Fellow sleuthers, this one's perplexing to say the least. In 2009, a white male - estimated to be between 50 and 70 years old - arrives in the beachside town of Sligo, Ireland, by bus; checks into a hotel with a presumably false name; and pays in cash. Four days later his body is found on a nearby beach. No evidence of drowning; foul play is ruled out. The labels on his clothes and his bags are missing, and he has no ID on him. The name he gives at check-in - Peter Bergmann - is submitted to several international databases. Nothing is found - he didn't exist.
What makes this different from some of the other UID cases out there is the abundance of CCTV footage available from his time at the hotel, a lot of which is included in The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, a 20-minute documentary, which is available here for free. That's a great starting point and covers the basics.
Also, if you're familiar with Lyle Stevik, you'll notice the parallels - this unidentified male was able to seemingly eradicate his identity over the course of the weekend in the hotel. Very odd.
What we know
+ "Peter Bergmann" (PB) gets on a bus from Derry, Northern Ireland, and arrives at Sligo Station at 18.28 on June 12, 2009. He is carrying a black shoulder bag and larger travel bag. He takes a taxi to the Sligo City hotel where pays in cash for three nights. He gives his name as PB, and an address in Vienna, Austria (which was later found to be a vacant lot). Hotel clerk remembers he has a deep Germanic accent.
+ On June 13, 2009, PB purchases eight stamps and airmail stickers from the Post Office.
+ On June 14, 2009, PB asks a taxi driver if he can take him to a beach where he can swim. He is taken to Rosses Point, before returning in the same taxi.
+ On June 15, 2009, PB checks out of the hotel, and leaves with the shoulder bag, a purple plastic bag, and a dark carrier bag. The larger travel bag is no longer with him. He walks to the bus station where he orders lunch; he is spotted on CCTV looking at small pieces of paper which he takes out from his pocket. PB gets on a bus to Rosses Point.
+ On June 16, 2009 at 6.45 am, his body is found on the beach.
The bizarre bit
CCTV films PB leaving the hotel several times carrying a purple bag and then returning to the establishment without it - presumably he is gradually disposing of his clothes/personal possessions. According to the director of The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, he does this 13 (!) times throughout the weekend. Surprisingly (given the prevalence of CCTV in the UK/Ireland), not a single camera can locate where he discards these items; none of his belongings are found in trash cans in the immediate vicinity, despite law enforcement doing an extensive search. PB is filmed doing pretty much everything else that weekend (he's spotted smoking/eating/walking in various locations). How did he know about these CCTV blind spots - how is that even possible?
Unexplained death
Coroner found PB had extensive prostate cancer, bone tumours, and had suffered previous heart attacks. No evidence of any painkillers were found in his system. Cause of death is unknown.
Links
Here's a few resources to get you started...
Wikipedia page
Article from The Irish Central
Description, physical characteristics, contacts (possibly NSFW - includes autopsy photo; written in German)
What makes this different from some of the other UID cases out there is the abundance of CCTV footage available from his time at the hotel, a lot of which is included in The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, a 20-minute documentary, which is available here for free. That's a great starting point and covers the basics.
Also, if you're familiar with Lyle Stevik, you'll notice the parallels - this unidentified male was able to seemingly eradicate his identity over the course of the weekend in the hotel. Very odd.
What we know
+ "Peter Bergmann" (PB) gets on a bus from Derry, Northern Ireland, and arrives at Sligo Station at 18.28 on June 12, 2009. He is carrying a black shoulder bag and larger travel bag. He takes a taxi to the Sligo City hotel where pays in cash for three nights. He gives his name as PB, and an address in Vienna, Austria (which was later found to be a vacant lot). Hotel clerk remembers he has a deep Germanic accent.
+ On June 13, 2009, PB purchases eight stamps and airmail stickers from the Post Office.
+ On June 14, 2009, PB asks a taxi driver if he can take him to a beach where he can swim. He is taken to Rosses Point, before returning in the same taxi.
+ On June 15, 2009, PB checks out of the hotel, and leaves with the shoulder bag, a purple plastic bag, and a dark carrier bag. The larger travel bag is no longer with him. He walks to the bus station where he orders lunch; he is spotted on CCTV looking at small pieces of paper which he takes out from his pocket. PB gets on a bus to Rosses Point.
+ On June 16, 2009 at 6.45 am, his body is found on the beach.
The bizarre bit
CCTV films PB leaving the hotel several times carrying a purple bag and then returning to the establishment without it - presumably he is gradually disposing of his clothes/personal possessions. According to the director of The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, he does this 13 (!) times throughout the weekend. Surprisingly (given the prevalence of CCTV in the UK/Ireland), not a single camera can locate where he discards these items; none of his belongings are found in trash cans in the immediate vicinity, despite law enforcement doing an extensive search. PB is filmed doing pretty much everything else that weekend (he's spotted smoking/eating/walking in various locations). How did he know about these CCTV blind spots - how is that even possible?
Unexplained death
Coroner found PB had extensive prostate cancer, bone tumours, and had suffered previous heart attacks. No evidence of any painkillers were found in his system. Cause of death is unknown.
Links
Here's a few resources to get you started...
Wikipedia page
Article from The Irish Central
Description, physical characteristics, contacts (possibly NSFW - includes autopsy photo; written in German)