Petra Pazsitka, a 24-year-old-woman, who vanished and was feared dead in her native Germany over 31 years ago, has been found alive and well. Now 55, Pazsitka, who has been living under the identity of Mrs. Schneider, told authorities that she does not want to contact her family who has been grieving for so long.
Petra Pazsitka might be the perfect inspiration for Gillian Flynn to write Gone Girl part deux.
In 1984, Pazsitka grabbed headlines in Germany after her family contacted several media outlets to report that she went missing. Miss Pazsitka, who was a brilliant 24-year-old computer science student, sent her family into a frenzy after she failed to show up for her brother’s birthday party.
Pazsitka was living in student housing in Braunschweig, and it was not revealed whether or not if she had a roommate. As German authorities searched for the young woman, her parents contacted a well-known television show called Aktenzeichen XY in 1985, which turned to the public for help.
Within months, the popular crime show was able to deliver the news that the family feared the most – Pazsitka was dead. A man accused of raping and killing a 14-year-old girl in the area had confessed to murdering Pazsitka.
Joachim Grande, a spokesman for the police in Braunschweig, explained that since the body of the student was never found, and the criminal later denied ever killing Pazsitka, the case went cold in 1989.
However, things took a very strange turn in mid-September after police in Düsseldorf received a call from a woman, who wanted to report a burglary. The lady claimed that her name was Mrs. Schneider, but when police requested some form of identification she was unable to produce any.
During the interrogation, Mrs. Schneider confessed that she was indeed Pazsitka and showed an old student ID card to prove it. Pazsitka explained that she had been working under the fake name and had lived all over Germany for the past 30 years.
She held countless odd jobs and had saved over 20,000 euros ($22,338), which she kept in the house and used to pay her rent and bills in cash. Grande stated:
“She did not even have a bank account and paid all her bills cash.”
When asked why did she fake her death, she had little to say other than the fact that her family members are to be blamed. She also made it clear that she does not want to see her relatives and does not wish to conduct any interviews. Grande added:
“Her father passed away a few years ago, but her brother and mother were in shock and tears when they heard the news.”
Pazsitka’s brother and mother have written a moving letter to her and asked the police to deliver it to her hoping she will change her mind and see them. There are thousands of people like Pazsitka, who have faked their deaths due to legal or financial issues or simply because they are tired of their lives.
The story of Alison Matera recently went viral after the hospital she was staying claimed she was dead, and she showed up at her funeral and explained that she was her long-lost twin sister.
Wall Street investor Marcus Schrenker, who was believed dead after his plane crashed while flying over Alabama, was found hiding in a forest. He was pretending to be dead because his company was embroiled in a fraud scandal.
