Wuppertal never to be seen again. It’s one of the most dramatic missing person cases in Germany because of the coverage it got there and very interesting to me because it kind of mirrors Frauke Liebs murder 8 years later, a case I researched for a long time.
Wuppertal in 1998, a city named after the river running through it (Wupper = name of the River, Tal= valley) is the 17th largest city in Germany situated in North-Rhein-Westphalia (NRW, population wise the largest state in Germany). It’s mostly industrial with some nice places on the outskirts dubbed the “Megacity in the Green” (“Großstad im Grünen”). Tanja Mühlinghaus was 15 years old when she went missing. She was successful in school, attending a Gymnasium (highest tier of the three tier school system one can attend in Germany) in Wuppertal Oberbarmen with above par grades. She dreamed of becoming a Dancer in a Musical. A lot of people describe her as very pretty. On the 21st of October 1998, she went missing.
Picture:
Tanja was expected to attend a Latin exam this day. The first class was canceled and Tanja called her mother around 8:30 AM if she could pick her up after school. That was the last time anyone heard her in person. She never arrived at the School, nor did she come back home and around 9:15PM her parents called the police. At first police thought it was the case of a random teenager rebelling against her parents just to give them a shock. While this was true to some degree, Tanja was angry at her parents for not letting her stay at a club until the early morning, the whole ordeal didn’t seem very problematic, it felt weird that she ran away because she behaved very well otherwise. At one time she even stated that she’d like to live in an apartment away from her parents together with other young people (Betreutes Wohnen = having your own apartment but also having social workers keep an eye on you somewhat like super lenient foster care).
It seemed like just a young girl rebelling against her helicopter parent’s rules, just wanting to have the chance of being her own person. What made the whole thing weird was a letter the parents received two days later October the 23rd, which said:
“Dear Mom, dear Dad! Don’t worry too much! I’m healthy and will be back home in two or three months. That’s why there is no need to look for me. Please take care of the Rabbits and the Babysitting. Also please hold on to the things I ordered. Just make something up to tell School [Authorities]. I need some distance and will get in touch with you next week. Yours, Tanja”
Original letter:
Meanwhile her parents and the police try to piece together what has happened and where she might ran away to. While at first it seemed as if this was a random grumpy teenager, the letter was a bit off. The second letter solidified the concerns. On October the 27th 1998 another letter arrived, dated 24th of October:
Original letter:
“Dear Mom, dear Dad! You still don’t have to worry! I’m great and I’ll be on my way home next weekend already. That’s why you don’t have to look for me. I hope you have, or will have, taken care of the things I mentioned were important to me in the last latter. Yours, Tanja”
The police could establish that two different DNA sources could be found on the letters, while the handwriting matched the samples they obtained from Tanja’s house. One DNA trace was from Tanja and another from a different party. Spokesperson of the Wuppertal police said that the writing was defiantly from Tanja (which her parents confirmed), but the phrasing didn’t match her personality, which is why they suspect somebody else might forced here to write part of the letters. DNA traces also show that the letter was sealed by Tanja. Since the letters were sent via postal service to the parents home, the origin could be traced to the Düsseldorf postal area. Düsseldorf is the capital of the State North Rhein-Westphalia and the seventh most populous city in Germany. It is also only 36 Kilometers by car from Wuppertal, which is further to the east. While her dad was super angry at the police for being too slow and not doing enough her mom turned to the public. Their relationship crumbled and the got divorced some time ago. While the father hasn’t been very outspoken, the mother has and used the internet to vent her feelings. She made a blog/homepage to cope with her suffering on which she has written a letter to her daughter:
“I always ask myself why or how it happened. You’re the only one that can give me the answer. My greatest wish: For you to tell me what you have been through, why did you go away, if you blame me for anything and if you can forgive me. (…) I’m not married to Dad any more (…). If you want to find the way to get back to me, I’ll keep all the doors open. There is one thing I have to say to you: You don’t have to be ashamed of anything and neither do you have to be afraid. If someone has to be ashamed it’s me, because I didn’t realize how you felt”
Sources (all German):
Aktenzeichen XY -
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ccZOJivXrY]
[URL='http://www.rp-online.de/digitales/die-verschwundenen-kinder-von-nrw-aid-1.1230349']http://www.rp-online.de/digitales/die-v ... -1.1230349 https://www.solinger-tageblatt.de/solin ... 67098.html http://www.wuppertaler-rundschau.de/lok ... -1.6386102
Personal Notes:
A thing that I often have seen pop up is the question why her Mom would be so concerned about the fact that her dad is not with her any more. Maybe something happened between Tanja and her dad?
While I’m pretty sure that it is just a coincidence it does strike me that Frauke Liebs and Tanja Mühlinghaus had contact with their loved ones after disappearing, non of them had inclinations to really disappear and both were abducted in NRW (about 1 ½ hours from Wuppertal to Paderborn). In the German sleuth community a lot of people think Tanja’s case was like the proto version of what happened to Frauke 8 years later. Some person forcing out messages to calm relatives just to prepare their final deed.
Tanja’s mother thinks she’s still alive and just ran away to start a new life. What do you think?
Around 18 years ago Tanja Mühlinghaus went missing from her hometown Wuppertal never to be seen again. It’s one of the most dramatic missing person cases in Germany because of the coverage it got there and very interesting to me because it kind of mirrors Frauke Liebs murder 8 years later, a case I researched for a long time.
Wuppertal in 1998, a city named after the river running through it (Wupper = name of the River, Tal= valley) is the 17th largest city in Germany situated in North-Rhein-Westphalia (NRW, population wise the largest state in Germany). It’s mostly industrial with some nice places on the outskirts dubbed the “Megacity in the Green” (“Großstad im Grünen”). Tanja Mühlinghaus was 15 years old when she went missing. She was successful in school, attending a Gymnasium (highest tier of the three tier school system one can attend in Germany) in Wuppertal Oberbarmen with above par grades. She dreamed of becoming a Dancer in a Musical. A lot of people describe her as very pretty. On the 21st of October 1998, she went missing.
Picture:
Tanja was expected to attend a Latin exam this day. The first class was canceled and Tanja called her mother around 8:30 AM if she could pick her up after school. That was the last time anyone heard her in person. She never arrived at the School, nor did she come back home and around 9:15PM her parents called the police. At first police thought it was the case of a random teenager rebelling against her parents just to give them a shock. While this was true to some degree, Tanja was angry at her parents for not letting her stay at a club until the early morning, the whole ordeal didn’t seem very problematic, it felt weird that she ran away because she behaved very well otherwise. At one time she even stated that she’d like to live in an apartment away from her parents together with other young people (Betreutes Wohnen = having your own apartment but also having social workers keep an eye on you somewhat like super lenient foster care).
It seemed like just a young girl rebelling against her helicopter parent’s rules, just wanting to have the chance of being her own person. What made the whole thing weird was a letter the parents received two days later October the 23rd, which said:
“Dear Mom, dear Dad! Don’t worry too much! I’m healthy and will be back home in two or three months. That’s why there is no need to look for me. Please take care of the Rabbits and the Babysitting. Also please hold on to the things I ordered. Just make something up to tell School [Authorities]. I need some distance and will get in touch with you next week. Yours, Tanja”
Original letter:
Meanwhile her parents and the police try to piece together what has happened and where she might ran away to. While at first it seemed as if this was a random grumpy teenager, the letter was a bit off. The second letter solidified the concerns. On October the 27th 1998 another letter arrived, dated 24th of October:
Original letter:
“Dear Mom, dear Dad! You still don’t have to worry! I’m great and I’ll be on my way home next weekend already. That’s why you don’t have to look for me. I hope you have, or will have, taken care of the things I mentioned were important to me in the last latter. Yours, Tanja”
The police could establish that two different DNA sources could be found on the letters, while the handwriting matched the samples they obtained from Tanja’s house. One DNA trace was from Tanja and another from a different party. Spokesperson of the Wuppertal police said that the writing was defiantly from Tanja (which her parents confirmed), but the phrasing didn’t match her personality, which is why they suspect somebody else might forced here to write part of the letters. DNA traces also show that the letter was sealed by Tanja. Since the letters were sent via postal service to the parents home, the origin could be traced to the Düsseldorf postal area. Düsseldorf is the capital of the State North Rhein-Westphalia and the seventh most populous city in Germany. It is also only 36 Kilometers by car from Wuppertal, which is further to the east. While her dad was super angry at the police for being too slow and not doing enough her mom turned to the public. Their relationship crumbled and the got divorced some time ago. While the father hasn’t been very outspoken, the mother has and used the internet to vent her feelings. She made a blog/homepage to cope with her suffering on which she has written a letter to her daughter:
“I always ask myself why or how it happened. You’re the only one that can give me the answer. My greatest wish: For you to tell me what you have been through, why did you go away, if you blame me for anything and if you can forgive me. (…) I’m not married to Dad any more (…). If you want to find the way to get back to me, I’ll keep all the doors open. There is one thing I have to say to you: You don’t have to be ashamed of anything and neither do you have to be afraid. If someone has to be ashamed it’s me, because I didn’t realize how you felt”
Sources (all German):
Aktenzeichen XY -
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ccZOJivXrY]
[URL='http://www.rp-online.de/digitales/die-verschwundenen-kinder-von-nrw-aid-1.1230349']http://www.rp-online.de/digitales/die-v ... -1.1230349 https://www.solinger-tageblatt.de/solin ... 67098.html http://www.wuppertaler-rundschau.de/lok ... -1.6386102
Personal Notes:
A thing that I often have seen pop up is the question why her Mom would be so concerned about the fact that her dad is not with her any more. Maybe something happened between Tanja and her dad?
While I’m pretty sure that it is just a coincidence it does strike me that Frauke Liebs and Tanja Mühlinghaus had contact with their loved ones after disappearing, non of them had inclinations to really disappear and both were abducted in NRW (about 1 ½ hours from Wuppertal to Paderborn). In the German sleuth community a lot of people think Tanja’s case was like the proto version of what happened to Frauke 8 years later. Some person forcing out messages to calm relatives just to prepare their final deed.
Tanja’s mother thinks she’s still alive and just ran away to start a new life. What do you think?
Akoya
Well-known member
Well she worked as a babysitter and had pet rabbits, so she's probably just mentioning things that are important to her. Since this was 1998 and amazon wasn't a thing back then, she probably ordered some clothing or so via catalogue mail order. Since she specifically mentions to her parents that they please not send the stuff back I guess it might really be clothing as some people order a bunch of stuff, try it on and send back the things they don't want.
Of course this could also just mean that she really does think that she'll be back after some time. Those things are way to specific to have a stranger to force her to write that down. It also makes me wonder if she knew or trusted the person she was with in some way or the other, as parts of the letter are pretty casual.
Of course this could also just mean that she really does think that she'll be back after some time. Those things are way to specific to have a stranger to force her to write that down. It also makes me wonder if she knew or trusted the person she was with in some way or the other, as parts of the letter are pretty casual.
Akoya
Well-known member
The Doe Network:
Case File 1237DFDEU
2 Right: : Age Progressed
Tanja Muhlinghaus
Missing since October 21, 1998 from Wuppertal, Germany
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
- Date Of Birth: March 11, 1983
- Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
- Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 175 cm (5'9")
- Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Dark blonde hair, with light blonde streaks; green-blue eyes.
- Marks, Scars: She has a pierced navel, her right ear is pierced once, her left ear is pierced twice.
- Clothing: A black jacket (leather imitation), tight trousers and brown shoes.
Circumstances of Disappearance
Tanja left home as regular in the morning to go to secondary school in Oberbarmen, but she never arrived there. Neither did she return home, so her parents reported her missing the same evening.
The next day, her parents received a letter in which Tanja said she would return within 3 weeks and her parents should care for her pets in the meantime. A further letter arrived on 26 October, there Tanja wrote, she was fine and that it would make no sense looking for her.
Both letters were posted in Dusseldorf. Police had the handwriting analyzed and it was determined to be Tanja's. After that she was never heard from again.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Kriminalpolizei Wuppertal
Kriminalkommissariat 12
+49 (0) 202-284-0
Source Information:
Verschwundene Kinder
Scorpio
Well-known member
WUPPERTAL: Vermisst Tanja Mühlinghaus (1998)
germanmissing.blogspot.com
Tanja Mühlinghaus has disappeared from Wuppertal on October 21, 1998 - almost without a trace. That morning, Tanja left her parents' house in the street in Im Hölken with her school supplies to take the bus to the high school in Oberbarmen.
But she did not go to school that day and when she did not come back home, her parents filed a missing person report at 9:15 p.m. Just one day later, on October 22nd, 1998, the parents received a letter from Tanja announcing that they would come home in two to three weeks and asked that their pets be looked after. Another letter arrived on October 26, 1998. Tanja said that she was fine and there was no point in looking for her.
What initially looked like a teenager's harmless attempt to pull away grew into what is probably the most spectacular missing person case in Germany. There were hundreds of witnesses, countless reports in newspapers and on television. The investigators had spoken to everyone around you when Tanja disappeared without a trace, but the police did not help either.
She would be back after a few weeks, those were the exact words from Tanja's letter. The weeks turned almost 21 years to the day.
The police had the manuscripts of both letters, which were stamped at the Düsseldorf letter center, examined by the State Criminal Police Office. Accordingly, it can be assumed that they were written and sealed by Tanja. But the mother says that the style of writing does not suit her daughter.
Was the 15-year-old then forced to write the letters? Is there such a thing as the great stranger who dragged the pretty girl into the red light milieu? Corresponding information, especially from the Cologne area, was always there. So far nothing has happened. There was never a sign of life from Tanja Mühlinghaus. The uncertainty remains, but so does hope.
There is only one certainty in this case: According to the LKA, the letters were “with almost certain probability” written by Tanja and also sealed. A finding that hardly helps.
The fate of Tanja
The consequences for the parents are serious. The marriage broke up over the daughter's disappearance. For a good three years, the parents left their daughter's room as the 15-year-old had left ten years ago today - with plush toys on the bed and posters on the wall.
Now everyone has a part of Tanja at home. The father, among other things, the wardrobe and the bed, the mother hung Tanja's case on her living room wall. Elisabeth Mühlinghaus has learned to to live the disappearance. She says: "I accept and respect her leaving. I stopped waiting, but I still have a strong feeling that she is alive. ”
The investigation is ongoing. The Kripo will take any relevant information under the number 2840.
