Germany Germany - Tanja Muhlinghaus, 15, Wuppertal, 23 Oct 1998

[Lwieckowicz]

On October 21st, 1998 in Wuppertal, Germany, a 15-year-old Tanja Muhlinghaus left home as regular in the morning to go to secondary school in Oberbarmen, but she never arrived there. When she didn’t return home, 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.

1237DFDEU - Tanja Muhlinghaus

 

[Lwieckowicz]

Tanja’s original letters

Letter 1: Translated
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”


Letter 2: Translated
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”

 

[Lwieckowicz]

I’m finding information about multiple prints being found on the letters but I’m having a hard time navigating German articles and knowing which sources are reputable etc if anyone knows where that information is and can be linked here, it would be much appreciated

 

[Lwieckowicz]

“An expert's report confirmed that the letter is in fact Tanja's handwriting. And a comparison of the traces of the letter with the DNA on her old toothbrush will confirm that Tanja touched this letter. There was her DNA on the letter and one other person’s DNA was found on it as well. It is the last sign of life that the desperate parents have received from their daughter to this day. The letters are still an unsolved mystery for the police: "The style of the letters is very strange," says Alexander Kresta, spokesman for the Wuppertal police. Has Tanja been urged to write the letters?

"It's not easy for a 15-year-old to disappear from the scene without a trace," says Kresta. Especially since Tanja had never attracted negative attention at high school or had any contact with the drug scene. Her academic performance is good, she earns her pocket money by babysitting and attends dance classes. Her dream was to act in a musical one day.

Recently there had been a few arguments with the parents. As an only child, Tanja felt too controlled by them and announced that she would be moving to a supervised residential group for young people. But the youth welfare office explained to her that she wasn’t a candidate to be accepted there.

A witness claims to have seen Tanja in a silver-gray BMW with two pit bulls. The police will later explain a trail that led nowhere.

The relationship of the parents did not survive the disappearance of their daughter. Father and mother separated. "It's not uncommon for relationships to break up over such cases," says book author Jamin. At the initial stage, friends and relatives try to help loved ones. Tanja's mother expressed her feelings on the Internet. Elsabeth M. addresses her missing daughter on her own website:
"Again and again I ask myself how it could be like this. But only you can give me the answer. That is my only and dearest wish: to hear from you everything that you have been through, what made you leave, what you blame me and whether you can forgive me. (...) I'm no longer married to dad (...). If you just want to find your way to me, nothing stands in the way. I would like to tell you one more thing: you need not be ashamed or afraid of anything anymore. If anyone has to be ashamed, then it's me. Because I didn't notice how you felt."


The article is German but the translation is very good.

RP Plus: Die verschwundenen Kinder von NRW

Düsseldorf (RPO). 1900 Kinder werden jährlich in NRW als vermisst gemeldet. Jedes Mal beginnt für die Eltern ein Alptraum: Wurde das Kind Opfer eines

rp-online.de

 

[John/Jane Doe]

1237DFDEU - Tanja Muhlinghaus

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Thank you for posting her case. It's her birthday today. Bumping!

 

[Kangsul]

I’ve just been reading about the case of Frauke Liebs and the two cases have some similarities. Both victims reached out to family after going missing, stating that they are fine and will return. Fraukes vanished 143km from where Tanja vanished. It’s interesting to see if anyone else feels like the two cases have any connection…

 

[Lwieckowicz]

I’ve just been reading about the case of Frauke Liebs and the two cases have some similarities. Both victims reached out to family after going missing, stating that they are fine and will return. Fraukes vanished 143km from where Tanja vanished. It’s interesting to see if anyone else feels like the two cases have any connection…

I had not heard of her case. Tanja disappeared in 1998 and wrote letters home, Frauke in 2006 and made phone calls, I must think in miles only 88 miles apart…does sound similar, maybe thought allowing contact would buy them time and/or taunt the families by giving them hopes perhaps? With the tech change from 1998 to 2006 could have made the first write letter to avoid using a landline/getting caught but allowed Frauke to use her own cellphone to communicate in her case. Very odd, thank you for bringing het case up.

 

[Vitronix]

I just find it crazy, no one talks about that case anymore here in Wuppertal. And this case, as well as the case of Frauke Liebs were never solved. I didnt even find any information that a search was made or anything.

 

[Vitronix]

Unfortunately I cant find any information about where she lived, I found the school she went to. She called her Mom before school to pick her up in the afternoon but she never made it to school that day, so it would be helpful to know where she lived to look up a path she would have walked to the school. For anyone interested, I found out that she went to the Carl-Duisberg-Gymnasium.

(Edit)

I know now where she lived, she had a short trip to the bus station, and a short but quite creepy, twilight walk to her school.
It would make sense that someone came in contact with her while she was walking down a dark alley near the school, but thats just speculation. For several years a person called Patrick O. stayed in touch with Tanjas Mom because of some informations he allegedly has had, but it turned out to be just for attention. He said that he and Tanja worked together and had a child together, he also said that they had plans to flee from their work, but got caught and held inside a basement until their boss took them to a forest where he shot Tanja, Patrick went there with the police but the police didnt find any evidence. Tanjas cousin wrote in the same forum as Patrick, quote: "We urgently need your help in order to keep going. We do not doubt YOU!!! Your Ma and M" What that means no one knows, or atleast i couldnt find anything.